CHILDREN AND THE CONCEPT OF SIN- BY GREG ELKAN

_“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”_ – Rom 3:23

Most people, many Believers included, have an Old Testament concept of sin. By "Old Testament," we mean the way you would describe "sin" to a child, as opposed to a mature, rational-thinking adult.

Because of the way the concept of "sin" (trespass, iniquity, transgressions,, etc.) is presented by the Old Testament prophets, many today still see sin as something that offends or is annoys God.

This is why those who fear God think that begging for forgiveness is the solution to their sins, and those who hate Him think that going to more and more extremes of abominations would truly rile Him up in anger.

In fact, many Christians still think that the reason the Devil is pushing people into greater and grosser acts of perversion today is because the Devil wants to make God uncontrollably angry and upset at His most-beloved creation.

But God is not like us, with emotional vulnerabilities and weaknesses. He is the _“I Am That I Am”_ – the self-existent One who needs nothing and lacks nothing (Exo 3:14). He would not really be God if the actions of His creations could make Him 'mad' or give Him a bad day. He is God, perfect and holy (1 Sam 2:2). In fact, it is the falling short of His perfection and completeness that is _His_ definition of sin! (See Gen 2:17, 18; Rom 3:23; 5:8).

The reality of sin, however, is that it is a spiritual law that destroys whoever commits it. _“The wages (consequences) of sin is death!”_ (Rom 6:23). _“The day that you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die”_ (Gen 2:17). _“Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned,"_ (Rom 5:12, GNB).

But how can you explain all this 'theology' to a child to make them not sin? Especially if the 'child' is a bunch of stiff-necked, hard-hearted, and faithless idolaters (Deu 32:20; Isa 65:2-5; Zec 7:12; Mat 19:8; Rom 10:21)? You can't! Hence, the more effective alternative used by the prophets of the Old Testament in presenting sin as something God was incensed by.

Therefore, teaching this OT narrative of sin without updating it with the information given to us in the New Testament can lead to doctrinal confusion in some cases, and even heresies in others.

AMEN

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

- Nigeria 

+234 813 664 2912