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Sin – confusion
What is a sin? I often hear children and even grownups ask that question. Even when a person has been a church member for many years, they look for a simple biblical definition of sin.
Can you remember as a child trying to understand sin? I remember thinking that it was a whole lot of things that you could not do. Most of them I did not understand what they even meant, but I understood not to lie, steal, or kill.
As we read the account of God creating the world, we find that there was no sin. Gen 1:31 states, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.”
So what happened to bring us to the chaos we see today? Everything was in order and as it should be. No Chaos, no death, no disease, no division or strife, things were just good.
As you know, things are not good in our day. There are riots and killings in the streets. Parents fail to teach their children right and wrong. and often leave them to fend for themselves. Greed and hate fill people’s lives, and they choose to only look for good for themselves.
People are filled with greed and hate. They attack anything that gets in their way. We murder around a million babies every year. Very few seem to care.
There is no peace and no security!
Even churches have stopped preaching about sin in fear that it might offend someone. All want to be politically correct. Careful not to anger someone by telling the truth.
What went wrong?
Adam and Eve chose to disobey God! It was the beginning of a great sickness that now affects all of us and everything in the world.
Paul says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned—Romans 5:12. “
This sin of disobeying God when Adam did what he was commanded not to do is the first recorded sin. It is through this sin we all become guilty. Theologians call this the original sin.
Adam’s sin still affects us. We all die because of it. However, Adam’s sin is just the beginning of man’s downfall.
Paul says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Romans 8:22
We do not like to talk about sin!
People do not want an answer to, ‘What is a Sin?’ If we answer that question, it might require us to change the way we act. It may even cause us to recognize the truth that we are all sinners. And even worse understand that God will not accept us into His kingdom with our sins.
Our culture today has decided that everything is simply a lifestyle choice. If a person goes against the teaching of God, he has that right, and it is OK.
As a nation, we choose to listen to politicians, educators, sociologists, or our next-door neighbor to fix society.
Mankind wants to fix everything without looking at the root cause of the problem.
God has defined what sin is and provided His son Jesus to pay the price for us, but we must repent and accept what God offers.
The answer to, What is a sin
Sin is any lack of conformity to the moral character of God or the law of God. Sin is NOT simply breaking one of the Ten Commandments. It is thinking evil, and doing evil as defined in God’s Word, or failing to do good.
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Romans 14:23 In other words, ‘Whatever we do that goes against trust and faith in God, is sin.’
We read in 1 John 3:4 (KJV), “Sin is the transgression of the law“. It is that simple. God has laid out how He wants us to conduct ourselves. When we do not act accordingly, we are in rebellion against God. That is sin!
How does our society decide what is right and wrong? There was a time when the Bible was our national standard. When people had a question about right and wrong, they searched the Bible and found their answer.
Sin is not defined by society! Society is always against God. Without a fixed understanding of what is right and wrong, we drift around making our own laws. We tend to follow our own ideas of what is right or wrong. When we do we are almost always wrong.
Laws do not change a person’s heart.
Sin
First, sin defiles the individual. It tears down the beautiful creature that God has made us. Sin undermines our sense of value and the value of life in general. We can kill our babies and toss aside the elderly and find no shame in it. Often we even defend our actions as rights when we stand firmly against God.
Second, sin is rebellion against our creator. He has defined what we should and should not do, and we decide our way is best. We make ourselves into little gods and proclaim that we can make our own rules.
Third, sin is ingratitude. It is the failure to give God credit for everything we have and are. Thanks for the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the place we lay our heads to rest. It all comes from God. And all the joy we ever experience.
Sin is the reason we need a Savior
We must understand sin to understand our need to be saved from the penalty of sin. In our hearts, we know that something is not right between God and us.
Scripture says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 also says, “There is none righteous, no, not one” in Romans 3:10
We need to understand our disobedience to help us know we need a Savior and that there is no hope for us without one.
God in his love has provided a Savior just like He provides the air we breathe and the food we eat. He loves us enough to give us the gift of salvation.
You probably know or have heard John 3:16, “God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
I hope this has given you an answer.
As you look at sin in your life, I also pray that you will understand your need for a Savior. God loves you and wants you to be with Him in heaven. He has provided a way through His Son for you to stand before Him completely innocent.
If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior now is the time. All you need do is confess that you are a sinner and ask Jesus to come into your heart. To forgive you of your sins and then commit your life to follow Him.
He will guide you into all holiness through His Holy Spirit and the written Word.
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