Genesis: The Story of God's FaithfulnessSample

THE ROOT AND REMEDY OF SIN 

Listen to the audio guide to hear the complete devotional with Scripture, teaching and a worship song! Find a condensed, written version of this devotional below: 

How do you define sin? Some would say it’s doing the wrong thing or it’s hurting other people. But is sin deeper than a behavioral issue? Is there a common denominator among sins that gets to the core of what it really is?  The Bible says there is, and understanding the root of sin is necessary for spiritual growth. Behavioral modification is not the answer. 

In the story of the origin of sin, we see Adam and Eve disobey God and eat fruit from the tree God commanded them not to eat from: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From this account, we learn that the root of sin is a heart acting as its own god and authority. Adam and Eve didn’t trust God, and they took the authority to decide for themselves what was right and wrong. 

For us today, acting as our own authority looks like disregarding what God has to say about where life is found and instead looking for life in things like success, approval, escape or religious performance. Practically, this might look like letting work control my life because I value money disproportionately more than relationships. It might look like changing who I am around different groups of people because I need everyone to like me. It might look like having an unhealthy relationship with drugs and alcohol because I think they’re the only remedy for my anxiety and stress. Or it might look like going to church and doing a lot of community service to try to gain brownie points with God. 

So, where do we go from here? What’s the remedy for sin? 

Just as Adam and Eve experienced God’s life and presence through eating from the Tree of Life in the garden, so we can experience God’s life and presence through Jesus. One with Christ, we receive his life that causes us to bear fruit. This is the remedy for sin: not avoiding bad behavior but rather abiding in Christ’s life and love as obedience to God’s standards of right and wrong naturally flows out of the relationship. 

REFLECT: Reflect on an area where you might be acting as your own god and authority instead of trusting in God’s path to life.