Only Solution Greatest Problem Tract 25p

THE DEFINITION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SIN

The definition of sin is simple: “sin is lawlessness”
(1 John 3:4). Practicing sin is living as if there were no God and no law. It is arrogantly living on one’s own terms, not being bound by God’s standards. Sin is not only open disregard of God’s Law, but also a defiling or polluting of the divine standard. Sin makes a person’s soul stained with guilt and unrighteousness.

Sin is rebellion against God. Scripture describes those who rebel as people who walk contrary to God and defy Him (Leviticus 26:27). If sinners had their way, they would go as far as overthrowing God, which is what Satan attempted to do (Isaiah 14:12–21).

THE EXTENT OF SIN

The book of Romans clearly states that sin’s extent is universal: “‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one’” (Romans 3:10–12).

When we enter this world, we are already sinners. Sin is in our natures, woven into the fabric of our lives. That’s because we are all descendants of Adam, and as such, we all bear his corruption.

As if it weren’t bad enough that humanity’s fall into sin subjected the whole creation to many miseries and hardships (Genesis 3:8–24; Romans 8:18–22), the most devastating result of sin is that it has the power to condemn the soul to eternal punishment and separation from God in hell.

With sin, humanity has a horrible, pervasive, incurable spiritual disease that cannot be defeated by human means (Jeremiah 13:23). Men and women in their own strength cannot cure the sin that is within them because their minds and consciences are defiled and depraved. There is simply no human remedy for the problem of sin. It will not be cured by any acts
of human will, any programs of moral reformation or educational renewal, no pieces of legislation, no efforts of man-made counseling and consultation, nor any deeds of self-righteousness.

GOOD NEWS: THE SOLUTION

But if humans can’t cure themselves of sin, what can they do about it? The answer is found in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The apostle Paul expresses two absolute truths in that verse. First, he reminds us that spiritual death results from sin. It is the rightful destiny of every life that is lived apart from God. Second, the verse tells in one concise statement the remedy for sin’s effects— salvation freely granted through Jesus Christ. Paul writes in the book of Ephesians: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Jesus was not just an ordinary person, prophet, or Jewish scholar. He was the perfect, sinless Son of God—God incarnate. Jesus was the only one who could take our place on the cross, and he died the death that we deserve for our rebellion against God. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, those who repent of their sin and trust in Him alone for salvation receive the good news: Their sins are forever washed away, and they are adopted into God’s family as beloved children.

The darkness of sin is no match against the light of Jesus Christ and the good news of salvation that He offers. Turn and repent of your sinful rebellion against God today, and receive new life and the promise of eternity with our loving Savior.