Q. 13. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?

A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God. 

Q. 14. What is sin?

A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God. 

Q. 15. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?

A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.

Children, what is sin? "Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God." Okay, that's a mouthful. What does it mean? Sin is disobedience to God. Is it a sin to eat a banana? Of course not! But if your parents tell you not to eat any bananas until lunch, then is it a sin to take a banana and eat it before lunch? Yes, because God told you to obey your parents. Eating the banana wasn't the sin. Disobeying your parents was. There are very few actions that are inherently sinful. Is it a sin to kill someone? Well, God commands us to put to death those who murder others. Even killing is not always a sin. So we can't define sin as a list of actions that are always wrong. We sin when we fail to conform to God's law. We sin when we transgress, or we cross the boundaries, of God's law. In other words, we sin when we fail to look like God, when we fail to act like his image, his son. 

What was the first sin that Adam and Eve committed? "The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit." God had said very plainly, "You shall not eat the fruit of this tree." Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. They were created to look like God. And God told them, in order to live as my image, you must not eat the fruit of this tree. And notice how the serpent ensnares them. He appeals to their sense of being made in God's image: "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Isn't it interesting how temptation works? The tempter goes after something good. Adam and Eve are supposed to be like God. They are created in his image. So he tells them that if they eat of this fruit, they will be more like God.

Our catechism rightly tells us that Adam and Eve were "left to the freedom of their own will." In other words, while God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, he has also given us a free will. He does not force us to obey him, nor does he force us to rebel. When the tempter comes to Eve, she must choose: will she listen to God, or to the devil?

Augustine of Hippo, the great North African church father, has given us a simple way to think about this. He divides humanity into four groups: Before the Fall, Adam and Eve were able to sin; in other words, they were righteous, but it was possible for them to fall into sin. After the Fall, those in Adam are unable not to sin. Remember that sin has to do with lack of conformity to God's law, and last week we saw that if you break the law in one point, you are guilty of all of it (James 2:10). Those who are in Adam may be sweet, nice, good people, who do wonderful things 90% of the time; but they cannot avoid sinning, because their hearts are turned away from God. But in Christ things have changed. Even before our resurrection, those who are in Christ are able not to sin; you are able to please God and turn away from sin. You who are in Christ do not have to sin! In glory, after the resurrection, those who are in Christ are unable to sin. Having been tried and tested in this life, those who are in Christ will be confirmed in righteousness and holiness for all eternity.

Since you, beloved congregation, are in Christ, I would like to focus on these last two, because I fear that sometimes we do not sufficiently appreciate what Christ has accomplished for us and in us. 1 John 3 speaks at length of the Christian's relationship to sin. [Read 3:4-10] The English Standard Version is one of the first to translate the verbs with their continuous sense. The NKJV, for instance renders this: "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness.... Whoever abides in him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him." It might have been better to leave the verbs in their simple form because John seems to want to shock his hearers! John is saying that sin is inconsistent with the Christian life. Every time you sin you are practically denying who you are. I started reading in verse four to heighten the shock value; but to understand what John is saying, we need to read 2:28-3:3. What is John talking about? He is talking about the appearing of Jesus Christ. The second coming and final judgment, to use our lingo. But John is saying that when Jesus appears, we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is. In other words, John is saying, when Jesus appears we will be unable to sin. But what about now? "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared." John is making an eschatological point: he is saying that something about what we will be, is already true. We are children of God now, though what that will fully look like "has not yet appeared." And everyone who has this hope in him "purifies himself as he is pure." You are pure, so therefore you must purify yourself. Or put another way: be who you are in Christ! Why do you have the ability not to sin? Because Augustine's fourth category, the believer in glory who is unable to sin, is casting its shadow back into this age, so that you are able not to sin! How is this true? Because Jesus has been raised from the dead. Remember that John starts his epistle with the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus "is the propitiation for our sins." His blood was offered as the sacrifice that has cleansed us from all sin. Because Jesus has been raised to the right hand of the Father, and the final judgment has been poured out upon Jesus, therefore those who are in Him receive a foretaste of glory.

But John points out the other side of this: "You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him." If you are in Christ, then you are no longer a sinner. As John says in verse 7, "Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous." If you are in Christ--or to use John's term, if you abide in Christ--then you are righteous. And if you are righteous, then you had better start acting like it! On other hand, "Whoever sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." You can't possibly continue in sin, because Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and sin is a work of the devil! So plainly, no one born of God continues in sin.

Maybe you are used to pastors now letting you off the hook by saying that this is just the ideal, but that in reality we just can't measure up. I can't do that. Some pastors actually tell their congregations that you can't help sinning. That's tragic. Because God has not only commanded us not to sin, he has also given us his promise that he will give us the strength to resist temptation.

"No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

You never have to sin. In any given situation you can practice righteousness. Indeed, you have the comfort that you "cannot keep on sinning because you have been born of God." God is not going to let you go on dishonoring the name of Christ. And it's real easy to see: "By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother."

We're talking here about trajectories, orientations, dispositions. Do you practice righteousness? Do you love your brother? We're not talking about sinless perfection. (Remember, John is the one who said, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1:8) Sinless perfection was accomplished by Jesus, and the whole point of our salvation is that it is being accomplished in us. But it's not finished until Jesus "appears."

But the point is that righteousness has come to the church. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the righteous one sits at God's right hand. He who loved his brothers perfectly is interceding for us with the Father. And we, who are called by his name, have no business sinning.

Remember again what sin is. "Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God." Stop thinking about your failures of the past. Repent of them, by all means! But once they are confessed, they are forgiven. Now, think about this afternoon. Can you practice righteousness and love your brothers this afternoon? Remember your weak spots, and prepare for temptation. After all, our biggest challenges come when others sin against us! John then uses the example of Cain and Abel, warning us to avoid following Cain "who was of the evil one and murdered his brother." John suggests that the relationship of Cain and Abel will be reflected in the relationship between the world and the church. They will hate us because our deeds are righteous. And righteousness, for John, is intimately bound to love for the brethren.

Then in verse 16 he shows us why: "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." The righteous one, Jesus Christ, is also the premier example of love, and the same act that Paul refers to as "the one righteous act" is here called the supreme act of love by John.

The way to avoid sin and practice righteousness is to love one another. And as John says in that famous verse, v18, "Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth." It's in the way that you relate to each other throughout the week. It's in the way that you look for those little things. It's the way Phyllis teaches the children in her Sunday school class. It's the way Jay cleaned out the Deavel's gutters.

When you face temptation, the solution is love. Remember how Christ loved you. Remember that you are no longer the sinner you once were! You are righteous in him! And then believe his promise that he will provide the strength to endure it, but for heaven's sake, don't just sit there gritting your teeth, "enduring it"! Practice righteousness. Love your brother. Amen.

Copyright © 2003 Peter J. Wallace