Sin Equals Separation

It’s way too easy to look at the story of Adam and Eve and think that we would have made a better decision ... that if we had been in the garden and had been tempted to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we would have made a different choice.

Yet every single one of us has made the decision to sin at one time or another. Is that choice any different?

There are many verses in the Bible that prove this out – that all people are sinners. Romans 3:23 TLV says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 2 Chronicles 6:36a TLV states, “When they sin against You – for there is no man that does not sin ...” (See 1 Kings 8:46, for the same statement.) Ecclesiastes 7:20 TLV says, “Surely there is not a righteous person on earth who does what is good and doesn’t sin.” And, if after reading all these verses, you still think you do not sin, 1 John 1:8 TLV begs to differ, “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving (lying to) ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

The Bible makes it very clear that we are all sinners and in need of a redeemer.

In the garden, Adam and Eve walked with God and talked with Him every single day. They were in God’s very presence. Despite this, they still sinned, and because sin has consequences they were forced out of the Garden of Eden. When they left the garden, God no longer personally visited them on a daily basis.

Sin caused a separation from God – spiritually and physically. Their sin also led to death – spiritual and, eventually, physical. Before they sinned, they would have lived forever because they could eat from the Tree of Life. Without eating from the Tree of Life, they would eventually die.

Our sin separates us from God. God is so pure and so good that He cannot tolerate sin - it cannot be in His presence. This is why it separates us from Him.

But God’s intention was that we were to commune with Him in the garden. He wanted to be with us and have a relationship with us. Our sin separated us from Him. To fix this problem, God had already set a plan in place.

In the Tanakh (Old Testament), the cohanim (the priests) sacrificed animals for the sins of the people on the day of atonement and sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat. The sacrifice was made to remind the people of their guilt and to remind them that they deserved punishment – death. The forgiveness was only temporary, however, and it was only good for the people who were present. New sacrifices had to be made every year on the day of atonement for the previous year’s sins. The forgiveness did not extend to cover sins that would be committed in the future. That sacrifice only covered the sins of the people for the previous year.

When God issued His curse to Adam and Eve, He also prophesied a redeemer that would crush Satan and make it possible for things to be right again between the people and God.

Yeshua was the prophesied Messiah.

When Yeshua took on our sins, He took on all the sins that would ever be committed – past, present and future. Yeshua became the sacrificial lamb and His death paid the price for our sins. He willingly allowed himself to suffer and die on the cross for our sins. Yeshua did it for you and for me. Without His sacrifice, we would all be eternally separated from God. Because of His sacrifice, we have the opportunity to spend eternity with a God who loves us and wants to spend eternity with us, just as He had planned in the very beginning.

Although Yeshua died for the sins of every single person that would ever exist, not every single person would find forgiveness of their sins.

Forgiveness of sins is a gift. When you receive a present, you have to unwrap it to see what gift is inside the box. Until you unwrap it, it’s just a pretty box with a bow. The gift does not serve its intended purpose when it is hidden inside a pretty box. Until you open the present and take possession of the gift inside, it is useless.

The same is true of the gift of salvation. It has been given to you, but it requires action on your part to make it yours - you have to unwrap it. How do you unwrap the gift of salvation that God has given to you?

First, you must accept the fact that you are a sinner, separated from God. Then, you must be sorry for the sins you have committed ... not just say the words ... you must really feel it in your heart and be ready to repent. Without true repentance – being truly sorry – the package can’t be unwrapped. It is only then, when you have true repentance, that you can accept the gift that Yeshua has given to you. Then the present can be opened and you can have the gift that is inside ... eternal life.

Every sin that you have ever committed and ever will commit caused Yeshua a certain amount of pain before He died. Imagine the pain that just one sin caused Him, then multiply that by all your sins, and all the sins of all the people. His pain was more than one person could bear. He knew the pain was going to be very difficult to endure, but He did it anyway.

The stress Yeshua felt when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing what He would suffer and knowing that the Father would turn His face from Him, was almost more than He could bear. It was so great that He sweat blood. Yeshua prayed that He would not have to endure the suffering, adding that if it was the Father’s will, He would do it. And, He did. He did it for you and for me.

And, that when you consider doing something that’s a sin, you’re actually also thinking about doing something that would have caused more suffering for Yeshua? The next time you’re thinking about committing a sin, ask yourself this question, "Do I want to be responsible for more of Yeshua’s suffering? Is it worth it?"

Heavenly Father, I don’t want to be separated from you. Reveal my sins to me so that I can repent of them and be in right-standing with you. Yeshua, I am sorry for my sins and the pain you suffered because of them. I pray that I make the right choices in the future so that I am not responsible for any more of your pain. Thank you for dying for my sins and making it possible for me to spend eternity with you.

If you enjoyed this devotional and want to read more, click here.

I use the name, Yeshua, because that is the name my congregation uses. You may better know Him as Jesus.

Blessings,

Cindy