Secondhand sin ∙

Secondhand sin ∙

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12

Romans 5:15-16

 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.

 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.

What is the toll of secondhand smoke? Despite declines in smoking in some developed nations, there are still over a billion smokers worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

“That billion smokers contribute to about 880,000 deaths from secondhand smoke,” said Dr. Jagat Narula, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai, Morningside, in New York City, who researches the health impact of smoking. “I call it a form of murder” (https://whdh.com/news/its-not-just-secondhand-smoke-that-is-dangerous-thirdhand-smoke-can-be-too/).

It takes only 52 smokers to kill a person via secondhand tobacco smoke, according to a new global analysis. While the harmful effects of secondhand smoke have long been known – it’s estimated that nearly 1,000,000 people around the world die each year from inhaling the smoke floating around them – this is the first research to determine “how many smokers are needed to kill one innocent non-smoker,” says Nurula.

Nurula and his team looked at the number of active smokers and secondhand smoke victims around the world from 1990 to 2016. They found that in 1990, it took 31 lifetime smokers to produce enough secondhand smoke to kill one non-smoker. By 2016 that number had increased to 52, thanks to the spread of smoking bans in restaurants, bars, and offices. “There’s a sense of secondhand smoke being benign, or not as damaging as actual smoking is,” Nurula tells CNN.com. “But it’s truly deadly” (The Week, April 03, 2020).

There is also thirdhand smoke. A new study out of Yale University says thirdhand smoke – the tobacco contaminants that adhere to walls, bedding, carpet, and other surfaces until a room smells like an ashtray – can actually cling to a smoker’s body and clothes as well.

Those potentially toxic chemicals, including nicotine, can then be released into environments where smoking has never occurred, like a movie theater, according to the study.

Even more disturbing: The study found those chemical exposure levels could be the equivalent of between one and 10 cigarettes by the end of the movie (https://whdh.com/news/its-not-just-secondhand-smoke-that-is-dangerous-thirdhand-smoke-can-be-too/).

It is exceedingly difficult for people who are smokers to quit. But many do. Perhaps for years, they still long for, even dream about the pleasure they derived from smoking. But they no longer produce secondhand smoke. They will never contribute to the death of anyone. It is a simple fact, that when you are no longer a smoker, you are indeed no longer a smoker.

But sin is something else entirely. Sins with an “S” are acts or attitudes that we perform or have. But sin, singular, is what we are, a sinner. Once a sinner, always a sinner. We can work at limiting our sins, but there is nothing we can do to stop being a sinner. We are doomed to pass on to our children secondhand sin. And they too become sinners. It is a vicious and deadly cycle.

Where did sin come from? The Scriptures provide a clear answer: Adam and Eve.

All of their children are afflicted with the consequences of their original choice to sin. All children who are the descendants of Adam and Eve suffer from secondhand sin. It is like a birth defect built into the DNA.

Romans 5:12-17

 12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many.

REFLECT & PRAY

2 Corinthians 5:21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Father thank You that some quit smoking, by Your grace. But none of us can quit sinning. Therefore thank You for providing an option, a cure through the Lord Jesus Christ that we may be forgiven and enter into a right relationship with You.

INSIGHT

The Father had a plan to deal with the sin of the human race whether it be firsthand or secondhand sin. His plan was to send the Lord Jesus Christ to planet Earth, not born of the union of man and woman. He was sinless because the Holy Spirit supernaturally performed the miracle of the virgin birth. Because He was sinless, He was qualified to live and die and be resurrected. As a result of His death for sin, forgiveness is now available to all of the descendants of Adam and Eve. Forgiveness is the free gift offered by the Father to everyone who has “caught” the sin virus from Adam and Eve.

Romans 5:15-19

 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.

 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.

 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

 18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.

 19 Because one-person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

As descendants of Adam, our connection with him is merely physical. We have inherited secondhand sin. We had no choice as to whether or not we would be born sinful. In the same way, we could not choose our parents, we could not avoid being born sinful. But our connection with the Lord Jesus Christ is a choice. Each of us is free to choose to accept or reject the Father’s solution for our sin.

We all have the same opportunity to be forgiven for our sins. Regrettably, we cannot stop sinning, but thankfully we can be forgiven.

It is sad to realize that our secondhand sin, is transferred to our children. It is like an inherited genetic disorder that is simply passed on. But the Father has provided a way to perform spiritual surgery and limit the effect of anyone’s sin disorder.

If you have not already experienced forgiveness and entered into a right relationship with the Father, what are you waiting for?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 4-22-2