The Blood Atonement for Dummies (part 2)

The Beginning: God's Nature and the Fall to Sin

As I briefly touched on in my post, Thoughts on Grace, Part 2, sin is a natural state inherited by every human from the moment they are conceived. This idea of an "original sin" or "sin nature" is not a new concept, or even a uniquely Christian belief based largely in Greek philosophy (as some are), as we can see it in the Old Testament as well. Before Adam and Eve sinned, they had a perfect fellowship with God which was fully open and intimate. Consider the following three conditions: Adam and Eve . . .

1. Walked with God, easily looking upon and talking with him.
2. Were completely naked, and not even aware of such a thing as nudity. In their eyes, there was nothing wrong with their bodies.
3. Worked for God, essentially tending the garden and naming animals, in perfect harmony with his will. Their work pleased God.

However, once Adam and Eve sinned, all three of these conditions (and more that I haven't mentioned) were thrown out the window, and have been for all of human History since that day. To understand why these conditions were thrown out, we must understand the nature of God. I'm going to have to get Theological here.

Now, we know from the Old Testament that God is Holy (which means "set apart, different") and perfect. God is so perfect, actually, that he cannot live with sin, as his holiness repels its presence. In the same way that light and darkness cannot coexist, but rather, light repels darkness, God's presence repels sin. The difference between God's light and that of an oven light is that the oven light can only repel darkness as far as its luminosity allows, whereas God's glory and holiness has no limits to it; there are no degrees of luminosity or standards by which God's holiness can be measured. It would reason, therefore, that sin cannot even exist in the same universe or plane of existence as God, since the idea of his light repelling darkness would imply that there is a limit to his holiness outside which sin could exist. Consider that if God were the oven light I just spoke of, then this separate universal plane on which sin exists is the darkness that prevails when I close the oven door. Consider the inside of the oven Heaven, and everything else as Hell. Perhaps this is a bad analogy, but I hope you understand the point I'm making concerning light and darkness.

So Adam and Eve sinned, and now conditions 1, 2, and 3 are gone forever, seemingly.

Condition 1 is gone because, as creatures of sin, Adam and Eve can no longer behold God. In order for them to behold God, they would need to return to his universal plane of holiness, but are kept from it because of their sin.

Condition 2 is gone because, as creatures apart from God, Adam and Eve can no longer see his glory, or even the glory that would be reflected in his creations. Therefore, they see themselves as shameful and needing to be covered up-- not holy creations of a Holy God.

Condition 3 is gone because, as creatures not in perfect communion with God, Adam and Eve cannot hear his voice, and therefore cannot do his will.

Grace can, of course, restore these conditions at any given time to a degree. A degree, though, will not be enough to return us to God. Calling the fall of man to sin “disastrous” would be putting it lightly.

This is where God's great plan of rescue must begin. Now, you may believe that God knew we would sin, and therefore wrote the great plan of rescue before time began. You may believe that, while God can know everything, this doesn't mean that he must. Perhaps God chooses not to know everything. Then again, the existence of Jesus as preceding time along with God the Father may indicate foreknowledge of sin. I think there are good arguments for each stance, and it is not my intent to discuss this matter at this time.

Let it suffice that, regardless of its origin, this is where the plan is set into motion. We will next move forward to understand Judaism, and the law of YHWH.