Rebellion Against God’s Moral Laws
Former skeptic C.S. Lewis reasoned that although we are internally programmed with a desire to know God, we rebel against it from the moment we are born.2 Lewis also began to examine his own motives, which led him to the discovery that he instinctively knew right from wrong.
We all experience this sense of right and wrong when we read of Hitler killing six million Jews, or a hero sacrificing his or her life for someone. We instinctively know it is wrong to lie and cheat. Lewis wondered where this sense of right and wrong came from. This recognition that we are programmed with an inner moral law led the former atheist to the conclusion there must be a moral “Lawgiver.”
Indeed, according to both Jesus and the Scriptures, God has given us a moral law to obey. And not only have we turned our backs on a relationship with him, we also have broken these moral laws that God established. Most of us know some of The Ten Commandments: “Don’t lie, steal, murder, commit adultery,” etc. Jesus summarized them by saying we should love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Sin, therefore, is not only the wrong that we do in breaking the law, but also our failure to do what is right.
The result is that our sins have broken God’s intended relationship with us. The result of this rebellion against God has led to a world plagued by greed, hatred, war, rape and rampant crime.
Our Sins Have Separated Us from God’s Love
Although God loves us beyond comprehension, our rebellion (sin) has created a wall of separation between him and us (see Isaiah 59:2). In the Scriptures, “separation” means spiritual death. And spiritual death means being completely separated from the light and life of God.
“But wait a minute,” you might say. “Didn’t God know all of that before he made us? Why didn’t he see that his plan was doomed for failure?”
Of course, an all-knowing God would realize that we would rebel and sin. In fact, it is our failure that makes his plan so marvelous and mind-blowing. This brings us to the reason that God came to Earth in human form. And even more incredible—the remarkable reason for Jesus’ death on the cross.
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