Sin is not taken very seriously by many in our society. People ignore it, make excuses for it, and joke about it. This casual attitude is in stark contrast with the way God views sin.
There are three examples from the book of Genesis that clearly demonstrate to us just how much God hates sin. We will briefly look at each of these examples as well as how they compare with God’s view of sin under the gospel age.
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In Jeremiah 8, the prophet condemned the people of Jerusalem for their sins. The condemnation was not for an occasional misstep, but for the persistent practice of sin and their stubborn refusal to repudiate it: “Why then has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in apostasy? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return” (Jeremiah 8:5).
The deceit to which they held fast consisted of the lies of the scribes (Jeremiah 8:8) and of the priests who would say “‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace” (Jeremiah 8:11). They had become so accustomed to their sin that they were no longer “ashamed of the abomination they had done…and they did not know how to blush” (Jeremiah 8:12). They had replaced the Lord with “graven images” and “foreign idols” (Jeremiah 8:19).
After outlining this miserable state of the people, the prophet said, “Harvest is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20).
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“What have you done?” Children often hear this question from their parents. They quickly learn that this question means three things: (1) they did something wrong, (2) they were caught, and (3) there are consequences to follow.
Our heavenly Father asked this question twice in the early chapters of the Bible with the same kind of meaning. The first came after Adam and Eve sinned by eating of the forbidden fruit. He asked Eve, “What is this you have done?” (Genesis 3:13). Following that, Cain sinned when he murdered his brother Abel. When God confronted Cain, He asked, “What have you done?” (Genesis 4:10).
There are lessons for us today from this question.
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Isaiah prophesied of a kingdom that was to come “in the last days” – the age that was ushered in following the coming of Christ into the world (cf. Hebrews 1:2). There are several keywords in this prophecy that we must understand if we are to appreciate what the passage teaches.
“Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all nations will stream to it.
“And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
“And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war” (Isaiah 2:2-4).
Let us briefly consider each of these key terms:
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In the first psalm, we read of a sharp contrast between the righteous and the wicked. As we strive to be righteous and avoid wickedness, let us briefly consider the words of the psalmist.
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The Preterist View, also called Realized Eschatology or the A.D. 70 Doctrine, is an error that seems to resurface every so often. The doctrine states that the Second Coming of Christ, the final judgment, and the end of the world occurred in A.D. 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem at the hand of the Romans.
Max King essentially wrote the book on this doctrine, making the case for it in his 1971 book, The Spirit of Prophecy. Bill Reeves wrote a series of articles answering King’s arguments and demonstrating from the Scriptures the truth about the end times.
If you come across the doctrine today, the arguments made by its proponents will likely be essentially the same arguments made by King in his book. So if you are looking for material to help answer this issue, the articles by Brother Reeves should be useful.
This series of articles, The Preterist View Heresy by Bill Reeves, is available on the website of the Parkway church of Christ.
After rebuking his audience for their lack of spiritual growth, the Hebrew writer told them they needed to leave the elementary teachings – those things that made up the foundation of their faith – and press on to maturity (Hebrews 6:1). Included in this foundation was the “instruction about washings” or the “doctrine of baptisms” (Hebrews 6:2).
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What does “propitiation” mean? How is “justification” connected to salvation? What does “sanctification” look like in our day-to-day lives? The Bible uses some powerful words to describe God’s plan to save mankind. However, these words are not always easy to understand, especially when they are not part of our everyday vocabulary. This book explores key Bible terms that unlock the message of the gospel.
Big Words in the Bible examines five important words – Propitiation, Reconciliation, Sanctification, Justification, and Resurrection – using plain language to see how the Scriptures describe these concepts and how the apostle Paul employs them in his letter to the Romans. This book also contains an appendix with eleven additional articles to explore these topics further.
Whether you are new to the Bible and want to grow in your understanding or want a simple way to explain these core gospel doctrines to others, this book will be helpful. With a focus on the Scriptures, Big Words in the Bible helps break down these fundamental topics to shed light on the life-changing message of the gospel and the salvation found in it.
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