The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Did God Create Sin?

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Did God ultimately create sin?

Twenty words from the original biblical languages can be translated into the English word “sin.” Written 522 times, “to miss the target or mark by choice” is the most frequently used. Other words translate as “to break the standard or rule purposely,” “go astray,” “get lost,” and “rebel.”

Sin is not temptation. The thesaurus’ synonyms for temptation are “attraction,” “bait,” and “persuasion.” For example, the Serpent tempted Adam and Eve in Genesis, yet they did not sin until the fruit was eaten. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness (Lk. 4), but still lived a sinless life (Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19).

Sin is not a noun representing something tangibly created such as a car, but it is a verb demonstrating a conscientious action such as turning direction. Sin is a willful crossing of the line that God has drawn.

The first to cross that line was God’s closest angel Lucifer. Isaiah 14:13-14 “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'”

Satan’s prideful desire to set himself up above God swayed a third of the angels of Heaven to rebelliously act and become demons (Rev. 12:4).

Adam and Eve crossed the line while there was just one simple rule to follow. “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die'” (Gen. 2:16-17).

We have crossed the line more than once in our own lives. We sin not against man, but God, who sets the boundaries — boundaries that were created for our own very good. The Bible tells us just what those boundaries are.

Jesus taught that our desire to sin is always self-focused, springing from the heart and mind. MY will! MY desires! MY way! “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28).

Jesus went on to set our standard of holiness in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

If we have all rebelliously crossed the line and are incapable of being perfect (Rom. 3:23), what hope is there for us when the time comes for our rebellion to be judged by God? While living on Earth, we have the opportunity to make both a heart adjustment and a choice — to humble ourselves and accept the loving sacrifice Jesus made which has placed our punishment instead onto Him.

God did not create sin, but He did create a way to be forgiven from it.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

16 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • being a christian most my life every now and then i have a question that i should know the answer to and feel dumb for asking but here it is: if Lucifer was already in heaven, with a glorified body, and free will, whats to stop us, when we`re in heaven, with a glorified body, "like the angels in heaven" from sinning?

  • Well, Hartdawg, we'll finally be free of the sin nature dragging us into sin, for one. And secondly, I imagine the Holy Spirit will continue to indwell believers, something the angels don't have.

    It'd be horrible to spend eternity worrying we may rebel even in our thoughts and be cast out of Heaven, so God must have eliminated even the possibility, most likely due to the indwelling.

  • that actually answers the original question plus another question i had. i always used to wonder what the Holy Spirits role would be in eternity AFTER sin was judged and done away with since he wouldnt need to convict of sin or draw people to christ anymore.

  • Maybe it's the Red Bull, hart!

    I have never even considered the aspect of falling from grace AFTER being in heaven.

    I hope you're this way after the Rapture, 'cuz I think we could really get along.

  • When we think of the word "sin," we almost always think of it as a verb–as something we do (stealing, lying, cheating, etc.), but sin is also defined as a noun–specifically as a noun with the qualities of a person.

    VINE'S COMPLETE EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY gives the following as one of the definitions of sin: "a governing principle or power, e.g., Rom. 6:6 "(the body) of sin" here "sin" is spoken of as an organized power, acting through the members of the body, though the seat of "sin" is in the will (the body is the organic instrument); in the next clause, and in other passages, as follows, this governing principle is personified, e.g., Rom. 5:21, 6:12, 14, 17, 7:11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 25, 8:2, 1 Cor. 15:56, Heb. 3:13, 11:25, 12:4, James 1:15.

    This entity of sin, by the way, first shows up in Genesis 4:6, where it is seen "crouching" and "desiring to master" Cain.

    Notice that the passage in Romans where Paul is "doing what he does not want to do" is included in the references above. This means that Paul's battle was against an entity called "sin"–(meaning he was NOT battling against himself)!

    Also, in the N.T., sin for believers is anything we do in our own strength, (i.e., sin is when we do not allow Christ to animate our actions). See Rom. 14:23 and Heb. 11:6.

  • hartdawg, In Rev. 22:11 we have the promise of God that in the eternal state we [and "they"] are permanently "fixed"! The KJV uses a simply "let him be…still", which in our time does not convey the continuousness evident in the Greek. Compare the NIV: 11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy."
    The Holman Christian Standard Bible: 11 Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy go on being made filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; and let the holy go on being made holy." [Notice the "go on being made" as an external action happening to us].
    The Worldwide English New Testament: 11 Let the bad man keep on doing wrong things. Let the person who does dirty things, keep on being dirty. Let the good person keep on doing what is good. Let the holy person keep on being holy.'
    And the ASV: 11 He that is unrighteous, let him do unrighteousness still: and he that is filthy, let him be made filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him do righteousness still: and he that is holy, let him be made holy still.
    Although we still have free will, when we are fully one with God we will have the mind of Christ; we have no interest in sin. We will have a righteous abhorrence of it & full knowledge of it's devastating results.

