THE SIN PROBLEM

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The Philosophy of Religion
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THE SIN PROBLEM.

Rich or poor, educated or otherwise, any class and any country, there is one
problem that all humanity share in common. If you are looking for sharing with
all humanity, here is a good place to start. The prevalent, common problem of
all men, women, and youth and children everywhere is THE SIN PROBLEM.
So much of what appears as an intellectual problem from aetheist, agnostics,
doubters, and just plain unbelievers, with careful observation of their profiles
comes down to a habitual sin problem. Yes, all men are under the authority of
the LORD God their Creator, where they chose to admit it or not, and therein is
also part of the sin problem, rebellion against God to be told what to do; then
the rationalizations and human justifications start from some of the best and
the worst human minds can produce, although those same minds have been
weakened by sin itself which affects the mind, body, and soul of man.

I. After the sin problem first entered the human race, God though disappointed
with the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden could have turned His
back on all humanity. Instead He had written through selective men like the
prophet Isaiah to get men to sit down and reason with Him. "Come now, let us
reason together, saith the LORD." And what does God want to talk about?
THE SIN PROBLEM.

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat
the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with
the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." (Isaiah 1:18-20)

1. The call from the LORD God Himself to join Him in reasoning. {That is
reasonable when the invitation comes so clearly and forcefully from the Father
of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It is a call to ISIS, to Popes and Presidents,
to the average man sometimes mistakenly called the common man, but rather
about the common SIN PROBLEM.
2. Hey, your sins, or offences against God to borrow from Romans, are
running red right now in the sight of Almighty God, your Creator; however He
wants to reason with you about a way to make them as white as snow.
3. IF...if...if. Yes, there is a big IF--"If you are willing and obedient..." God is
dealing here with more than just the mind. There is a challenging calll to
exercise the will. God respects that He created man in His own image with the
freedom of choice as to how he will exercise his own will.
4. Yet the options of the two possible outcomes must be considered, for
Israel and all subsequent nations and individuals, either (1) to prosper on the
land, or (2) to be devoured with the sword. These options are loaded with
many, and it really takes all of Isaiah and the rest of the Bible to explain; but
briefly, it is a choice between the good life on earth then eternity with God the
Father or a bad life of worldly pleasure with eternity absent from God and all
that is good.

II. The whole book of Isaiah might be considered as dealing with the SIN
PROBLEM, of course with the addition of God's planned and carried out
solution of the sacrifice of His suffering servant, the Lord Jesus Christ, to
make atonement for the sins of the world. Isaiah 1 is a good introduction to all
of Isaiah and the sin problem. Even as we learn by example, the historian
Isaiah records what the sin problem and the failure at God's solution did to the
nation of Israel, the message is the same for all men and nations. Isaiah 1.

"The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah
and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings
of Judah.
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have
nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth
not know, my people doth not consider.
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children
that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the
Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot
even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises,
and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither
mollified with ointment.
Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land,
strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by
strangers."