Brian Onstead

When was the last time you heard the word “sin”? Perhaps in a church service you attended a long time ago? 

Perhaps by your grandparents or parents if you are of an older generation? Maybe by a religious relative or friend? Even if you are a “religious person” who attends church, you probably don’t hear the word that often. The more common words are mistake, regret, broken or if things are really bad, “that’s messed up!” The word “sin” has become absent from our common vocabulary and replaced with words that are less condemning or serious. And when the word is used, it is usually in the context of forgiveness: “Jesus died to pay for sins.” But in this kind of context, is sin really that big of a deal? If sin is not really that big of a deal, then how big of a deal is it that Jesus died to pay for my sins? 

I think it is important to take a step back and face the uncomfortable reality of how big of a deal sin really is in the sight of God before we can marvel and take comfort in Christ’s payment for sin. God says in Ezekiel 18:20, “The soul who sins shall die.”

Notice that he does not say the soul who sins “a lot” or the soul who sins “very badly” shall die. Rather, there are no qualifications here. It is simply the soul who sins, even one sin, shall die. This is clear from what happened in the garden with Adam and Eve. God told Adam that the day he ate from a certain tree he would die. One sin would bring the death sentence. And even though Adam did not immediately drop dead, he began the process of dying, of returning to the ground. We refer to this as “aging,” but it is a slow process of dying. This is why we have the phrase “over the hill” or “it’s all downhill from here.” But more than this, Adam died spiritually on that day. He was expelled from the presence of the living God for whom we were made. 

Furthermore, this same fate is experienced by all of us. It was Adam’s one sin that brought death into the entire world, as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:12. Do you know why we experience death, sickness, pain, sorrow and tragedy in this life? It is because of one sin: Adam eating from the tree he was told not to eat from. One sin, one act of disobeying God is all it took for the whole world to experience death and the curse. If this seems unfair or extreme to you, that’s because sin is not seen for what it is — a serious treason against the God for whom we were created to worship and honor. And sin’s final punishment is the second death, which is an eternity of torment in hell where there is no relief! This is how big of a deal sin is! 

However, this reveals how big of a deal our savior is! God’s son became a man (without ceasing to be God). He went to the cross to suffer in the worst way possible. He was tortured by way of crucifixion. But the greatest torment he faced was the unseen torment in his soul when the wrath of God— hell, the second death — was experienced by him on the cross. Jesus suffered all of this in order to pay for sins in full for all those who would believe in him. And God accepted Jesus’s payment for sin by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand. This is how big of a deal sin is in that God would have his son tormented to pay for it! But this is how big a deal his love is in that he would face this for us that we may be forgiven! If you want his forgiveness, all you have to do is call out to God for this forgiveness, trusting that Christ’s payment on the cross is your full payment for sin. It is a free gift to all who ask!    

(Brian Onstead is the pastor at Trinity Bible Church in Powell.)