How did sin originate

I believe sin began when Satan became proud and sought to be equal to God. I have no idea how long ago that was.

 

Everything God created was "good", as stated in Genesis. It's often said that God created the "potential" to sin, rather than sin itself. The creatures Satan and Adam/Eve chose to sin, becoming sinful in the process.

At least that's how I understand it.

 

It is important to realize that sin is not a 'thing' in the sense you are using it. Rather, sin is a lack or a deficiency in something. In this case, a lack of good or a deficiency in what God's perfect will was. Sin is like a cancer, it doesn't exist in it's own right, it survives only by perverting something good. Think of it like light and dark--dark is not a thing it is a lack of light. God did not create sin, but He did create the freedom to choose to not always follow Him.

 

I believe that angels and mankind are remarkably similar. One of these characteristics is the ability for rational thought and decision-making. Believing that, then it follows that angels do the express bidding of the Father because they have that desire to do God's will, not because they have no choice but to do His will. That corresponds to Adam's ability before the fall, to freely adhere to God's law or to disobey it.

To assign the design of sin to God attaches an attribute that is against His nature. Satan had the ability to consciously obey or rebel against God. However, God undeniably knew that sin would originate with Satan and that man would willingly embrace it.

It is impossible to understand the grand design of God's creation and what occurred before man was introduced into the scheme. But this much we do know and that is that God provided a means whereby our sins are forgiven, reconciling us through the blood of his Son to the same relational position He held with Adam. This is in contrast to fallen angels who have no hope.

 

Rom. 5.12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world , and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"

 

By the way we think with a Greek mindset He did not. But if you read in the Bible it says He did. Well how could God create something He does not condone or bless.

God created sin in the same sense that He created good. When Satan sinned, he saw evil. So with good present, there is also evil present. If there were no evil there would be no sin nor would there be good. There would be no difference.

In the end, with good there is bad and God created everything.

Hope this helps.

 

When God created humans with FREE WILL, He created the POTENTIAL for sin, but He in NO WAY created the ACTUALIZATION OF SIN!.

Rufus

 

With all the great explanations here, I can safely conclude that SATAN created sin by becoming proud of HIMSELF rather than remaining happy that he was serving the Master/Creator of himself and all existence in a very high capacity. He wanted to be the MOST high.

 

Sin didn't just originate once. Sin originates every day. Every time each of us chooses to disobey the Lord, we sin. Satan never forces anyone to sin. We do so out of our own desire to serve self rather than serve God.

 

Just joined this forum, and this topic is most interesting. The exchanges of beliefs about sin are engaging. SO we are trying to see how sin originated, through Satan and/or Adam, and just how does sin appear out of a perfect creation? It's a fascinating thing to discuss.

My first inclination is to look at what happens when sin appears. We know that God's wrath is fierce because of sin and that no sin can come into His presence. Before sin, everything God created was "good" and in perfect harmony. Then Satan rebelled and was cast out of heaven and there was a war in the spiritual realm between good and evil.

Then came man created in the image of God. So he has some of the attributes of God, most important to this issue is the free will. He only had one restriction on his will, do not eat from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Otherwise, man (and woman) had full enjoyment of the garden and all needs were met.

Adam (not Eve) is given the charge of watching over the garden, so when things didn't abide by God's law Adam had to be the one held accountable, not Eve. When Eve took and ate the fruit, Adam was by her side and did nothing to stop her; in fact, he even participated with her. Accountability for free will decisions has been demanded from the beginning. So man is entrapped in the war between good and evil.

Such was the case when Jesus judged the church at Ephesus. He said in Rev. 2:4-5, "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." (NIV)

So then, who is responsible for sin? Is God to blame because He gave us free will? Then why should Jesus demand that the church repent? And from what? From the sin of forsaking their first love! What first love? The first commandment love! "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Likewise, Adam forsook the faithful duties over the garden and broke fellowship with God. When Adam was given the command, Eve was not yet created, so he must be totally responsible for whatever occurred in the garden, that it should be good in God's sight. Adam also broke the spirit of the First Commandment.

Perfect fellowship with God is what Adam had before he sinned and he forsook it! We don't know his motives for doing it, but do we have to? Does it make us uneasy to know that we will be held accountable for every free will decision? Oh, yes. And God knows we will sin. He knows we cannot justify ourselves. Therefore, Jesus. Therefore, repent and be cleansed.

So then, can it be said that sin comes out of breaking fellowship with God? That maybe our pride deceives us? That the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh and the pride of life tempt us to sin against God? What is sin if it's not all things unrighteous? But God is just and righteous and holy. He cannot deny Himself and create sin, something which is not in His own image.

Therefore, God is not the author of confusion nor the author of sin. Satan may have committed the first sin but we are willing accomplices. Because of our sin nature and pride of life, Satan can tempt us to sin and join him in condemnation. And sin is not always obvious and not always an act of commission or omission, for if we do not believe in the Son of God, we are already condemned. So even unbelief is a cause of sin. It is not of God.

Stan