An interesting little device was discovered in the attic of my grandparent’s home a few years ago. This strange contraption that appeared to date from the first half of the 20^th century was equipped with lightbulbs and gages… and boldly inscribed upon it was the claim that it was the cure for cancer.

This gadget has spawned more than one discussion of whether or not it should be taken to the Antiques Roadshow to try to figure out what in the world it is! We don’t know if it was intended to be a hoax, a fraud, or if someone mistakenly thought that they really had the cure for diseases that plague us still today.

Old medical treatments often intrigue me. We shake our heads at the thought of bleeding sick people with leeches or curing cancer with a lightbulb. Because doctors did not understand the cause of the symptoms they were seeing, their “cures” sound outlandish and childlike to us. They didn’t understand what the problem really was, so they couldn’t even begin to understand how to solve it.

Each one of us has a serious disease that is eating us alive. It is a sickness that is often misdiagnosed, and the cures that we frequently self-prescribe are far from effective because they fail to treat the real problem.

The sickness we suffer from is sin – we are completely and totally depraved. It is true that we are not all as bad as we could be; not many of us have committed adultery, murdered another person, or otherwise become felons. But sin is invasive in our lives. It pervades every ounce of our being.

My thinking is distorted by sin and I cannot perceive things correctly on my own. My emotions are distorted by sin and my feelings lie to me. My will is distorted by sin and I do not want to do what I should do. Even when I attempt to do what is right and good, my perception of what is good is often skewed, my emotions steer me away from truth, and frankly I often just don’t want to do it.

I am a sinner.

There are common “cures” that are often prescribed for this debilitating sickness – but none of them will cure the problem any more than a lightbulb will cure cancer.

Denying it.

Some people attempt to solve their sin-sickness simply by denying it. “How dare you say that I am a sinner! I am not a bad person – I’ve never murdered anyone!” This approach is common… and tragic. For no matter how much we try to deny it, no one is good but God alone. We are sinners, whether we recognize it or not.

Rationalizing it.

Similar to denying it, this approach relies on comparison and denial. “I’m not as bad as that person over there…” We try to rationalize away our sin by thinking that being a “sinner” means that a person is the worst of the worst in society – an obvious blight on the human race. But, like a cancer patient claiming that she doesn’t have cancer because her tumor isn’t as large as the one in the patient next to her, this fails to address the real and deadly problem.

Baptizing it in religion.

This approach is common… and deceiving. Many people believe that the cure for their sin-sickness is to be more religious. To go to church frequently, to sing in the choir, to hang crosses on chains around their neck, pray prayers before bedtime, or perhaps investigate the approaches other religions have taken to deal with their disease of sin. This false “cure” is like a person who believes that their cancer will go away if they just act like a healthy person… you might be acting the part on the outside, but the cancer is still eating you alive from within.

Overshadowing it with good works.

Some people are very aware of their sinfulness and therefore try to “do more good than bad.” They give to charity, volunteer for worthy causes, and tire themselves out with an agenda packed with admirable deeds. This is the spiritual equivalent of hospice – it takes away the sting of pain from knowing the guilt in your own heart… but the cancer has not been cured.

There are many so-called “cures” for this sin-sickness… but there is really is only one solution. It is available to you free of charge – but that doesn’t mean it came without cost. The price was incalculably high, but it has already been paid.

To be continued tomorrow…

People don’t really like to talk about “sin.” It’s an uncomfortable word… no one revels in being called a “sinner.” It is becoming increasingly politically incorrect to say that there is such a thing as right and wrong. Lifestyles are not unbiblical or sinful, they are “alternative.” God’s love and mercy are applauded, while the thought of a holy God righteously judging sin is avoided.

So, what is sin? Do we even know?

People often think of sin as violating God’s laws. This is absolutely true. Stealing, murdering, committing adultery are all sin- they are all examples of breaking God’s law.

But it goes deeper than that.

In Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” found in Matthew 5-7, He points to specific laws in the Old Testament and elaborates on them. The people had “heard it said” that they should not murder or commit adultery, but then He broadened the statement. Murdering is wrong, yes, but it begins in a heart full of hate – hating your brother is the root sin. Committing the physical act of adultery is wrong, but it begins in a lustful look – lust is the root sin. Even if these things are never acted out on, even if no laws were technically violated… they are sin.

Why?

Sin is anything contrary to the nature of our holy God. Our completely righteous, completely loving, completely just God. The core of His nature is holiness – He always acts completely righteously because that is who He is. He loves completely because that is who He is. The laws He has given us in His Word flow out of His nature – to do what is right is to act in a way consistent with His character, to sin is to do (or be!) anything that contradicts anything in His nature. God created mankind in His image, and people are valuable to Him – so they were to value human life, also. Because He is love, we are to love. Because He is a God who makes and keeps covenants, the marriage covenant is to be guarded and treated as holy.

Even if we somehow manage to outwardly follow all the “rules” (and wow – I know that I have not managed to do so!) we are still sinners at heart. No matter how hard we try, all the “good” things we try to do, the “good” people we try to be will fall woefully short of God’s standard.

In Mark 10:17-22, we find a fascinating interaction between Jesus and a faithful rule-follower:

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'”

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus is trying to help this man see his own failure to live up to God’s standards. No one is good but God alone! Keeping all of the commandments did not make him good. In his heart, this man loved his wealth more than he loved God or the people He made – and henceforth, his heart was full of sin. He had fallen short of God’s nature.

That really is the essence of sin – falling short. We have all fallen short of God’s standard. Perhaps compared to one another some of us might look “good,” but in comparison with the Holy One, no one is good but God alone.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

Romans 3:23