The Answer!

I - The Problem: Sin

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?"

Jeremiah 17:9

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We live in a culture where the concept of sin has become entangled in legalistic arguments over right and wrong. When many of us consider "What is sin?" we think of violations of the Ten Commandments. Even then, we tend to think of murder and adultery as "major" sins compared with lying, cursing, or idolatry.

Pero ang nga ba ang kasalanan?

Sin according to Webster Dictionary :

- to do something that is considered wrong according to religious or moral law.

Now lets take a look on the Biblical Perspective.

Sin is a breaking of the law. 1 John 3:4

All wrongdoing is sin. 1 John 5:17

Sin is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, starting with the "original" sin when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge. Often it seems as if sin is simply the violation of any of God's laws, including the Ten Commandments.

God wanted us to recognize our sins. Even those who have not murdered or committed adultery will find themselves convicted of lying, or of worshipping false idols like wealth or power ahead of God.

Tragically, sin in ANY amount will distance us from God.

"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear," says Isaiah 59:1-2. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."

Ang kasalan ang malaking hadlang sa Diyos at sa tao. Nag-kakarun ng gap between us and God because of our sin. That is why pakiramdam natin may kulang saatin. Yun yung spiritual emptiness in our lives. We each have a hole in our heart, a spiritual vacuum deep within our soul - a "God- shaped blank." Possession won't fill this hole, nor success will. Relationships alone cannot statisfy this emptiness, and morality, in and of itself, fall miserably short of occupying this space. In fact, even Religion CANNOT fill the void in our heart.

Kaya minsan kahit nasayo na ang lahat ng yaman ng mundo, nasayo na lahat ng gusto mo hindi ka pa rin masaya kasi may kulang. At si Lord Jesus yung kulang sa buhay mo. Siya lang yung tanging makapag-pupuno ng emptiness sa buhay natin. Hindi religion ang nais ng Diyos kundi tunay na relasyon sa bawat isa saatin!

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Minsan ba natanong mo na sa sarili mo kung LAHAT ba ng tao ay makasalanan?

Ito ang karaniwan nang itinatanong ng mga tao, matalino man o mangmang.

The truth is that sin, as defined in the original translations of the Bible, means "to miss the mark." The mark, in this case, is the standard of perfection established by God and evidenced by Jesus. Viewed in that light, it is clear that we are ALL sinners.

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

In light of this, it does no good to compare ourselves to others. We cannot escape our failure to be righteous in our own strength. This is by God's design, because only when we understand our weakness will we consider relying on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

Ang lahat ay nagkasala! Lahat ng tao makasalanan walang matuwid WALA KAHIT ISA.

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." -Romans 3:10-12

Lahat tayo makasalanan yan ang katotohanan kaibigan.

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8

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The Bible clearly identifies our problem as sin. Sin is not just an act but the actual nature of our being. In other words, we are not sinners because we sin. Rather, we sin because we are sinners! We are not basically good - we are basically sinful. Why is that? Clear back to the Garden of Eden, Adam made his choice, and he suffered the consequences of it, setting the pattern that ALL humanity would follow.

"When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone." Romans 5:12, 18

Maaring maisip mo na hindi fair dahil bakit kailangan lahat magdusa sa kasalanan ng isa? Yet, given the opportunity, each one of us would have done the same thing as Adam. In fact, not a single day passes that we do not face the same test that was set before Adam. God has given us the freedom to choose between two separate paths: the path that leads to life and the path that leads to death.

"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" - Deuteronomy 30:19

The choice is yours, your heart is lock from the inside. :)

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