Lesson Seven

During the course of 20 years of being a Christian I have had numerous opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with many women. I would commonly ask these women, "If you were to stand before God today and He were to ask why you should be allowed into Heaven, what would your answer be?" Most times the answer was very much the same. "I try to be a good person" or, "I do my best to live by the 10 Commandments." Others might add, "I go to church every Sunday." Ladies, it is very important that each of us have a clear, proper understanding about sin and salvation. The truth of the matter is this: No one can be good enough, kind enough, nor work hard enough to earn salvation. Eternal life is a gift from God. Gifts are not earned. They are free. Look with me please at Ephesians 2:8,9:

"For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God: not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Chapter Three of our study deals with the issue of sin in our lives. You may be a bit surprised to find this type of material in a book that deals with being a godly wife. Perhaps you felt that our studies would be more along the line of learning some specifics ways to be a good Christian wife. I can assure you that we will cover these things in detail in the future. However, I admire the wisdom that Mrs. Peace uses in the order of "The Excellent Wife" book. So many books do not deal with sin. They just skip over the most important foundational truths and go right on into giving you a list to follow. You will find that this study does not give a legalistic set of rules. It gets to the heart of the problem and teaches us how to deal with them.

If we are NOT being the wife that God has called us to be it is because of our OWN sin, not the sins of our husbands. We are called to be obedient to our calling regardless of our situations or circumstances. If we are going to go forward on the journey to becoming Excellent Wives we must learn to deal with sin in our lives on a regular basis.

Perhaps some of you reading this today are like so many of the women I have talked to. Are you in need of a biblical understanding of sin and salvation? If so, this chapter will explain it all very clearly. We are going to look at four characteristics of sin and then explain how God provided for us, through the Lord Jesus Christ, complete forgiveness and restoration of our relationship with Him. Together we will learn how to deal with all sin in our lives, whether it be past, present or future.

God created Adam and Eve with some certain abilities of their own. These include: thinking, feeling, responding to others, and the knowledge of right and wrong. God blessed this by saying in Genesis 1:31 that everything He had created was "very good." Until....

Adam and Eve chose to sin that day in the Garden of Eden. Because of that, the Bible teaches that every person in this world is born a sinner. We do not have a choice.

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.." (Romans 5:12)

Mrs. Peace explains it this way: " That's the way it was until Adam and Eve sinned. Since then, all people have had sin in their lives. These good abilities that God gave them have been perverted by sinful man. For example, God gave man the ability to think. Men use this ability to plan and carry out bank robberies. God gave man the ability to feel and have emotions. Women feel tense, and nervous, and then scream at their children. God gave man the ability to respond in a kind and patient way. People often respond in an unkind, impatient, or unwholesome manner (Ephesians 4:29). God gave man a conscience to know right from wrong (Hebrews 10:22). Hundreds of full to over-flowing prisons show us what choices some people have made! The fact is that there is no portion of God's creation that sinful man has not perverted.

Man's tendency to sin has affected every area of life including the relationship between husband and wife. But before we can see how our tendency to sin affected wives in a practical way, we must first understand the basic characteristics of sin." (pages 19-20)

Sin is universal. No one is exempt. Romans 3:23, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Sin may be open and obvious to others. Galatians 5:19-21, "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these..."
Sin cannot be hidden from God. I Samuel 16:7, " The God said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." And, Hebrews 4:13, " And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom all have to do."
Sin is justly penalized. Romans 6:23, "For the wages (or payment) of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus our Lord. And, Isaiah 53:11, "My Servant (the Lord Jesus Christ), will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.

So you see, dear reader, everyone who is ever born sins. Just because we, as humans, do not see someone sin does not mean that they do not sin. Sin is inherited from our first father, Adam. It may be hidden or obvious to the eyes of mankind. However, God is ominiscient. That means He is "all-knowing." He knows every deed and every thought of everyone. God is also holy. Therefore He must punish sin. But, praise be to His name, He is also loving, merciful, kind and gracious. Because of this He provided a payment for the penality of sin. This payment is only in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Next week: Our Provision Through Christ

Taken from "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace, pp 19-21. Copyright 1999, Focus Publishing, Bemidji, Minnesota. Used with permission for the purposes of this devotional series only. May not be reproduced or forwarded without the express consent of the publisher.