Psalm 32, Matthew 4:1-11, and Romans 5:12-19
I have a friend who went to seminary with me and shared a dormitory and room with me for about five years. He is a pastor whom I quite like and trust. He is a very honest and family-oriented person. He started his student ministry earlier than his peers. Unlike the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the honorarium for student ministers in Korean churches varied from church to church. Relatively speaking, he served for a long time in a church with good benefits for pastors. But strangely enough, when I saw how he lived, I felt that he had been struggling financially for a long time. When I went to seminary, I could see why. His father had a huge debt at home due to business failures and car accidents. After that, his father was unable to find a high-income job.
The whole family had to work hard to pay off that debt. In modern society, people are pushed out due to financial debt or other factors. And it requires a desperate effort to restore status and honour. It was the same in ancient societies. Moreover, from a religious doctrinal perspective, the concept of original sin in theology, which uses Adam’s sin as its rhetoric, is perplexing to modern people. Just as a family was ruined by a father’s mistake and paid a great price to recover, the doctrine that humanity suffered because of Adam’s sin is both understandable and difficult to grasp. I’ve often met people who questioned whether Adam’s blood and sin truly reside within them. But one thing I can easily understand is that all humans are easily tempted. So, it is easy to sin. When we hear news about various social issues these days, we often hear about brutal crimes we’ve never experienced before.
Especially when it comes to scams, we very commonly receive such calls or emails. Some people use people from certain countries or races to deceive their acquaintances, and even go so far as to traffic in them. Sometimes, some people start unjust wars and take the lives of countless young people. When I see the pervasiveness of this sin, I empirically believe that the doctrine of original sin in humanity is valid.
In Romans, Paul explains Adam’s sin and Adam’s responsibility for all humankind. In particular, it makes a statement about original sin, that sin entered the world through one man, Adam. It also claims that the nature and resulting punishment were passed on to all humanity, and that death came to all people. That is, Adam, the ancestor of humankind, is considered the first person to sin and the source of sin. Because of this, human beings groan under the power of sin and death.
At this point, we can understand it through the diplomatic ambassadors or trade representatives of each country in modern society, who represent their respective countries and engage in talks. They enter into contracts on behalf of countries and companies. But the consequences and impacts of this apply to both citizens and companies in each country. The principles of these contracts still apply today.
In the case of Adam, he made a covenant with God. On behalf of humanity, he made a promise through the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is a covenant that if he keeps this well, he and his descendants will enjoy eternal life and blessings. But when this is not done, all humanity united with him will be punished with sin and death. Therefore, the concept of death, the end of human life, which was not part of God’s plan of creation, came into the world. The death reigned from the time of Adam to now.
But the good news is that God, by the same principle, established Jesus Christ as the new representative of humanity. God has given us the gift of life in place of death through Jesus. So, we can confess Jesus as the Saviour of humankind. Christ is the gift of my life. This is not a reward for my righteous deeds. It is simply a gift by the grace of Jesus.
Beloved, this is Lent, a day to remember the suffering, great love, and grace of Jesus Christ. I hope that this Lent will be one in which we overcome the temptation of sin and the power of death, just as Jesus overcame temptations in the wilderness. Through the obedience of Jesus, the many are created righteous. In this way, we too may discern and obey God’s will and plan, live like Jesus, and enjoy His gifts. Amen.