Christian morals

31. Why is this world full of so much wickedness? Why are men dishonest, murderers, unjust, merciless, hypocrites, etc. ?

Men are dishonest, murderers, unjust, merciless, hypocrites, etc., because of sin which entered the world through the first man, that is, Adam; and which reigns in their mortal body. In other words, men are wicked because they are slaves of sin. Men, therefore, cannot help sinning because they are slaves of sin. But there is something else to be said about this, that is, since it is the devil – who is a wicked spiritual being who takes pleasure in all the things that God hates – who wants men to sin, it is the devil who drives men to sin as much as possible. In other words, men are in the hands of Satan, who drives them to sin continually with their body. When Paul calls the devil “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2 – NKJV), he means that the devil works in men by causing them to commit all kinds of sins. Therefore we can say – according to what the Bible teaches – that men are what they are, that is, wicked persons, unjust, murderers, liars, merciless, lovers of pleasure, etc, because they are under the power of the devil, the prince of the power of the air. To use a biblical expression, they are of the devil for the devil has sinned from the beginning (1 John 3:8).

On the contrary, we who are sons of God, having been rescued from the power of Satan and put under the power of God, are no longer slaves of sin, in that sin does not have dominion over us any longer (Romans 6:14). We are therefore free from sin, and this thanks to Jesus Christ, who put away sin (Hebrews 9:26). So the death He died, He died to sin (Romans 6:10), thus we who died with Christ to sin, that is, who were crucified with Him, do not serve sin any longer (Romans 6:6). The apostle John says that we who have been born of God are no longer slaves of sin for His seed remains in us, and we cannot sin because we have been born of God (1 John 3:9). And His seed is the Word of God, which lives and abides forever, through which God regenerated us.

Therefore the difference between sinners and us who have been born of God is this: sinners are slaves of sin, being under the power of the devil; while we have been set free from sin through faith in Christ Jesus. Why do we not feel induced any longer to sin continually as when we walked in darkness? Why do we not take pleasure in doing evil things as we did before knowing God? It is simple, because we have been set free from sin. Glory to God through Christ Jesus. Amen.

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