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| Volume 25 Number 12 December 2023 |
Page 13 |
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| Volume 25 Number 12 December 2023 |
Page 13 |
What Is Sin?
Emily Fisher
The reality of sin has become distorted in the minds of many individuals in this ever-increasing humanistic world. Many souls do not understand what sin is. You can see it in such statements as, “He was a good person; now he is in heaven” or “I’m not as bad of a person as she is.” The reason for this misunderstanding of the nature of sin is due to the fact that the majority of people have drifted away from God’s Word. Many have grown up without being taught the Truth. They no longer look to the Holy Scriptures for answers to man’s greatest problem – sin. Indeed, many do not know that there is a problem! Because of this, we along with the prophet Hosea can say, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6 NKJV). Instead of letting the culture around us define sin, let’s look at what God’s Word says about this subject, which affects all of mankind.
What is sin? First John 3:4 states “sin is lawlessness.” The Greek word for sin means “to miss the mark” (to be mistaken, to miss the target, to lose the way) (Koehler). Psalm 51, written by a penitent, inspired David, contains some synonyms for sin – “transgressions” and “iniquity.” Sin is rebellion against God and a perversion of what He has set forth. We have the complete Word of God (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). By it, we can know what is good and what is evil. All people today are under the New Testament law (Romans 7:6). There is a law or else there would be nothing to break or disobey (Romans 4:15). “The faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” is God’s system of salvation – the Gospel of Christ (Jude 3). We must be trained by what He has set forth in the New Testament or our consciences can become dull (1 Timothy 4:2). This is so very important to remember in a “do what you want” world that tells us on all fronts that everything is relative (i.e., there is no truth).
Sin is an action – wrongdoing and failure to do what is right (James 4:17; 1 John 5:17). Sadly, many misunderstand this, thinking since they don’t murder or commit adultery then they are Heaven-bound. However, they fail to realize the things God’s law commands that they have neglected to do. We learn in James 1:12-15 that temptation is not sin, but giving in to the temptation is when we sin. Note the progression of sin in verses 14-15: “own desires,” “conceived,” “gives birth to sin” and “brings forth death.” It is not “the devil made me do it,” but one’s own wants and desires lead down the path to sin. In Matthew 4, Jesus was tempted in the same way we all are: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life (Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 2:15-17). Jesus resisted temptation by remembering God’s Word. We can, too (1 Corinthians 10:13)!
Genesis 3 records the origin of sin on earth. God gave the commandment (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam and Eve made the choice to break God’s law. We all, like Adam and Eve, have chosen to sin (Romans 3:23; 5:12). We each are responsible for our own actions and do not inherit sin from others (Ezekiel 18:20; Luke 13:1-5; John 8:34).
Seeing Who God is allows us to understand sin better. The prophet Isaiah understood this (Isaiah 6:5). Read and meditate on the whole chapter of Isaiah 6. When we by faith see what he was privileged to view – the holiness and glory of God – we, too, will say, “be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). A mindset of “I have no sin” or “I have not sinned” is deceiving oneself and refusing to see the truth of God’s Word (1 John 1:8-10). God is holy and demands holiness of His followers (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16). Our sin separates us from Him (Isaiah 59:2). The Lord hates sin, and His mercy will go only so far until His justice must serve punishment (Proverbs 6:16-19; Genesis 15:16; Deuteronomy 12:29-32; 18:9-14). God wants me to see sin as He sees it, confess and turn away from those iniquities (Psalm 51:17; Ephesians 4:25-32; 1 John 1:9).
What is the remedy for sin? In short, but oh so amazingly, the blood of Christ is the only remedy for sin (Revelation 1:5)! Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Law of Moses, which had a reminder of sin each year (Hebrews 10:1-4). Then, He established His new covenant by His very own blood (Hebrews 7:23-8:13; 10:4). Christ, as the perfect Lamb of God, has “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:23-28). As such, He has been given all authority and has commanded all people to do the same thing in order to come to God through Him. It is not sufficient to say, “I believe” and go on our merry way doing what we think is best. In Matthew 7:21-27, Jesus clearly stated that not all believers will be saved. Rather, it is those who are “doers of the word” – those who are laying “aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness” as they receive His soul-saving Word (James 1:21-25). True belief in Christ will compel us to repent of our sins and be willing to confess that He is the Son of God (Acts 17:30; Romans 10:8-10). Putting our full trust in Him, we will submit to being immersed in water for the remission of our sins, understanding that it is in baptism where we meet the blood of Christ (Romans 6:3-7). God saves us from sin when we come to Him in faithful obedience (Colossians 2:11-13), and His grace continues to save us as we live a life putting His will before our own.
The Holy Spirit made it plain in 1 John 2:15-17 that sin is “not of the Father.” May we put in our heart of hearts that this “world is passing away” and recall this the next time we are tempted in the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25).
Sin keeps us from being what God intended us to be. It wreaks havoc on our spiritual as well as physical lives. Sin is walking in darkness and will lead us to eternal Hell. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Works Cited
Koehler, Ludwig; Walter Baumgartner; M. E. J. Richardson and J. J. Stamm. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Electronic Database. Boston: Brill P., 2000.
