Pastor Jeremiah Wright, born Hindu, saved by the Grace of our Lord
Adam and Eve did not merely reach for forbidden fruit. They reached for the throne of God.
At the root of the fall was not hunger but rebellion, not curiosity but a desire to rule instead of submit.
When the serpent whispered, “You will be like God” Genesis 3:5, he was awakening the same pride that once moved him to say, “I will ascend above the heights” Isaiah 14:13-14.
That same impulse now lives in every human. That was the heart of the fall. Man was not content to be creature under God. He wanted to be god. From that moment onward, sin became a drive for divine independence rather than humble obedience.
Sin does not simply make us immoral. It rewires our worship. Instead of glorifying God, we glorify ourselves. Instead of bowing to His authority, we enthrone our own will.
Paul exposes this when he says that fallen humanity “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” Romans 1:25. At its root, sin is self worship wearing religious clothing.
True faith rests in God’s sovereignty. Sin pushes us toward self reliance. Instead of trusting the Lord with all our heart, we lean on our own understanding Proverbs 3:5. Instead of waiting on God, we seize control. Instead of praying “Your will be done,” we live as though the universe must obey our will.
This is why Jesus warned that whoever seeks to save his life will lose it Matthew 16:25. We do not simply rebel privately. We build entire systems around our pride. We write our own moral rules, demand that others serve our agenda, and call it freedom.
Isaiah names this spirit clearly. “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” Isaiah 53:6. That is humanity without grace, scattered, self centered, and hostile to God.
The gospel does not flatter human autonomy. It crucifies it. Christ calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him Luke 9:23.
Real salvation replaces self worship with God worship, self rule with submission, and self reliance with childlike trust. Anything less is not Christianity.