The Great Car Wreck

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” 

—Romans 5:12

The Fall. It explains everything—where we came from, how we got here, where we are going, why we are the way that we are, everything. But how can the act of one man affect so many? Imagine for a moment a semi-tractor trailer, loaded to capacity with brand new cars. The semi is allowed to travel on whatever road it wishes, except one. And that one road, we are told, leads to disaster. Adam, the first driver, drove wherever he wished, until one day when he takes the road that was forbidden. He passes through the barrier that said “No Access” only to find that the road went right off a cliff! Along with him went everything that he was carrying—every single car. All of them came out from the trailer, crashing in different ways and spilling out in different places, with dents and damage beyond comprehension. That’s the Fall. Adam was driving the truck that carried all future members of the human race, and whether we like it or not, when he crashed, we did too. Every single one of us was damaged in that wreck. And each of us was damaged in a different way. And what’s even more amazing is that we still drive that same route that Adam did, over and over again. He wrecked the semi-trailer that bore humanity, but each of us still continues to drive off that cliff of disobedience, wrecking our lives in the process.

Over the years, I have heard men and women question why some individuals struggle with certain sins while others do not. For example, is lying a sin? Yes, along with stealing, blasphemy, murder, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and a host of others; they are all sins. But are we born that way? Are we born with a desire to steal, lust and murder? Are we born with an attraction to the same sex? Why do some struggle with one sin and not another? Why does it seem “natural” to the person who struggles with it?

Everyone struggles with sin. And each of us is born with a certain inclination to sin in a certain way. We are born dented as a result of the Fall. And each of us is predisposed to one sin or another that feels natural to our fallen, sinful desires.

For some, their “dent” happens to be homosexuality. For others, their dent is lying, or stealing, idolatry, lust, drunkenness, all kinds of addictions, pedophilia, bestiality, pornography, adultery, fornication, gambling, anger, jealousy, envy, murder, orgies, strife, dissensions, divisions, and things like these (cf. Galatians 5:19-21). Sin expresses itself in different ways in different people, and in some way, each one feels a predisposition to commit the sin, thus the feeling that it is natural—but it’s not. It’s a lie from the pit of hell and must be overcome. All sin desires to master us, but we must overcome it (cf. Genesis 4:7).

Jesus Christ paid the price for all of our sins, and the power by which He rose from the dead will enable us to defeat the dent of sins that cling to these chassis called bodies. The first step in having victory over sin is understanding who God is. He is the loving God who sent His Son to rescue us from the car wreck that came from our disobedience. He takes us to the Emergency Room of grace where we meet others who have come to the realization that they have driven their own vehicles through the “No Access” sign of sin. They have become aware of their sin and have come to Christ, the Great Physician, so that He might give a blood transfusion—using His blood to cover over the horrific effect of sin that our one act of disobedient driving caused.

It is only through Christ that we may escape the debilitating effects of sin. By Adam, the first man, we die, but it is only through the one man, Jesus Christ, that all who trust in Him will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:21). May we continually live trusting in Him and what He has done, because it is only through Him that we are now, and will truly be, made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). Amen.