Articles
Shifting the Blame
Adam sinned by eating the fruit that God had forbidden. When the Lord confronted him, Adam replied, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12).
King Saul sinned by defying God’s order to annihilate the Amalekites, choosing instead to spare the best of their flocks and herds. When Samuel questioned him, Saul said, “The people spared the best of the sheep and oxen…” (1 Samuel 15:15).
King Ahab led the whole nation into sin. As a result, the prophet Elijah announced that God would curse the land with a drought. The next time Elijah came before Ahab — after three years without rain — the king derided him as “you troubler of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17).
“Sin,” wrote Matthew Henry, “is a brat that nobody is willing to own.” Adam blamed Eve. Saul blamed the people. Ahab blamed Elijah. These and many others in Scripture tried to shift responsibility for their sin and its consequences onto someone else. It never works. Whatever factors may influence me, my sin and its guilt are mine. I am to blame; God holds me accountable (Romans 14:12). Only when we admit as much is real repentance possible. That opens the door to forgiveness in Christ, God’s blameless Son who died so that the guilty can be justified (2 Corinthians 5:21). What have you done about your sin?
