What in the world is wrong with the world? When we look around and see the death, destruction, sickness, and sorrow that never seems to stop happening, we have to wonder how things got the way they are. How did the world end up as bad as it is, and is there any way for things to get better?

The good news is the Bible has the answer, and it starts with understanding the effect sin has on the world.

Sin is fundamentally a rebellion against God. A rejection of His commands, and a rejection of Him. But sin’s effects are not limited to our relationship with God. Sin affects everything we experience.

When the first people sinned, they sent the good world God made into a tailspin. The Bible says that the world was subjected to futility, which means that brokenness is the default setting. And we see the evidence of this all around us:

• The fact that light from the sun puts us at risk of cancer.
• That rivers, lakes, and oceans turn chaotic and deadly whenever a storm begins.
• That earthquakes level homes and occasionally move entire nations. Droughts, tornadoes, wildfires…

All of this is the result of sin’s presence in the world.

Sin’s effects on our relationships is just as devastating as any natural disaster. Because of sin, we are desperately and futilely trying to one-up one another to win the title of biggest sinner. We fight and defy one another.

• Authority corrupts.
• Power seduces.
• Pride destroys. 

In every conceivable way, human sin has cursed the world.

But even though the distorting effects of sin are visible all around us, there is hope: the gospel is the answer to the world’s longing for redemption. On the day that Jesus returns, He will make all things new, and sin’s effects on the world will be removed forever.