Let’s Review 

Last time, we discussed the roots of the Hebrew terms mentioned in Jeremiah 17:9 and the bias under which that passage has been interpreted. We looked at how the human heart is easily swayed and deceived. Modern Christian thought has used the misinterpreted term “desperately wicked” to try to prove that each human heart is thoroughly evil to its core, rather than a lost wanderer secretly searching for and pursued by a loving Father.  

We explored 1 Corinthians 15:22, which tells us that Christ is the new Adam. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (NKJV). Common evangelical thought tends to focus on the fullness of our depravity in Adam, yet concedes that, even after choosing to align ourselves with Christ, we will still have a life-long struggle with sin. This perspective implies that Adam’s fall is stronger than Christ’s victory, and suggests that our own physical deaths will be our personal and ultimate saviors.  

Now that we have debunked the fallacies of our continued captivity, our partial salvation, and the pure evil of our hearts, let’s remind ourselves of the unconditional love of our all-powerful and ever-present Father.

Our Father 

Before we ever had our hearts deceived, before Eve ever listened to the serpent, we were blessed by our Father and Creator. This is Original Blessing. This is our inheritance. This concept – that God is good, that we were created in His image and He never removed that from our DNA, that He loves us and desires us to be part of His family – is what we must receive and hold fast as our core belief in order to understand the character of God, the purpose of the Cross, and our very own nature. For even after Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, they still remained children of God. Luke 3:38 finishes up the genealogy of Jesus with “the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” Because God sent Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, we have made the false assumption that He Himself rejected them. However, as you follow the story of mankind throughout the Old Testament, including the book of Genesis, we see that God was still among mankind and walked and talked with them.  

I used to think that God couldn’t be in the presence of sinful man, and that’s why He sent them out of the Garden. On the contrary, according to Genesis 4:3-15, it looks like God was still walking, talking, and interacting with mankind (specifically Cain and Abel) on a regular basis: 

“3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 

6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” [Why would God say this to Cain if sin was part of his DNA? Yes, man’s heart is so easily deceived and led astray – but not incapable of goodness. Humans are still the children of our Creator.] 

8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. 

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” 

13 And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face [meaning he wasn’t before]; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.” [Didn’t we used to think this description fit Adam, Eve, and all of mankind at this point in history – separated from God’s presence, vagabonds in the earth? Yet, this passage does not reflect that perspective at all.] 

15 And the Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. 

Look at how God treats Cain as a son – a prodigal son, a wayward son in need of correction, but still a son – even after he murdered his brother. And remember, his sacrifice wasn’t respected by God, so it’s not as if sacrifices were covering Cain at all! Sin separates us from God, not God from us – we were the ones who turned away, constantly turning away in shame and guilt throughout human history, until Jesus showed us that even our own shame and guilt cannot separate us from His love.  

Genesis 11:5 tells us “But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.” God was still among men during the Tower of Babel.  

These are just a few of the Old Testament examples where God interacted with mankind after they ate the fruit. This shows that God created the religious Jewish guidelines, rules, and the physical structure of the tabernacle for our sake, because of our inability to encounter Him while feeling guilt and shame. These things were not made because God could not be near us or that He was so holy that He could not be in the presence of sin (see Isaiah 6:1-7). God doesn’t turn away from us, disgusted by our sin. He is an unconditionally loving Father – the one we see in the story of the Prodigal Son. The father allowed his son to leave and become destitute, but even before the son asked for forgiveness the father ran to him, embraced him, clothed him, put a ring on his finger, set up a party, and called him his son. This story shows us our Father’s heart. 

The best way to know the truth about what God is really like is to know Jesus and to study His life and teachings (including the parable of the Prodigal Son). He showed us the Father (John 14:7-10). 

Jesus said He is the light of the world (John 8:12). God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Wherever light goes, it chases away darkness. In fact, there is no such substance as “darkness” – it is only the absence of light. In the same way, God is not “afraid” of touching sin – whatever He touches, He makes holy. There are analogies in the Jewish law that foreshadow this idea (Exodus 30:29 says, “You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy” and Leviticus 6:27: “Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy”). We also see this happening with the woman who touched Jesus’ garment for healing her flow of blood. Her faith healed her, yes – and it is out of unbelief that we often keep our hands back from reaching out to our Healer. But His desire is always to heal, always to free us from sin, always to make us holy, and He has the capacity to do those things just by His existence. 

The Issue of Sin 

Let’s identify what we mean by the term “sin.” In the Hebrew, sin means to go astray off the right path, or to miss the mark, like an arrow missing the bull’s eye. Sinning is messing up, doing damage to oneself and others. We sin (fall short of the glory of God) when we don’t walk out our true identity as a child of God. It’s when we are deceived about our identity that our actions take a turn for the worse. Our behavior is a fruit of our thoughts and beliefs. On the other hand, those behaviors also influence our belief system, as we may try to justify our own actions or condemn others by accruing a worldview we find palatable to us. God, as our Creator, has the ultimate say in what is truly good for us (as individuals and as a society). In Him is no darkness at all. His way is the path of righteousness (rightness, justice, goodness) – Psalm 23:3. 

