Bulletin Articles
Sin and God’s Glory
The problem of sin is sometimes difficult to assess because of our perspective. We see what we consider to be a “small” sin, then react strongly when the punishment does not seem to fit the crime. Because we tend to minimize the sin, we may under-appreciate the consequences. Some will then think badly of God for being too harsh over matters that seem insignificant to us. This is our problem, not God’s, for we do not see what God sees.
Think about how we might frame certain actions in contrast to the consequences. For example, “Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden just for eating a piece of fruit.” Thought of that way, it seems like a severe punishment for such a small infraction. Perspective makes all the difference. It wasn’t really about the fruit. Eating the fruit was the symptom of a much greater problem, and if we don’t understand that, we will never appreciate why God had to punish sin in the first place. The spin we put on sin will be reflected in not only what we think of sin, but what we think of God, against whom all sin is committed.
When the serpent presented the temptation, he said, in contradiction to God, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5). The essence of this is to say that you don’t need God telling you what to do. You can decide for yourself what’s right and wrong. You can be your own god! This has been the great lie ever since. God is slandered, sin is minimized, and we get to do what we want.
Connect this with the point Paul made in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The glory of God is directly tied to the problem of sin, for when we sin, we are essentially seeking to steal the glory of God for ourselves. We are trying to dethrone God and sit on that throne as our own rulers. Sin, then, is a violation of the glory and nature of God. It’s not about the fruit; it’s about the desire to divest ourselves of God’s rule and become our own gods. We become self-idolaters, then wonder why God had to deal with it as He did.
These two inter-related issues need to be repeated and stressed in our thinking. This will help us to appreciate both why sin is a problem and why God had to deal with it so severely. Most importantly, we need to be reflecting more on God’s glory.
1. The nature of sin is greater than we realize. Sin is a violation of God’s nature. It is not breaking an arbitrary rule, but is, at the heart, an attack on the character of God. The psalmist said, “Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge” (Psa 51:4).
2. The glory of God is far greater than we can grasp. God’s glory is the overarching theme of Scripture, for all things are done “to the praise of His glory” (Eph 1:3-14). Once we see the relationship of sin to the glory of God, we can begin to appreciate God’s response to it. He is, indeed, blameless when He judges.
Bear in mind that life and light flow from God. Speaking of Jesus, John writes, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5). John also writes of God, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Sin is darkness, so we cannot expect to be in the blessing of light when we give ourselves to sin.
In Him is also life, which means that when we choose sin, we are rejecting life, and death is the inevitable consequence. The reason sin brings death is, again, not arbitrary, but is grounded in the rejection of the God of life. Life and light are integral to God’s glory, so violating this leads to death and darkness.
Recall that when Isaiah saw the vision of God’s glory (Isa 6), Isaiah was overwhelmed and knew that he and those around him were ruined by sin. However, one of the seraphim from around God’s throne took a burning coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven” (v. 7). Then Isaiah was ready to serve.
The beauty of the gospel is that while sin truly is horrible and God’s glory so grand, God offers grace to forgive our sins through Jesus Christ. The amazement here is not in God punishing sin, which He has every right to do, but in God’s offer of salvation through the suffering and death of the Son.
