Why Was Sin Permitted?
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others in their course of sin. Instead of correcting their errors, they
excite indignation against the reprover, as if he were the sole cause of
difficulty. From the days of righteous Abel to our own time such is the
spirit which has been displayed toward those who dare to condemn
sin.
In the banishment of Satan from heaven, God declared His justice
[4]
and maintained the honor of His throne. But when man had sinned
through yielding to the deceptions of this apostate spirit, God gave an
evidence of His love by yielding up His only-begotten Son to die for
the fallen race. In the atonement the character of God is revealed. The
mighty argument of the cross demonstrates to the whole universe that
the course of sin which Lucifer had chosen was in no wise chargeable
upon the government of God.
The Plan To Redeem Humanity
Satan’s lying charges against the divine character and government
appeared in their true light. He had accused God of seeking merely
the exaltation of Himself in requiring submission and obedience from
His creatures, and had declared that, while the Creator exacted self-
denial from all others, He Himself practiced no self-denial and made
no sacrifice. Now it was seen that for the salvation of a fallen and
sinful race, the Ruler of the universe had made the greatest sacrifice
which love could make; for “God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto Himself.”
2 Corinthians 5:19
. It was seen, also, that while Lucifer
had opened the door for the entrance of sin by his desire for honor and
supremacy, Christ had, in order to destroy sin, humbled Himself and
become obedient unto death.
God had manifested His abhorrence of the principles of rebellion.
All heaven saw His justice revealed, both in the condemnation of Satan
and in the redemption of man. Lucifer had declared that if the law
of God was changeless, and its penalty could not be remitted, every
transgressor must be forever debarred from the Creator’s favor. He had
claimed that the sinful race were placed beyond redemption and were
therefore his rightful prey. But the death of Christ was an argument in
man’s behalf that could not be overthrown. The penalty of the law fell
upon Him who was equal with God, and man was free to accept the
righteousness of Christ and by a life of penitence and humiliation to