Freedom Come Rain

What separates us from God? God’s heart longs for us to be in relationship and fellowship with Him. However, there is a villain in the room, much larger than an elephant, an antagonist in the story of mankind. It’s a three-letter word and it’s what separates us from God: sin. It’s something we all struggle with and God doesn’t tolerate it; He hates sin. But why? What is sin, and why does it separate us from God? We’re going to do our best to answer these questions and more, so buckle up and let’s dive in! WHAT IS SIN? Simply put, it is breaking God’s moral law. God is all good and completely morally pure so the moral laws or rules that He made and set in place are objectively morally good; there’s no situation in which God’s law or rules can become bad. When humans step into the picture and sin becomes our reality, that’s where we see bad intentions, and bad heart posture-s, and bad-niss (the bad one)overall. God Himself, however, is good all the time. That’s what we mean by moral law—it is whatever action God says is good or right, based on His own character. Sin is doing the opposite—the wrong thing (like when you take chicken from the pot without consent). Sin can also be defined as opposing the will of God, violating His will, and going against what He says. God will not force us to obey Him (that is not love); He gave us free will to choose; and that’s how sin entered the world—through Eve’s choice. For although Eve was told not to eat from the tree, she thought of eating from it and desired to do the wrong thing. (Genesis 3:6) Youth S.O.U.L.diers, if we’re being honest, rather than being obedient to God’s Word or what He says, many of us would rather satisfy our own desires, too, even though we know they are wrong. Why? Sin is sweet! In the end, though, disobeying God isn’t worth it. It invariably has bad consequences from which God is always trying to protect us. The first and worst of all the consequences is being separated from God. "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2) WHY SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD Do you know why sin separates us from God? It’s because God is holy and once sin is in His Presence, it has to be completely obliterated. It’s like bacteria in the presence of soap or antiseptic. Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands, and a pure heart…” Only the holy can be in the Presence of God. Look at the Israelites, God’s chosen people, and the Holy of Holies (the innermost part of the Tabernacle where the Presence of God resided). The Israelites had priests who would enter the tabernacle to give sacrifices to atone for the people’s sins. Before he could enter, though, the priest would have to make himself ceremonially pure, which goes back to how God will always make ways for us to be close to Him. Then, they would tie a rope around him and give him a bell to ring to signal whether or not he was alive. Sadly, if a priest was not prepared, he would not last. These priests were born in sin and shaped in iniquity, and so are we! The same sin that Eve committed, and Adam committed with her, has been passed down through our DNA from generation to generation until now. Every human being is born separated and disconnected from God. There is a comforting promise in 2 Samuel 14:14 though: "All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separatedfromhim." (NLT) FOR WHAT IS SIN WORKING? Six words: “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) This death is spiritual, which is exactly what it means to be separated from God. When you’re spiritually dead, you don’t have God's Presence. You’re disconnected from Him. And if you do nothing about it and physical death comes, that’s it – there is no repentance in the grave. As Believers, we all struggle to allow the spirit man to thrive over our flesh. We know what it feels like to have some sins that we just want to stop doing, but can’t. This is what Paul meant when he said, "The things I don’t want to do, I do." (Rom. 7:15) THE GOOD NEWS IS How can we actually overcome these sins that our own efforts will never allow us to conquer? Through the Holy Spirit Himself and our connection and relationship with God! Relying on the Holy Spirit is the straight-up formula. He is the Person we run to when we fall and when we’re trying not to fall; He is the only One who can keep us from falling and Who can pick us up when we do fall. We can feel safe knowing that God, who never loses, is fighting for us. “We are in the fight of our lives for our lives.” That’s Youth S.O.U. L’s motto and the daily reality for Believers the world over. Be encouraged: believe Jesus. YOUTH S.O.U.L.diers, ARISE! ________________________________ Youth S.O.U.L. is a Jesus-led ministry for youth by youth. Join the S.O.U.Ldiers every Friday at 6 p.m. on TBC radio, 88.5 fm, as they discuss issues for the clueless; those who are doubtful about God; those who are not saved at all and have questions about God; those who don’t really know anything about God; new Believers who want to learn more about God; true and seasoned Believers who just want to be refreshed; those going astray who have felt far from God; those who are saved but still have questions—whew! If you’re breathing, you need to tune in.

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