Sin Has Damaged Everything


“We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain ...” (Romans 8:22a CEV)

Nothing works perfectly. Because the entire human race has made poor choices …

Everything’s broken, and nothing on this planet works perfectly. Sin has damaged everything.

Sin has ruined everything. Sin has destroyed everything. Sin has corrupted and spoiled everything. Sin has injured everything — every relationship, idea, dream, and human body. Everything has been touched by this damage.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes six dimensions of your life that sin has damaged. Over the next few days, we’ll look at these six dimensions.

1) The first result is natural disasters and deformities.

We’re not living in Eden anymore. As John Milton wrote in a very famous poem, paradise was lost. We live on a broken planet. And, as a result, we have hurricanes, typhoons, wacky weather, earthquakes, droughts, and floods.

It’s amazing to me that insurance calls all these things acts of God but doesn’t call the birth of a baby an act of God. In other words, an act of God is only the negative stuff that happens. God does not want these things happening in the world. And he is as upset by natural disasters as we are. The world was broken when sin damaged everything.

The Bible says in Romans 8:20, “Creation is confused” (CEV). Everything on this planet has lost its original purpose. Everything in the world was damaged including your DNA, your parents’ DNA, and their parents’ DNA. Have you figured out yet that your body doesn’t work right? If everybody’s body worked perfectly, there would be no need for doctors.

2) The second result is physical decay and death.

There was no death on this planet until sin entered the world. Ecclesiastes 8:8 says, “We cannot control the wind or determine the day of our death.” We know that death is inevitable, but we sure try to stop it. We go to great lengths to postpone the decay, too.

But there’s actually good news: God doesn’t want you to live forever on this planet. He wants you to live forever in a perfect place, not on a planet that’s been broken by sin.

1 Corinthians 15:42-43 says, “Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength” (NLT).

Talk About It
- Why is it so hard for us, even as believers, to accept the thought of the decay of our bodies and death?
- What do you think should be the responsibility of Christians toward the environment?

~ Written by: Rick Warren ~
~ Modified by: Oleg Fabyanchuk ~

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Obedience Without Anxiety

Image
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT) If you feel overwhelmed or confused about a decision that you’re trying to make, you’re probably caught up in yourself and not God’s voice. The Bible says, “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33a NIV). He is not the author of confusion. So if you’re feeling confused, guess what? It’s not God’s voice speaking in your life. If you’re a parent, do you want your kids to feel pressure or confused when you ask them to do something? No. You want them to understand what to do and then respond in obedience. God the Father wants the same thing for and from us. The only time pressure could be legitimate is if God’s told you to do something, and you keep saying “n
Read more

Why Nagging Never Works

Image
Have you noticed how many difficult people there are in the world? Do you feel like you have to deal with most of them some days? You know what rude acts bug me the most? People who call me and then say, “Who is this?” People who honk their horns in traffic jams. People who cheat in the 10-items-or-less grocery line. People who steal your parking spot. The list goes on, and I’m sure you can relate. So, how should we respond in love to difficult people? Proverbs 16:21 says, “A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is” (TEV). The more pleasant you are, the more persuasive you are. And, you’re never persuasive when you’re abrasive. Nagging doesn’t work. The way you say something determines the way it’s received. If you say something offensively, it’s going to be received defensively. That’s why love is all about your words. Love is truthful, but it is also tactful. Tact and tone always go together. It matters
Read more

The Light in the Dark Times

Image
“We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, Who raises the dead.”  (2 Corinthians 1:8b-9 NLT) Did Jesus suffer? Was He sometimes lonely? Was He tempted to be discouraged? Was He misunderstood, maligned, and criticized unjustly? Of course! None of us are exempt from suffering, loneliness, discouragement, or unjust criticism, because God is developing within us the character of Christ, and, in order to do this, He must take us through all of the circumstances in life through which He took Christ. Does this mean God causes tragedies? No. God is good, and He will not cause evil or do evil. But God can use dark and stressful times for good. He'll use them to teach us to trust Him, to show us how to help others, and to draw us closer to other believers. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:8b-9,
Read more