Let's take a look at The Origin of Sin and what the Bible has to say about it.

The Bible identifies the devil as the adversary of human beings, bent on their spiritual destruction.  For other biblical identifications of the devil:

• cf. Revelation 20:2 (as Satan).
• cf. Isaiah 14:12 (as Lucifer).
• cf. John 8:44 (as a murderer and a liar).
• cf. James 2:19 (there are devils as well as the devil).

1 Peter 5:8

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

The devil sinned from the beginning.  Those who sin are following his lead and example.

1 John 3:8

8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

These verses are a detailed description of Satan -- his original perfection in heaven, his pride resulting in sin, his fall, and ultimate destruction as a result of sin.  Satan was perfect when created; sin did not arise due to some defect in the way God created him.  Sin is basically unreasonable and without a rational cause.

Ezekiel 28:11-19

11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the seal of perfection,
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden,
    the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
    carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
    topaz, onyx and jasper,
    lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.[a]
Your settings and mountings[b] were made of gold;
    on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
    for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
    you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created
    till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
    you were filled with violence,
    and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
    and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
    from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
    on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
    because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
    I made a spectacle of you before kings.
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
    you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
    and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
    in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All the nations who knew you
    are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
    and will be no more.’”

The first sin arose out of Lucifer's selfishness and pride.

Isaiah 14:12-15

12 How you have fallen from heaven,
    morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
    on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
    to the depths of the pit.

Satan's sin eventually resulted in open rebellion against God.  There was war in heaven.  Satan and his angels fought against Jesus and His angels.  Satan and his followers were expelled from heaven to earth.

• cf.  Daniel 10:13; Jude 9.  Michael is another name for Jesus.
• cf.  2 Peter 2:4; Judy 6.  The Bible speaks of angels who sinned -- those who followed Satan in rebellion.
• cf. Luke 10:18.   Jesus says He saw Satan fall from heaven.
• cf.  Revelation 12:4.  This text suggests one-third of the angels may have followed Satan's rebellion in heaven.

Revelation 12:7-9

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Satan transported his rebellion from heaven to earth when he deceived Adam and Eve into sin in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:1-6

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Why didn't God destroy evil?  Why didn't He destroy Lucifer (or Adam and Eve) when they sinned?  Free choice is the key to true love and worship.  God wants beings who love and worship Him because they want to -- not because they are afraid not to!

1 John 4:16

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Jesus came to demonstrate His power over the devil and to destroy him.

• cf. Matthew 4:1-11; John 14:30

Hebrews 2:14

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—

By God's grace, we too can have victory over sin and the devil.

• cf. 1 Corinthians 15:57

Ephesians 6:10-18

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Sin and Satan will come to their end.  There is an appointed time for their destruction.

Romans 16:20

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

See you back in a couple days.

Kathy  

Welcome!

Join me as we study Biblical subjects.  I want to start with a few scriptures on how to understand the Bible.

I'm going to use the NIV [New International Version] of the Bible, unless otherwise noted.   Join me in whatever version you may have available to use.

The greatest question ever asked is:  "What is truth?"  Where can we find truth?  God's Word, the Bible, is the source of truth.

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”  John 17:17

Correct study is essential to right understanding.  How should we study the Bible?  Paul tells us to rightly divide (compare, interpret) the word of truth.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”  2 Timothy 2:15

Comparing scripture with scripture puts truth together like a puzzle--line upon line, here a little and there a little -- to form a comprehensive picture of God's truth.

 “Who is it he is trying to teach?    To whom is he explaining his message?  To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast?  For it is:  Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there.”   Isaiah 28:9, 10

We are to study for ourselves, testing all human teachers and teachings by the Bible.  How do we test teachings by the Word?

• We search the Bible individually for ourselves.
• We ask God for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:13, 14.
• We build on the study of godly Christian preachers and teachers -- going to the Bible to compare their teachings with God's Word. (cf. Acts 8:30, 31, 33) 

“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”  Acts 17:11

This is the litmus test to discern error.  Any teaching that does not harmonize with God's Word -- the law and the testimony -- is error and contains no light. 

 “Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.”  Isaiah 8:20

All Scripture is given by God's inspiration and is profitable for our study.  The Old Testament (the "Scripture" of Paul's day) as well as the New Testament is God's inspired Word.

“and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  2 Timothy 3:15-17

The experiences recorded in the Bible have personal application to our lives. They are written for our admonition.

“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.”  1 Corinthians 10:11

Jesus endorses the accuracy and the inspiration of the Old Testament.  (The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms were the three divisions of the Old Testament in His day.)

“He said to them, 'This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.'  Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”  Luke 24:44, 45

Brilliant men with high IQ's did not think up these wonderful Spirit-designed truths.  They originated with the moving of the Holy Spirit upon the hearts and minds of holy men of God.  The Bible is its own best interpreter.  

“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  2 Peter 1:19-21

To be a Bible "whiz" is not enough.  We can search the Bible to accumulate knowledge, but unless we come to know the Christ of the Bible it is of little value.  (cf. Luke 11:28; John 7:17).

“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”  John 5:39-40

Joy results from following God's Word.

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.” Jeremiah 15:16

See you in a day or two for our next topic on The Origin of Sin!  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Thanks,
Kathy