The word
"sin" has come to be taken altogether too casually and used with
little depth of thought or concern. It is assumed that everyone fully
understands what sin is, but the evidence belies the assumption. The fact is that
sin's true nature is not understood, or else people in general simply do not
care. Some clear definitions are needed if we would grasp Paul's meaning of sin
becoming exceeding sinful:
(1) SIN: It is
variously defined: (a) Sin is transgression; an overstepping of God's will and
Word; (b) Sin is any lack of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of
God; (c) Sin is a state of man's being that separates him from a holy God; and
(d) Sin is anything in man which does not express, or which is contrary to, the
holy character of the Creator.
These are all valid
definitions; but simply and ultimately, (e) Sin is disobedience to God. It was
so in Eden, and it remains so today. Disobedience is not doing what God says to
do, or doing what He has said not to do.
(2) EXCEEDING: It
means to go beyond what is warranted by a set limit or measure. To disobey at
all is sin, but to sin knowingly and willfully is to make that sin exceeding
sinful." A.T. Robinson has said, "The excesses of sin reveal its real
nature. Only then do some people get their eyes opened." In its true
nature, it is destructive unto death (Rom. 6:23). But the spiritually blind
fail to see its ultimate sinfulness.
Our late Twentieth
Century's relaxed interpretation of sin has resulted in a general unconcern
for its "awfulness"-its exceeding sinfulness in the sight of God.
Hopefully, our study of the subject will help restore the proper concern in the
fear of God.
He that committeth sin is of the devil for the
devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of
God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
Revelation 5:11
11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of
many angels round about the throne and
the beasts (Living creatures) and the elders:
and the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thou-sands
of thousands.
Ezekiel 28:12-15, 17
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the
king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the
sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;
every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the
beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle,
and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee
in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that
covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou
hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day
that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy
beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast
thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
I. GOD'S HOLY ANGELS
(REV.5:11; EZEK.28:1-15A)
A. Myriad of Angels
(Rev.5:11): Since the overall context of this lesson begins in heaven, we must
begin with references to the angels of God who inhabit heaven. Since
"angels" is a subject all its own, comment here must be brief.
Scriptural references to angels are said to be found in nearly 300 places, but
as a rule, specifics are somewhat veiled. Therefore, we Before creation began,
there was only the Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Apparently, the angels
were God's first creation, by His Son. In one of Paul's exaltations of Jesus
Christ, he says: "Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the
first born of every creature [the One by whom all creatures were created]; For
by him were all things created, that are in heaven [angels], and that are in
earth [man and all earthly creatures], visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created
by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist
[cohere; hold together]" (Col. 1:15-17). The word "angel" means
"messenger." God's holy angels are His holy messengers. It appears
that there is an orderly ranking of angels in terms of glory and authority:
Archangels, angels, seraphim, cherubim, principalities, powers, thrones, and
dominions (Col. 1:16; Rom. 8:38). Michael is "the archangel" (Jude
9; Dan. 12:1; Rev. 12:7; 1 Thess. 4:16). The prefix "arch" means
chief, or highest in rank. The name "Michael" means "who is like
unto the Lord." Gabriel seems next in rank, his name meaning "God's
hero," or "the mighty one." (See Daniel 8:16; 9:21 and Luke
1:10,26.)
It is clear that God
uses hosts of angels at His will. For example, our text verse above (Rev. 5:11)
shows that numberless angels exalt the Lamb of God. Jesus Himself, while He was
on earth, said with reference to His return, "when the Son of man shall
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the
throne of his glory" (Matt.25:31). It seems possible that the Church is
surrounded by "an innumerable company of angels" (Heb. 12:22).
Isaiah 14:12-15
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst
weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the
clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to
the sides of the pit.
Ezekiel 28:12-15, 17
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the
king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the
sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;
every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the
beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle,
and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee
in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that
covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou
hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day
that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy
beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast
thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
B. Lucifer (Isa.14:12a; Ezek. 28:12b-15a):
This character is abruptly introduced as "son of the morning,"
evidently an angel in heaven possibly before the creation of man; certainly
from the time God created the angels. His name meant "light bearer,"
an angel of light. God's entire creation is hall marked by the statement,
"IT WAS GOOD." (See Genesis 1:4,10,12,18,21,25.) At the end of the
six-days creation, it is written: "And God saw everything that he had made
and behold, it was very good..." (Gen. 1:31).
