October 1, 2026
Our society today seems to almost rival that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Thank God for what remains of the “Bible belt.” However, our problem with sin is not limited to our society. It is also personal.
Sin became a problem with our first parents in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve, the first people on earth, both sinned against their Creator. We call this first sin the “fall” because it represents the tragic change in the world when the first people decided they could determine their own course of action.
Adam and Eve “had it made.” They lived in a perfect environment with everything they needed supplied by God. They, at first, enjoyed fellowship with their Creator. But, alas, Satan was on the earth too, and he has always hated God and all things God created. God had provided man everything, with only one restriction. They were not to eat or touch the tree in the middle of the garden, called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was a test of man’s loyalty and obedience. And man failed the test.
D.A. Carson (Christ and Culture Revisited) said, “The heart of all this evil is idolatry itself. Idolatry dethrones God, Who is the most offended party.” Theologian authors, Driscoll and Breshears (Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe), stated, “As a result of the fall, the descent into sin has continued unabated ever since. Respect for authority was replaced by rebellion. A clear conscience was replaced by guilt and shame. Blessing was replaced by physical, spiritual, and eternal punishment. Honesty was replaced with lying and deceit. Love was replaced by indifference and hatred.”
Sin includes omission and commission. It includes our thoughts, words, deeds, and motives. Sin is always idolatry, replacing God with something or someone else—most often it is oneself. Sins of commission are the things that too often we know are wrong but still do. Sins of omission include things we should do but fail to do. Sin can be deliberate or in ignorance, but all sin still grieves God.
We are all sinners by nature. We covet things and sometimes let God’s gifts take the place of God in our hearts. This is obvious idolatry, for anything that takes priority over the Lord God is idolatry, and this is one of the greatest of sins.
Many people seek the help of psychiatrists or psychologists, but mere behavioral change can never remedy the human condition. Every sinner needs a new heart and a new nature. This is what Christ provides in the process known as regeneration or new birth. It is then followed by sanctification, where God works to make the man or woman more Christ-like. And this process continues the rest of one’s earthly life.
Pastor and author J. C. Ryle said, “Sin pervades and runs through every part of our moral constitution and every faculty of our minds. Because of this, we all need the Holy Spirit, God's Word, and other believers to help us see truly and live wisely.” All this is provided when one attends church.
Sin is totally pervasive and even ubiquitous. No one is immune. No one is truly good, as the Bible makes clear. Man’s only hope is in the redemption provided by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul summed it up nicely in Ephesians 5:15-16. He declared, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” And because of the fall, they always have been and always will be until the Lord returns. As Christians, we must live in this evil world but try our best to remain unspotted by it.
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Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
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