Genesis 6:5&6 "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." In the VERY beginning, it is demonstrated in the Bible how that man's heart was rebellious towards God.
It says, "every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil ALL the time." It was after this that He sent the great flood and only one man and his family were saved, Noah.
The Bible tells of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis Chapter 19.
Genesis 19: 1-11 " The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning."
"No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square."
3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."
9 "Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door."
As I read this passage, I was struck with the thought- how could Lot, supposed to be a righteous man, suggest that he would give his daughters to these men? The thought is detestable in my mind. If you read on, the same chapter, verse 30-36, you see how that his daughters, after escaping the city, got their father drunk with wine and slept with him in order to preserve their lineage. Both daughters sleeping with their father? How could this be? It is the fallen nature of man exposed. Read verse 24 & 25,"Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land." God's judgment was to destroy not just the towns, but the entire plain. As you read the old testament you are confronted with account after account of the wickedness and the fallen nature of man and God's judgment as he deals with sin.
God gave the law to His people starting in Exodus chapter 20. A part of the law is in the form of the Ten Commandments. After this, people were given the chance to offer sacrifices for their sin. Still, the blood sacrifice of a lamb or a goat was not enough to reconcile God to man. It's not until Jesus came and fulfilled the prophesies, Jesus as the perfect lamb of God- the sacrifice for our sins- that justice was satisfied. But the point is that in the old testament the sin of man is exposed. It's not hidden, it's not given excuses for- but it's called what it was, rebelliousness towards God.
In the New Testament, Paul addresses the issue of sin.
Galatians 5:19-21 "19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
The Bibles says in Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
WHY, now, do we think that God has in any way changed his attitude towards sin?
