The short answer to this question is God defines sin. But how does He do it? Sin is defined in the word of God the Bible. The Bible was composed by many authors but these authors were inspired by the spirit of God, as though the spirit of God was writing through them. So the question is “Who wrote the Bible? Man or God?” The way I can explain this is that God wrote it using the agency of man. Before the New Covenant, there were prophets and holy people who spoke for God. Their words were recorded and when the books were compiled, including the books of the New Testament, we have the Bible.
Because the Bible is God’s word, God Himself has preserved it throughout history. We understand who God is, and what is acceptable and not acceptable to God by reading the Bible. We learn this history of salvation, Israel’s deliverance and what God has done for the problem of sin, that every human being has a part in. Sin is clearly defined in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
The way that God dealt with sin in the Old Covenant is different from the way He deals with it now in the New Covenant. Over 2,000 years ago God came to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ. We call this “the incarnation.” God was manifested in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. The reason why He came was to make a sacrifice for our sins, and every person has now been made personally responsible for their sins and the only way we can escape eternal Hell and judgment when we die, is accepting Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins personally. When we do this freely and willingly, the Bible tells us that we are born again by God’s Holy Spirit.
God calls all men and women and children to repent of their sins and believe the gospel, that is Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day. The Bible also teaches that Jesus Christ is coming back from heaven to bring final judgment to this world, on all who rejected His sacrifice and failed to be born again. This second coming is imminent, which means it can happen at any moment. When Jesus comes back, all his people who died in his grace and forgiveness, will be resurrected from the dead and return with Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ will set up his kingdom on this earth when He returns, and the only human beings that will be allowed to live forever with Jesus, are those who were forgiven on this earth before his second coming, and were born again. Sadly the Bible teaches of an eternal Hell for all those who were never saved, and rejected Jesus Christ. This punishment will last forever, because the punishment of the unredeemed is eternal because the Bible teaches that the punishment of sin is eternal for the unforgiven. This is Mike.
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