The Consequence Of Sin
In the Book of Romans, the Apostle Paul writes about the consequences of sin. He points out that even though we know about God, and we know what He is like, we don't worship Him like we should.
In Romans 1:25, Paul says that we "Exchanged the truth of God for a lie". We do this by worshiping creation instead of the Creator.
In fact, says Paul, in blatant disregard for God's character and moral law we allow sin to run rampant among us and our sinful nature makes our world a mess around us. Paul lists a litany of sins that follow.
Romans 1:29-30
"...being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents..."
He goes on for a bit. The point that Paul is making is that we are sinners and we let sin get the best of us.
This brings up the big problem that we face in life. We are sinners and God is not. God is holy and we are not. Those two things - sin and holiness - do not mix. So, we find that we are separated from God and cannot get back to Him because of our sin.
We want to be with God and God wants us to be with Him. So how do we solve this dilemma of a holy God that cannot allow sin into his presence? The answer is Jesus. In 1:18, we read that "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.'"
Because of the faithful life that Jesus lived, and the fact that He died on the cross and shed His blood for our sins, we are able to take the righteousness of Christ and use that to stand before a holy God.
That righteousness is what has been revealed through Jesus. He offers us His righteousness and we can cleanse ourselves from our uncleanness before God. This is what the Gospel is all about: Becoming holy before God, even though we are sinful.
God's forgiveness is so amazing and startling that He makes all things new again - including us! This is how we live by faith. We believe in Jesus and we trust in His grace for us.
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”