Sin is a loaded word. For those outside the faith, it’s a funny and dated religious term. For Christians, we repeat it so often that it loses its bite. Scripture reveals that sin is worse than we know. Jesus is so serious about it that he says, “If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out.” What is it about sin that’s so fatal it would require Jesus to go to the cross?
This Lent we do a soul examination, studying all the ways God describes the complex of sin. Lawlessness, adultery, rebellion . . . The cancerous nature of sin means that we need to go deeper than surface confession. The problem is worse than we know, which makes our Savior greater than we can imagine.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, stay with me. There is evil within me, and I am so often attentive to it. I am easily overcome by my own desire to get away from you and be free to have everything I want and to do everything I want. Lord, give me the real freedom of your life in me. By your victory over temptation, make me victorious. By the power of your love make me strong. Amen. (from The Lutheran Book of Prayer, CPH, 1970)
Word
Genesis 3:1
“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’”
Meditation: Rebels Made Righteous By Julianna Shults
I wouldn’t call myself rebellious. I’m more a first-born, type A, direction follower. I might bend a rule here and there, but the thought of breaking them outright makes me a little nauseous. I’m the first to hesitate when my friends might be breaking the rules. I do what’s expected and I listen to authority. What would I know about sin as rebellion?
Perhaps more than I think. When I really want to, I can see all the little ways I rebel and sin against God’s best for me. God desires to spend time with me in His Word and prayer, but often I choose time on Netflix and Instagram. I speed. I hold on to my anger, especially when I feel justified, rather than loving my neighbor. I swear. I fail to listen and go my own way.
Calling sin rebellion might make us think of mutinies, felons, angry teens, and unruly toddlers. But even the smallest rebellion is sin. Even a small rebellion can break our relationships with God and with other people. Even small rebellion can have big consequences.
In Genesis, the serpent starts out his deception of Adam and Eve by making rebellion seem so benign. “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” He encourages Adam and Eve to doubt God’s authority. It is so much easier to rebel when you are unsure of the authority over you. Then he stretches the truth, just to make them doubt God’s good gifts to them. God gave them the gift of every other tree in the garden, but for just a second, the serpent suggests God isn’t out for their best good.
Once the serpent had shaken the authority of God, Eve and Adam were swayed by just how good that fruit looked and what it offered them. They weren’t rebels. It was just one small bite while no one was looking. After all, one broken rule couldn’t be so bad. These perfect humans who were once able to walk with God in the cool of the day suddenly found themselves naked and hiding. Their rebellion broke their relationship with God and that brokenness affects us and the world today.
We all should own that title of rebellious a little more than we like. We have all fallen and rebelled more than we like to admit. Yet, Jesus came down to earth and lived a sinless, obedient life, even to death on the cross for us. His death forgives repentant rebels and makes them righteous.
Heavenly Father, help us to see our rebellious ways with new eyes. Forgive us and make us right again through Jesus. Help us not to listen to voices that would sway us from your authority and attract us to sin. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.