So why do humans fall short? Why do we stray from goodness if our human nature is not inherently evil and if we are all children of God?  

Great minds have debated this question for millennia, but there are 3 reasons I’d like to explore for now: 

1. Man sins due to the deception of his heart, as Jeremiah 17:9 tells us. 
2. Sometimes what looks like evil is really ignorance or a lack of maturity. 
3. Guilt and shame are damaging and divisive forces and perpetuate destructive behavior. 

Reason 1: Deception 

Being deceived was the “original sin” – Eve didn’t believe that she was already “like God” (made in His likeness). She was deceived about her identity as a daughter of God, and she took actions based on her belief in that lie. It wasn’t wrong of her to want to be like her Father. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:28 to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect – being like God is not missing the mark. In fact, it’s part of our inheritance and identity. Eve erred by not believing that what God said about her was true, and her actions reflected that lack of faith.  

Reason 2: Ignorance 

People can be selfish and lazy, but that doesn’t mean they are inherently evil. Animals are selfish and seek what is best for their own survival – it’s not a moral issue for them. It’s not a common belief to think that animals have a sinful nature. But more on selfishness in a minute. 

Laziness results when we don’t think deeply enough about a situation.  

If we think about it deeply and decide we are in true need of rest, then relaxing is a healthy choice to make. On the other hand, after coming home after a long day of work, you may want to just sit on the couch and watch TV and eat junk food. Is that a sin? It might be missing the mark of your health and happiness and productivity goals. If you take a second longer to think about what you really want – perhaps to lose weight, gain muscle, increase your overall energy, stimulate your brain – you might instead decide to go to the gym and listen to an inspirational podcast while working out.  

Your initial thought was, “I need a break, I’m tired out and need to rest.” That’s not a bad thing. You just forgot what your true desires are, and you fell back into a habitual pattern of what you’ve done every day after work. Your second thought was, “Time is precious, and I want to use the rest of my day with a purpose.” Was your initial desire to be lazy caused by your “sin nature”? Or did it come to your mind simply because it’s a pattern you are used to, and you hadn’t thought deeply enough about what your true goals were at that point in the day yet?  

Let’s think deeply about selfishness. The concept of self-centeredness and thinking of yourself more highly than you should is missing the mark. But it’s important to take care of yourself. Remember the airline warnings to put on your own oxygen mask first? If we aren’t “selfish” we won’t stay alive long enough to help others. If you dig deeply enough, even Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross was “selfish” because it brought Him joy to be reunited with His beloved children. “…for the joy that was set before Him [Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2b). The most sacrificial act in history can be called selfish in this way. Jesus thought deeply about His true desires and what was best for us and did what was best for everyone involved. When people think shallowly and reactively, they often make the wrong decisions, because they aren’t accounting for all the opportunities, desires, factors, and participants involved. There may be a single emotion affecting our decision so strongly it outweighs all the other options we think we have. If we all thought at the deepest level, we would choose God’s path of righteousness every time, because it leads to the ultimate happiness of everyone involved, including ourselves. In a way, thinking shallowly or immaturely is another way people can be deceived, which leads to going astray (sin). 

Reason 3: Guilt and Shame 

If we don’t know who we are and our shallow thinking becomes a consistent and subconscious thought pattern, our negative actions grow out of control. We sin, miss the mark, hurt others; we feel defensive, try to justify our actions, fear repercussions. We may repeat the exact same negative behaviors over and over (addictions, for example). This is usually due to an attempt to justify those behaviors, or the belief that we’ve gone too deep and can’t stop them now, or a fear of falling into that sin again (what we focus on grows, even if we’re focusing on what we don’t want).  

In our deepest selves, we feel that we have missed the mark of God’s path for us. And while conviction leads us to restoration and repentance (changing of the mind), guilt and shame are often the catalysts of our separation from God – of our gravitation away from his love.  

Shame makes us feel unworthy as a person; guilt makes us feel like we could never measure up. But God displayed to the universe that we are of the utmost worth to Him by giving up His life for us. 

I used to think Jesus’ parable of the pearl of great price was supposed to show me what I should do: that I should value the kingdom of heaven above all else. But that parable looks different now that I understand the unconditional love of our Father for us. 

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt. 13:45-46). 

The kingdom of heaven is the merchant – really, Jesus is. He sold all that He had to buy the pearl He placed value on by becoming a human and giving up His life for humanity. Jesus shows us our worth, even when we don’t place any value on ourselves. In fact, it’s because He values us that we are worth something, no matter what we think about ourselves. It’s not about what we’ve done; it’s about who we are, and Whose we are. You are only lost if you belong somewhere. 

Following Up

There’s so much more to say. Our story – humanity’s story – doesn’t end with a loving Father and a wayward, deceived, guilt-stricken son. Jesus, our Prince, our Savior, steps in to turn it into the most beautiful story ever told. We’ll discuss that aspect of the tale next time as we explore the saving grace of our wonderful God. See you then 🙂