Hebrews 2:2-3
For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
CALEB: I guess I don’t understand. What is sin?
MOSES: Sin is disobedience. When we disobey, we sin. We do wrong. And when we do wrong, we disappoint God; we make Him angry even.
After you guys went to bed last night, Caleb and some other campers threw a party. They called it a party. It was awful. They danced around a statue of a golden cow, and worshiped it as if it were their God! Did they think a golden cow made the world that we live in? Did they think a golden cow pulled back the mighty waters of the Red Sea? I think most of you were in bed, but if you were there, well, then, I’m pretty upset with all of you.
CALEB: I see what you mean. I’m sorry I made you sad. I won’t do that again.
MOSES: I hear you, Caleb. And I forgive you, all of you. But what about God? Are you and God OK? That’s the thing.
What did we learn yesterday? We learned that God, our Creator, is a real Person. Even though right now we can’t see Him with our eyes, or touch Him with our hands, He is real. He is nothing like a statue of a golden cow! He made the world and everything in it. And He has rules. He gave Adam & Eve—we learned about them yesterday too—He gave Adam & Eve some rules to obey. Actually just one. But they broke that rule. They broke it on purpose. That was a very big deal. A huge deal. It was as if they said to God, “We like the beautiful garden you made and all, but we don’t really need you. We can make our own decisions. We can do it our own way.”
Yesterday we learned that we are all Israelites because our great ancestor’s name was Israel. Well, in the same way, we are all sinners because we are all descended from Adam & Eve. We are just like them. We find it so easy to turn away from God , just like they did.
Now some of you might be thinking, “I didn’t dance around no stupid cow last night! I’m no sinner!” Maybe you didn’t. But here’s the thing. Sin is not so much what we do. It’s who we are. It’s our nature to be rebellious. Think about it. Have you ever thrown a temper-tantrum? Who taught you how to do that? Nobody had to, huh? It’s your nature. It’s the way we are. That’s why sometimes you don’t listen to Mommy & Daddy. That’s why sometimes you are unkind to your brother or sister. That’s why sometimes you sulk around when things don’t go your way. We are all guilty.
But the real God is holy and kind and good. And He wants to be our God. But sin and disobedience have separated us—all of us—from Him. That is why we can’t see Him with our eyes now or touch Him with our hands now. It’s not because He’s a ghost. Before Adam & Eve sinned, God actually walked and talked with them in the beautiful garden He had made for them! Imagine that! No, it’s because of sin. Sin in our hearts. Sin in the world around us. Sin has separated us from God. Sin is the problem.
Well, we’ve talked about some heavy stuff today, and you may have questions. Your camp counselors will talk with you more in a few minutes. I don’t want to leave you on a sad note however, so let me say that tomorrow we’ll learn about God’s wonderful solution!
