Sin (Friday, 9/3)
September 2nd, 2010 by pastorjoeToday’s reading: Romans 5:12-21
Allow me to warn you in advance that this is a difficult passage to read. Take your time and try to absorb what it is saying. Try not to bring your assumptions to the passage, but really try to “hear” it anew.
In the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon to the right (click it to see it full size), Calvin asks Hobbes a poignant questions, “Do you think human nature is good or evil?” How would you answer that question? You may have a thought as we’ve been exploring that question all week. Are we good, as originally created by God in Genesis 1? Or are we evil because of the sin of Adam in Genesis 3? Are we trying to press on toward something that we are not? Or are we striving to be the thing we were originally created to be?
In Romans 5 we read about two men: Adam, through whom sin entered the world; and Jesus, through whom grace/righteousness/justification/forgiveness entered the world. As you read this, how do you understand it? How does it work itself out for you?
What do you think of the doctrine of “original sin” (read about it on Wikipedia here)? It is helpful? Is it Scriptural? Is it accurate?
When we talked about the sin of Adam and Eve earlier this week, we noted that in many ways their story is archetypal. If that is the case, how are you and I each our own “Adam” in this Romans 5 passage? How are we responsible for our own struggles?
Certainly God offered forgiveness long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. There were rituals in the Hebrew faith of the Old Testament that brought one forgiveness for their sins. So when Paul says that it is through Jesus that forgiveness came into the world, what is he saying?
Notice how Romans 5 over and over tells us that Jesus gives “life.” In what ways is Jesus giving you life? How can you celebrate it today?
How can you today take a step toward becoming restored to the person that God originally intended you to be? How can we, as the human race, become restored to the original idea God has for us when we were created? Is there hope for us this side of heaven? Or are we just called to persevere until Jesus returns?
In the paragraphs preceding today’s reading, Paul is telling the Philippians about his own journey of faith and the sacrifices he has made on behalf of Christ. So as not to give the impression that he thinks highly of himself and his spiritual “status,” he then writes about where he is and where he is going using the imagery of a sporting event, namely a race.
We are again reading from Genesis, the very first book of the Bible. There are many conversations around this passage that are less than helpful, but this story has much to teach us. You may know this story well. Read it today anyway. Try a different translation. That sometimes helps. Don’t skim or just refresh your knowledge. Read it and see if God has something new to show you in it.
Today’s reading is from one of the very first book of the Bible. It is a passage that we spend so much time arguing about that I believe we miss the real point of what it is trying to teach us. Try to get beyond the contemporary arguments about Creation vs. Evolution, and read this passage as you would any other portion of Scripture. Listen for God speaking in it. What is the passage trying to teach us about our everyday living and not just about the origins of the world?
Lest we forget, we are reading the first 4 chapters of 1 Corinthians this week as a sustained argument by the Apostle Paul encouraging the church in Corinth to learn to not allow the members’ differences separate them. He is encouraging them because they “must get along with each other” (1 Corinthians 1:10, Msg). Note that 5:1 begins with “I also received a report…” marking that Paul is moving on to a new topic.

Remember the opening of yesterday? Paul was telling the Corinthian church how much he loved them, thanked God for them, and how blessed they were by God. The next thing out of his mouth, is calling them out about a “serious concern.” Have you ever had a friend call you out on a mistake you are making? Have you ever needed someone to be painfully honest with you? Have you ever felt called to share a painful truth with a friend? Did you do it? Why or why not? When are you a better friend for having the “tough talk” and when is avoiding for the sake of the other’s feelings actually less friendly?
It is easy to forget that much of the New Testament, including 1 Corinthians, was actually written as letters to very real churches almost 2,000 years ago. They were originally read to the congregation when the church gathered, most likely for worship. As you read this week, imagine you are sitting in that church hearing these words for the very first time.