  • These are my thoughts about the origin of sin……

    God created Lucifer as the most beautiful of all the angels in heaven, and then Lucifer "desired" to be like God himself. First, something for you to ponder. Why would God create Lucifer as the "most beautiful" of all the angels, in the first place? Have you ever thought about that??? I have.

    God "desires" to be loved. He loves us and all his creation beyond description. We are not capable of that kind of love, at least not in our present state. Regardless, God wants us to love Him in the capacity we have.

    Back to Lucifer's "desire" to be like God…….In order to be able to "desire" anything, what is the key factor that must be present?? Free will! We, and obviously Lucifer and the angels were all given "free will" as part of our makeup when God created us. There are some differences in our makeup for sure, but I think "free will" is an across the board characteristic.

    Why "free will"? Well, as I said, "free will" must be present in order to "desire". "Desire" results in many things………good and/or bad. We even need "free will" to love!

    Without "free will" we cannot love our husbands, our wives, our children, our parents, our siblings, our friends, our pets, the things in life we find enjoyment out of, and we cannot love God without "free will". Without "free will" we are nothing more than robotic clones. Would you find joy, or fulfillment, or gratification in knowing that your husband, or children, or parents, or friends were "forced", or "programmed", to love you?? I wouldn't, and I don't think God would either.
    So, we have "free will" to "desire" whatever we want to desire, good or bad.

    Lucifer used his "free will" to "desire" the wrong things, even with God bestowing on him beauty like He gave no other angel in heaven. Which leads me back to my initial inquiry. Why did God do this? I think God may have done this to show that being given something that no one else has, as the beauty He gave Lucifer, can still result in the "desire" to want more. God gave us our first example of SIN, through Lucifer choice of "free will". And, God also showed us a very sad and ugly result of that choice.

    So, in summary, God created "free will" and unfortunately the "desire" to do wrong (sin), instead of right, is part of that equation. Was it God's desire for sin to be part of the equation, no, but you can't have one without the other, or you end up with pre-programmed robots.

    Buggg 🙂

  • Great thoughts on sin, Buggg.

    I've been thinking about Adam and Eve's "first sin." We often assume their sin was that they wanted to be like God. But that's not the sin the Bible says they committed. Think about it: they desired to be LIKE God–Someone whom they deeply loved and respected. In itself, that's not a bad desire to have. The Bible clearly teaches that the sin they committed was that they ate from the WRONG tree. So we have to ask, what is it about that tree that was so sinful?

    Well, they ate from the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil. In other words, they wanted to discern good and evil for themselves. Today, we call that "morality" or "religion" or even "following Christian principles." But what's wrong with discerning good and evil? Well, God calls it SIN for starters!!! Why? If you're discerning right and wrong, whose doing it? You are! Well, you say, Christ "helps" me. Oh, so if you get good enough at it, then you won't need Christ anymore? The problem is it's SELF-EFFORT (ya know, those filthy rags in God's eyes)!!! The other problem with this sin is that as soon as we start trying to discern good and evil, we start measuring ourselves (and everyone else around us)!

    But I thought as Christians part of our job was to discern right from wrong. Yeah, that's a common misconception, but that's not what God desires for us. What God wants is for us to "eat continuously" from the other tree–the tree of Life. You see, Adam and Eve's choice wasn't between an evil-looking sin and a good one. It was between a good-looking sin (that leads to death) and LIFE!

    In God's eyes, the choice is clear: 1) choose good and evil for yourself, or 2) trust in the LIFE of the Son to live through you!

    Choose your tree!

  • Another aspect we should consider when it comes to Adam and Eve's eating the fruit, is that they listened to another voice. Therein lay the sin. Not in the hearing, but in the listening.

  • actually, eve listened to the voice while adam remained silent. adam should have been the leader cuz it was his responsibility but just like a lot of men he abdecated his leadership.

  • Okay, while I'm on a roll here with the stupid questions…LOL

    Adam and Eve were naked in the garden of Eden, prior to their sinning, then because of "shame" or whatever you want to call it, they covered themselves.

    So, if this had not occurred, do you think we would have been destined to still be walking around naked as a jay bird?

    I know, I know, it's a really stupid question, but I like "fashion" and I hope that the Lord approves of it, well, some of it anyway.

    And no, I am not on any pre-surgery meds yet. LOLOLOL

  • Junbuggg said… "Do you think Adam and/or Eve are in heaven?" & "they covered themselves."

    Hebrews 9:22
    And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

    Genesis 3:21
    Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

    Yes, they're in Heaven because they accepted the shed-blood covering that God provided for them.

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