In the Bible we read that the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). There is a cost that comes when we sin, but what is sin? Why is its wages death? Why do we own this cost and to whom?
To answer these questions we have to go back to the beginning of mankind’s existence, and we have to know who we ourselves are.
Genesis 1:27-30 “…God created man in His own image…male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food…”
Two things we need to recognize within this passage that impact the way we view our understanding of life, our rights, God’s rights, and our sin.
God is the creator of mankind. (God is Creator. Mankind is the created.)
God has All-Authority and is the One Who gives mankind authority over “every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Another very relevant details to note in this passage is that God is establishing with man that He has and will provided mankind with what is needs to survive on earth. From the very beginning mankind was dependent upon the rest of God’s creation.
In Genesis 2:15-17 “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”
Life has been created, and God has given mankind a paradise full of everything he needs to live, and then God places one limitation, (not two hundred, not twenty, not even two) just one limitation to mankind’s freedom, mankind’s dominion. Of this one tree you shall not eat. (Basically, if I give you this one limitation, will you obey Me?)
Now what’s even more interesting about this is, this one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, is not the only exceptional tree in the Garden of Eden.
Gen 2:8-9 “The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
The tree of life was sitting there, available for mankind to eat.
Mankind could have taken from the tree of life, eaten, and lived forever. (Gen 3:22)
Yet mankind chose to instead disobey God’s one command, take hold of the one thing forbidden, rebel against God’s Authority, doubt God’s truthfulness, and seek godhood for themselves.
Because of this disobedience, this rebellion, this doubt of God, this seeking of their own godhood, this sin, mankind faces the immediate truth of God’s words.
Genesis 3:6 “…she took of its fruit and ate…and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God… and Adam and his wife hid themselves…Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked…”
God warned them of the consequence to eating of the tree of the knowledge of good an evil saying, “…in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Gen 2:16-17
The moment they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they, the people they were before they ate, were affectively gone forever. Their innocence died. Their purity died. Their unmarred relationships died. Their shame-free existence died. Their unity in heart and soul with God died. (Psychological Death)
But the consequences didn’t end there.
They were filled with the knowledge of good and evil, but unlike God they could not stay pure within this knowledge (James 1:13 “…for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.…”) Unlike God, mankind can be tempted by evil. Immediately the knowledge of evil caused Adam and Eve some very unpleasant realizations: like knowing they were naked. They knew they couldn’t remain this way. They cover themselves, and they hide from God. (Spiritual Death)
No longer were they pure of heart. No longer could they interact with God without fear and shame. No longer were they free. They knew they had done wrong. They knew they had disobeyed the Creator, the Authority, the One who gave them everything they have. And they knew there was an additional cost to what they have done because they knew He had spoke truthfully. (Relational Death)
Their opportunity to eat from the tree of life was removed. (Gen 3:22-23) (Eternal Death)
They are then also, on that day, subject to a future death on earth. God said, “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life…till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Gen 3:17-19 (Physical Death)
Without the knowledge of good and evil, without accessing sin, mankind could have lived well on the earth, but the moment mankind had the knowledge of good and evil was the moment we became not just capable of, but bound to, destroy ourselves, and the earth along with us.
This is what God says by the time of Noah. Gen 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Gen 6:11-12 “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”
This is what happens when mankind accesses evil. We become wicked, corrupted, and filled with violence. We are not like God. The moment Adam took and ate of that fruit is the moment mankind became slaves to sin. Rebelling against God was always a possibility, but in following sin, in giving into its temptation, in desiring more than what we were meant to grasp, we become subject to death as a just punishment for the rebellion and ruin we cause.
We were not meant to be God. We were designed to worship and follow God who made us. We cannot rule the earth, rather we are stuck following something or someone else. Therefore which will we obey: Evil or God and His goodness. (See, sin has such a nondescript, sort of, accidental sound to it. On the other hand, it’s not so easy to make excuses for evil.)
Rom 6:16 “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”
The earth was good. God made it good. (Gen 1:31 “…indeed it was very good.”) All good comes from God. (John 1:2 “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”) The goodness of earth was unmarred until the moment mankind obeyed evil.
What is sin? Sin is mankind choosing what he/she pleases over what God commanded. Sin is mankind rejecting God authority and making self into god. Sin is mankind believing he/she has the ability to be god. Sin is mankind forgetting he/she is the created and God is the Creator.
Why does sin cost us? Because God is God, and He is a jealous God who does not lie. (Exo 20:5, Num 23:19)
Challenge: Do you have the right to say God doesn’t have the right to judge you for your disobedience? Your judgment is death. Do you have the ability to refuse to pay?
When the rocks speak 