Living a Life Worth Living – Writings by Robin McKinley
Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4). And rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). Sin had its beginning with Lucifer. Probably the most beautiful and powerful of the angels. Not content with his position, he desired to be higher than God. And that was his downfall, the beginning of sin (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Renamed Satan, he brought sinning to the human race in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Adam and Eve with the same enticement, “you shall be like God.” Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God and against His command.
Since that time, it has been passed down through all the generations of mankind. And we, Adam’s descendants, have inherited it from him. Romans 5:12 tells us that through Adam sinning entered the world, and so death was passed on to all men because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Several passages in the New Testament are frequently interpreted as referring to the unforgivable sin: Matthew 12:30-32: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, any sin and blasphemy can be forgiven. But blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
Many stories in the Bible cling to our minds because we learned them as children. One of the more popular ones is the story of when Jesus healed the paralyzed man. We remember this story because of the way his friends brought him to Jesus. But now as adults, we find this story is much … Read more
Is one sin more severe than another or are they all the same? That is a good question. Some say one is greater than another while others say sin is sin. God being holy, hates sin. He would rather that we avoid it and keep our eyes on Him. During the time of Moses God … Read more
In the New Testament, only two verses directly mention that we should confess our sins. James says that you must confess your sins to one another and then pray. The other verse is found in 1 John 1:9 which tells us to confess our sins to God. Confess your sins to each other and pray … Read more
In the New Testament, only two verses directly mention that we should confess our sins. Other similar verses exist but use words like profess, declare, and, repent. The verse we’ll talk about today is 1 John 1:9. The other verse was written by James in the 5th chapter of his epistle. But if we confess … Read more
The focus of this devotion is always difficult to write about. The reason? The subject is sin which people don’t want to talk about. But it goes even deeper and talks about unintentional sin. Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. This is how you are to deal with those who sin unintentionally … Read more
The word consequence means, a result or effect of an action or condition. When we think about sin the way God thinks about it, its consequence can only result in disaster. “– you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of … Read more
The forgiveness of our sins is very important. We can’t get to heaven without receiving forgiveness which comes through Jesus. Solomon in the Old Testament showed us the importance of the forgiveness of sins when he prayed for Israel. If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and … Read more
In the Old Testament, God’s law governed the conduct of the nation of Israel. The Israelites often broke those laws by sinning against the Lord. Therefore because of their continued rebellion, God often sent punishment their way. We see an example of that in Jeremiah. “When you tell the people all these things, they will … Read more
The Bible clearly indicates that idolatry is an abomination to God. The first two commandments God gave to Moses directly spoke to the subject of idols. You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or … Read more
Isaiah spoke of the destruction of the earth in chapter 24. Because of ramped up sinful lifestyles, God promised to devastate their land and scatter them. Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Isaiah 24:1 In … Read more