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The Problem of Sin

In the books of Kings we have witnessed the downfall of God's chosen people. 2 Kings ends with the nation of Judah falling to Babylon and its people being carted off into exile. It shows that even amongst those chosen to be holy, sin is still a problem.

From Genesis 3 onward there have been few people, events, or places that have remained unaffected by the corrupting effects of sin. Nations go to war over land and resources. People kill other people. Idol worship can be found almost everywhere. Sexual immorality runs rampant. It is clear that sin has thoroughly corrupted the cosmos and that humanity no longer knows God.

Still God does not abandon his creation. Starting with Abraham God launches the most daring rescue mission in history. It starts with one man and his family coming to know God again. From there that family grows into a nation who knows God. Then that nation will act as a catalyst so that the whole world can come to know God again.

At the end of 2 Kings the plan doesn't seem to be working out so well. The very nation that was supposed to serve as a light to the world has been consumed by darkness. God has had to bring about judgment on those who should know better. This is the people who had the Scriptures, who had seen God's wonders, and received his prophets. Yet even they are drowning in sin.

Knowing God

The chief problem of sin is that it prevents us from truly knowing God. I don't mean knowing as in being able to repeat a bunch of facts, but knowing as seen in relationships. In Genesis 2, when Adam first sees Eve, it says that Adam "knew his wife." This is the kind of intimate knowing that we are called to do with God. Diving into the very nature of God. 

Sin prevents this in several ways. First it keeps the focus off God and on ourselves. It is very hard to truly get to know another person if you are constantly focused on yourself. Now we usually don't look at it this way. We are very good at tricking ourselves into thinking that we really are focused on God or others, but the truth is that we are selfish.

Another way that sin prevents us from knowing God is the way it makes us look at God. When God acts in our lives, it is often jarring and uncomfortable. God is calling us into servitude. When God calls us our gut reaction is to say no. We don't want to leave our comfort zone of selfishness. 

The only way to overcome sin is to come to know God. The forces of sin and darkness try so hard to prevent us from knowing God precisely because that is the key to breaking their hold on us. When we come into a true relationship with God our chains are broken. 

Conclusion

You may be wondering why I spent so much time recapping Kings at the beginning of this entry. Well it has to do with an attitude I find in churches. When talking about Israel and the signs God did for them, people always like to claim that "If God did that in front of me, I'd have no trouble believing!" We all like to think that if we saw what they saw all our doubts would vanish.

The truth is they wouldn't. If God performed signs like he did for Israel, we would still doubt. We would still try to negotiate our service to God. Israel had signs and yet they fell. We have the very Spirit of God in us and we still fall. The issue that they had, not knowing God, is the issue we have. 

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