The Psalmist Voice Reloaded: Lost In The Sauce

It is only through understanding who we are that we can come to understand what we may become through God’s plan. Are human beings basically good or is there something wrong with us? Do we naturally seek after God and His moral goodness or do we tend to desire to do our own thing on our own terms? The first article in this series provided an overview of God’s outline of history in creation, fall, redemption and restoration. This article will emphasize the human condition and need. Defining Sin and its Extent Before we can begin to restore our relationship with God, we need to understand that this relationship is broken to begin with and why that is the case. The relationship is broken not because of anything God has done, but because of what we have done. We have turned away from God’s standards and made our own path. Sin is a key concept in Christianity, but it’s also that negative word no one likes to talk about. We prefer to be positive, to think that people are basically good. But Christianity claims that sin has a hold on everyone. Before we get ahead of ourselves, though, let’s take a moment to define sin. Sin involves any deviation from God’s perfect standard of holiness. This can be the result of our thoughts, our behavior or in what we say. Christ emphasized the importance of being internally moral, not just externally moral. That’s why he provided His listeners with examples such as, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). [1] Our sinful behavior harms others, harms us and, more importantly, is an affront to a holy God. This is not God’s way of taking all the fun out of life. Rather, if we were designed to function best a certain way – living in harmony with God – then the best thing for us is to restore our broken relationship with God and enjoy life within the parameters He has established. As a result of sin, we reject God and instead put ourselves in His plac