Romans 8:3 … God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh.
Romans 7:16-21 But if what I do not will, this I do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not. 19 For I do not do the good which I will; but the evil which I do not will, this I practice. 20 But if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then the law with me who wills to do the good, that is, the evil is present with me.
Matthew 16:23 But He, [the Lord Jesus], turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.
Download the MP3 of this post or play it below.
Fellowship to help us know Christ and pursue Him
We already saw that Christ’s death took care of the problem of sins, plural, but now we see that the Bible also says that His death dealt with sin, singular. An objective problem and a subjective problem. Sin is not merely objective, outside of us; it is also subjective, within us – in our flesh. Outwardly we have sins, which are offenses, trespasses, and transgressions. Inwardly, still, we have the basic problem of sin. Praise the Lord that Christ’s all-inclusive death has not only solved the problem of our sins, but has also judged and condemned the source of our sins, that is, sin!
So, what is sin? According to the passage in Romans 7, we can see that sin is actually the sinful nature of Satan. Satan is the source of sin. Sin is Satan’s invention, and Satan himself is the element of sin. Let’s briefly look at what happened with Adam and Eve. At the time of man’s fall, Satan’s sinful nature was injected into mankind. This means that when man ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he took into him the sinful nature of Satan.
Actually, in the sight of God, sin is Satan. Can you see this from the verses in Romans and Matthew?