Q&A – WHAT IS SIN? Part 1

WBS.269

Q&A – WHAT IS SIN?   Part 1

Matthew 1:21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Yahushua: for he shall save his people from their sins.

All my life, I have heard preachers and so-called evangelists giving their “invitation” for people to “accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.”  Nowhere in the Scriptures is the gospel presented as an invitation. It is a command. Nowhere in the Scriptures is it suggested that anyone should “accept Christ” much less to accept him as a “personal Lord and Savior.”  This is traditional nonsense, the origin of which very likely cannot even be traced; and yet, the church ignores the book of Acts and presses on with passing down this traditional idea from generation to generation.

One of the intrinsic elements of this “invitation” to accept Christ as one’s personal Lord and Savior is the need for the person to say that they are “sorry for their sins;” and to ask Jesus to forgive them of their sins.  To this I would suggest one read:

2 Corinthians 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

The word for “sorry” and “sorrow” and “sorrowed” in this passage is all the same word (lupeo) and it means “to be pained, to grieve.” Have you ever known or seen anyone who, in response to an invitation to accept the Messiah, actually grieved over their sins?   It is always just a verbal formula they are lead to say when they are praying “the magic prayer.”  There is never even an explanation as to what sin actually is; so how can they comprehend what it is they are telling Messiah they are sorry for having committed?

Most people will admit that they have sinned; but what do they mean?  Realistically, sin, to a typical person, is whatever they have done that, afterwards, made them feel guilty. In other words, to most people, sin is defined as the violation of their own sensibilities. It is all about them and has nothing to do with Elohim.  If I grow up in a culture where it is a learned trait to deceive others in order to make a deal, then such guile and craftiness will be honored as a prized skill; and not something that would cause one to feel guilty, and surely not grief or sorrow.

Matthew 1:21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Yahushua: for he shall save his people from their sins.

This is the first time the word “sin” is used in the New Testament. This verse defines the very mission of the Messiah.  He shall “save” his people from their “sins.”  The Greek word translated “save” here is “sozo” (pronounced “sode-zo”); and in this context it means to rescue or deliver one from the danger and grave consequences of something…here, it is to be delivered from sins.  Common sense would tell you that IAUE did not send His Son to make his appearance into the world as a child, grow up, be killed and rise from the dead to separate man from the things he has done that make him feel guilty.  That would just give mankind a new starting point to begin the rest of their life doing more things that make them feel guilty…to continue living their self-centered life.

So, what is sin?  Let’s look at the first time this word appears in the Scripture.

Genesis 4:3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to IAUE.

4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. IAUE looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 

5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then IAUE said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Abel did what was right before IAUE.  Cain did not do what was right. This is a very important “first usage” of this word for it demonstrates a significant distinction between “sin” and “a sin.”  Let me explain.  “A sin” is a singular act, one of many acts that are “not right” before IAUE. “Sin,” however, is anthropomorphized in this verse. It is depicted as a living entity that is “crouching at your door” desiring to have the mastery over your life. The Hebrew word for “crouching” (ravats) is a word that describes the posture of an animal that is lying on its stomach with its legs curled up underneath, like a horse does when it lies down.  In this verse “sin” is postured this way “at your door,” or literally, at the entry way into your life.  In the very next verse, Cain kills his brother.

The apostle Paul confirms this idea in his letter to the Romans.

Romans 7:7  …I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 

9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 

10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 

11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.

A wrong act on our part is behavior resulting from a choice we make.  It is “a sin.”  Our wrongful behaviour did not “sieze an opportunity”  It did not “deceive us.” That which seized the opportunity to deceive us was a force working upon us to MAKE the choice to do wrong. It was an enemy crouching at the entrance to our heart to bend us to its will. IAUE told Cain that he was responsible to not permit sin to rule over him.  He must rule over it.

Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto Elohim, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto Elohim.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? Elohim forbid.

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

This is a very enlightening passage of Scripture.  Here we see Paul expressing that sin (that thing that is crouching at the entrance to your life) wants to reign, to have the rule over your mortal life.  Sin wants you to obey it.  This is not referring to a wrong act, or acts.  It is an evil spiritual entity.  Paul goes on to instruct the Romans not to yield their bodies unto sin but to Elohim.  Elohim is a living being.  Paul is not contrasting serving a wrongful act, or a “principle” of wrong with serving the Creator. He is contrasting two would-be masters of our life; both of which desire our implicit obedience.  Because of the grace of IAUE, sin (the evil thing crouching at your door) shall not have dominion (rule, domination) over you.  Why is this?  If you remember from our last post, grace is the power IAUE gives to us that enables us effortlessly to do His will.  Because grace is acting upon our lives, we are rendering our mortal bodies as instruments of righteousness to serve the will of IAUE.  This keeps sin at the door, crouching, and not pouncing.  He is given no passage to lead us into servitude to him.

                     

John 8:34  Yahushua answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin (the wrong act) is the servant of sin (the evil entity crouching at the door).

If we humble ourselves to submit in faith to the Master Yahushua Messiah, our life becomes all about Yahushua in us; and the Father pours out his grace upon us and we are empowered to do His will.  If we stand up from that humble posture and make life about us, then sin enters through the doorway and our service to him is manifested by our committing sin. It is really quite that simple.  When life is about “us” it leads us to commit sin.  When life is about Messiah, it leads us to obedience to IAUE.  James tells us this.

James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Man can only be tempted when some desire inside of him is titillated…when something moves him to make life about what he wants. When he acts on that desire, it produces sin, a wrongful act. Notice that the tempter is called “sin” (the entity, not the wrongful act), and he will work that self-centered desire in you until it results in your death; all the while enjoying his dominion over you.

So, we have distinguished the difference between “sin” and “a sin.”  We still have not actually defined what “a sin” is.  We will do that in our next post.