Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS



| Modern Idolatry series |


* Why is Faith the Answer to Sin?
* Why is Good So Good?
* Have We Idolized Reason?
* Can Society Be An Idol?







Sometimes it feels like the Scripture is full of paradoxes. Two things we know are true, that operate side by side but are hard to reconcile. Among the most fundamental of these is works and faith. We know that we are saved by grace through faith and not by our own works (Ephesians 2:8-9). But we also know that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). We have all read the sobering verses that if we practice sin, ranging from sexual immorality to lying, we will not receive eternal life (Revelation 21:8). But, ironically, we also know we would be lying if we said we don’t sin (1 John 1:8).



I have good news: this paradox is not some unanswerable mystery. In fact, understanding it flows very naturally when we have a proper understanding of sin and faith. When we see why faith is the answer to sin, we understand how faith and works are intertwined. I think that we have misunderstood the concept of “sin” as it’s explained to us in the Bible. Let’s go deeper, moving beyond quick answers so that we can receive revelation that transforms the way we think.



The First Sin



What is sin? What makes something sinful? What is the origin (cause or source) of sin? To understand the origin of sin, let’s start with the original sin. I want to read this story as if it were for the first time:



And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,



“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17



The first hint that there’s more to this story is the name of the tree. It surprised me that it’s not called the tree of sin or the tree of evil, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I mean… that kind of sounds like a good thing doesn’t it?



the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.



To know good and evil, to know the difference between right and wrong: isn’t that what we try to tea...