This disease of sin has taken over every cell in the human body and under the scrutiny of God it is clearly seen. But men are blind to it so the law came and like an MRI it revealed what men otherwise may not see.
All the Law did was reveal what was already there. For those without the law God granted conscience and it revealed what may not have otherwise been seen. But what they reveal are just symptoms of the greater problem.
If I sneeze it reveals something is irritating my sinuses. It might be an allergic reaction, or it might be the symptom of a head cold.
If it is a head cold and I treat it like an allergy I am unlikely to effectively see it cured, and vice versa.
So, if I am to effectively get it treated I must first understand what is the cause of the symptom I have experienced. How we approach the remedy determines the effect of any cure we seek.
If I come because I am only convinced I have told a few lies then my reason for seeking help is to mask a symptom. Masking the symptom does not heal the problem at it’s source.
If I think I need to exchange my lying garment for a truth one I still have on the wrong garment. The garment of salvation is designed to replace the sin nature garment of the old man.
This is why referring to the lost as sinners is not a racial, or derogatory term meant to insult another human being. The Bible refers to the human race as sinners because the whole human race is infected and the symptoms of the root cause vary from person to person. But the Bible concludes all are dead in sin.
Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
What set Jesus apart from all other men is that He had no earthly father, He was virgin born and thus the Son of God. This kept the nature of sin from clothing him from birth and this is why He is referred to as the second Adam. He faced temptation and resisted it. He refused the garment of sin.
Adam clothed us with sin and death but Christ came to clothe us with righteousness and eternal life through His obedience and sacrifice.
About The Author
- Tim Atchley
- Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- I currently serve as Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Knoxville, Tn. I was sent out from Trinity Chapel of Knoxville in 1993 accompanied by my wife Sheila our four children Sarah, Hannah, Josiah & Isaac and a handful of bold, brave and committed believers determined to plant our first church. Pioneering is hard work but well worth the journey. That is why we desire to make disciples of Christ who will, like us, also embrace the call to plant churches.