So Lucifer was made
a good angel. In fact, it has been suggested that he might have been an (or
the) archangel at that time. God, through Isaiah, impersonates him in "the
king of Babylon" (Isa.14:4-17). Later, the Lord spoke through Ezekiel,
quite clearly referring to the same character in the person of "the king
of Tyrus" or "the prince of Tyrus" (Ezek. 28:1-19). We must note
that his attire is interesting, he has nine different types of precious and
semi-precious stones. This is similar to what the high priest wears only his breastplate
was made of twelve stones. Moreover, it must be observed that he was equipped
with harps (strings), pipes (woodwind), and tabrets (percussion) instruments.
He only lacked brass in a modern orchestra. Possibly this denotes that Lucifer
was a one who lead others in worship to God. In addition, noticing the
limitations would also provide the Christian with some understanding of their opponent
and his weaknesses. The Christian’s high priest has all the stones (12) and has
reserved the sound of the trumpet as an emblem of his voice (Isa 58:1, Rev
1:10-11).
C. Lucifer's
Original Dominion (Ezek. 28:13, 14): The specifics are open for conjecture, but
there is no doubt that Lucifer's rank was very high. In fact, reputable
commentators suggest that he was probably the ruling prince of the universe,
under God, of course. His description as given by Ezekiel is largely
figurative, as is typical of many prophecies. It is certain, however, that
neither the literal king of Babylon nor the king of Tyrus could have attained
to so celestial a standard.
Jude 6
6 And the angels which kept not their first
estate (heaven), but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
II. FROM LUCIFER TO SATAN (EZEK.28:15b-17;
Isa.14:12b-15; JUDE 6)
A. The Author and Origin of Sin
(Ezek.28:15b-17): Lucifer is the first on record to rebel against God, who had
anointed him for his high rank-"the anointed cherub that covereth."
There was no one to tempt him. He exalted himself by his own free will. He was
perfect in his ways until iniquity (lawlessness) was found in him. Pride in his
beauty and his wisdom, and covetousness to fill the place of God, the only One
higher than himself, caused him to lift himself up. His five “I wills"
worked his fall (Isa.14:13,14). His sentence from the mouth of God, "Thou
shalt be brought down to hell" (Isa.14:12-15, with Ezek.28:16-19), was
countered by rebellion and vengeance. It appears that he immediately began to
rally sympathizers, resulting in insurrection and war in heaven. Lucifer,
"Son of the morning," had become Satan, adversary of God; "the
great dragon...that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan" (Rev.12:9).
The angels which allied themselves with Satan deliberately left their place in
heaven and they are now in "chains" of bondage to their master; and
there is no hope of release. They must do his bidding. It is obvious that sin originated in heaven and that God had no part in
bringing it about. But He had the power to cast it out, with its author;
and He did.
B. Satan's Present
Dominion (Isa.14:12, with John 12:31 and Eph 2:2): There is debate about John's
witness of "war in heaven" (Rev.12:7); whether his vision was in
retrospect to the time mentioned above, or an event yet in the future. It is
reasoned that Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven as their abode, but
that Satan still has access into the presence of God, as in the case of Job
(Job1:1-12 and 1:8). He is designated as "the accuser of the
brethren" (Rev.12:10), who will finally be cast down to earth, possibly
sometime near or during the period of "the great tribulation." Be
that as it may, he unquestioningly has had access to mankind since the incident
in Eden.
Revelation 20:10
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet
are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
III. THE JUDGMENT OF SATAN (REV.20:10)
Satan was judged and
sentenced in part at the time of his fall; but his final judgment will be among
the last of God's acts on this present earthly scene. Armageddon will be more
than a thousand years in the past, with Satan imprisoned in the bottomless pit,
plus an unspecified period of release. He will continue as a deceiver in the
four quarters of the earth until fire comes down from heaven and devours his
followers. Then he himself will be cast into the eternal lake of fire and brimstone,
to be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
We can now begin to
understand how exceedingly sinful sin is when we note that it originated in a
fallen angel in heaven, in the face of, and in defiance of; the holy God who
made him and gave him the highest place in that holy realm, beneath the
Trinity, of course. From its beginning, sin has been flagrant disobedience to
God, rebellion against God' and unceasing defiance of God.
Who, may we ask,
would choose to align themselves with one who is doomed for hell and the lake
of fire? Who would choose to spurn the One who so loved the world that He
spared absolutely nothing to redeem it? Yet, this is the choice that is made
when we presume to liberalize sin and frustrate the grace of God!
As B. E. Warren
writes in his song "Sin Can Never Enter There",
"Heaven is a
holy place, filled with glory and with grace!
Sin can never enter
there!
All within its gates
are pure; from defilement kept secure;
Sin can never enter
there!
So, if at the
judgment bar sinful spots your soul shall mar,
You can never enter
there!"
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:
You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. May God through Christ bless you!
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If you have a prayer request or have questions that need clarification please contact me at: neverstoppraying8@gmail.com
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