| “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” |
| —1 John 3:8 |
When we talk about “original sin,” we always think of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and their disobedience against God’s one and only command. I’ve written about that encounter frequently on this blog because it is often greatly misunderstood. Nevertheless, the first human sinners were Adam and Eve. And, their sin has passed down to each of us, thrugh our parents, upon our birth.
But the real “first sinner” in history, the one who set disobedience into motion by rebelling against God, was not a human. No, it was an angel named Lucifer—the one we know today as Satan, or the Devil, or the Evil One. He was the real first sinner (see Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 and please click here for more explanation). The Apostle John gives this report in 1 John 3:8:
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
From this passage of Scripture, we learn that the work of the devil is to destroy humankind through sin. In fact, it’s to destroy humankind through their own sin—the sin they inherited from Adam and Eve, and the sin they have committed all on their own. But, the blessed work of Jesus is to destroy the devil’s work. Jesus has already done this by bearing the price of our sins on the cross. In unwavering obedience to His Father, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. Then, He rose from the dead to conquer the eternally sealing power of death.
When we purposely sin, we act as if Christ’s work was in vain. We temporarily take the devil’s side in this great spiritual battle. Even though we will be stained by the sin curse until we die and pass on to our eternal life, at which point we will become glorified (Romans 8:29-30), with the help of the in-dwelling Holy Spirit, we can obediently work at putting away the besetting sins that plague our lives.
When tempted to lie, we can tell the truth. When tempted to covet, we can rejoice that others have something we do not have. When tempted to gossip, we can hold our tongues. When tempted to react in anger, we can react with kindness. When tempted to lust, we can mentally turn our backs on that lust. When tempted to … Well, we can insert our particular sin here and we can also insert the opposite of that sin because we know what that is, as well.
Struggling against sin takes spiritual discipline. It’s hard work. But, it’s good work. It’s worthwhile work. It’s challenging work. It’s work that pleases the God who loves us. With the enabling of the Holy Spirit, it’s work we can determine to tackle, as this new day begins.
Based on a blog originally posted on Thursday, June 7, 2018
