THE DILEMMA
ROMANS 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God".
What is sin? Sin is defined as follows;
1. TRANSGRESSION - an overstepping of the law, the divine boundary between Good and evil.
ROMANS 2:23 "Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God.
2. INIQUITY - an act inherently wrong, whether expressly
forbidden or not.
ROMANS 1:21-23 "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image, made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things".
Through general revelation man is conscious of God's existence and divine nature and it is his chief duty to honour Him, acknowledge His attributes, praise Him for his perfections, recognize His glory and extol Him for it.
Failing to give God glory is man's greatest offense to his creator. Man's search for meaning and purpose has only produce vain, meaningless conclusions and is living in the darkness of spiritual falsehood for rejecting the truth.
JOHN 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil".
3. ERROR - a departure from right.
ROMANS 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness".
The expression "hold the truth in unrighteousness" does not mean that man possesses the truth; in contrast he has simply failed to put it into practice and that Ungodly men attempt to restrain the truth through unrighteousness.
4. MISSING THE MARK - a failure to
meet the divine standards.
The divine standard is that man be reconciled to God, and
restored to a right relationship with him through Jesus Christ.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:19 "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
God the Father was in Christ
JOHN 17:21 "That they all may be one; as thou, father, art in me..."
God the Holy Spirit was also His in full measure.
JOHN 3:34 "For God giveth not the spirit by measure unto him".
"For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell". (Colossians 1:19). For this reason "God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself"
The word reconcile in Greek is katallazo, and it means to change completely. Therefore by the death of Christ the relationship between God and the world was changed completely;The barrier that existed because of sin was judicially taken away, enabling God to show mercy where judgment was deserved.
God initiated the change in the sinner's status in that he brings him from a position of alienation to a state of forgiveness and right relationship with himself.
The intrisinic value of Christ's reconciling death is immeasurable and the offer is limitless. However actual atonement was made only for those who believe. Failure to believe is equal to sin, i.e. missing the mark and thus leads to condemnation.
JOHN 3:18 ....but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten son of God.
5. TRESPASS - the intrusion of self -will into the sphere of
divine authority.
6. LAWLESSNESS, or spiritual anarchy.
7. UNBELIEF - an insult to divine veracity.
JOHN 8:24 "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins".
Though all men are depraved, as well as cursed by their violation of God's law and sinful by nature, what ultimately damns them to hell is their unwillingness to believe in Jesus as savior, messiah and son of God.