~ Article by Joshua Travers ~
Since the beginning of time, mankind has sinned. This can seem obvious. The answer to the question “Why do we sin?” is not so obvious but very important.
Human sin goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. Since the first human beings rejected God and committed sin, all of mankind has given in to “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16) .
The power of sin in our lives is sometimes difficult to comprehend. The fact that it has overpowered every human being to have existed—with the exception of Jesus Christ—is overwhelming evidence of that power. The fact that sin has this power that will result in our death (Romans 6:23) also boggles the mind.
Why is sin so powerful? What is it about sin that makes most people continue to yield to it?
The sin of ignorance
One of the reasons we sin is ignorance. This might not seem like too big of a factor in today’s world, with the Internet and globalization allowing us to share information almost as fast as we receive it. Yet in a world of 7 billion people, how many know the basic doctrines of Christianity? Polls show that most cannot even list the four Gospels!
It can be easy to sin in ignorance—all we have to do is not be aware of what sin is. (Hebrews 9:7) refers to “the people’s sins committed in ignorance” (emphasis added). Not all sin is intentional.
Peter mentioned this while addressing the early Christian Church about their returning to sin “as in your ignorance” (1 Peter 1:14). The only way to conquer sins of ignorance is to overcome the ignorance. We can do that by reading the Bible to identify what sin is. We have to diligently study the Bible daily in order to know what sin is and how to avoid it (Acts 17:11).
There is still another factor to this ignorance that we see in the world. In (Revelation 12:9) we read of a fallen angel or spirit known as Satan the devil, who has managed to deceive the entire world! This deception has kept countless people in ignorance throughout human history.
By Joshua Travers. © lifehopeandtruth.com