34:TIME OUT! What Is Sin, Exactly?

Take My Hand Inspirations

SALVATION SERIES

TIME OUT! What Is Sin, Exactly?

                                                                                                                  

Christianity has become like a joke to the unbelievers—and to the backsliders.  When they look inside the “Church”, all they want to see is sin; their ears itch to hear more about what is going wrong with the Pastor and his congregation than the actual Word of God he preaches every Sunday morning.  Then, they make a decision: “As for me, I will never go to church. . . look at what’s going on in there.  I’m better out here in the world doing more good, than to be hemmed up in a place full of fornication, adultery, backbiting and stabbing, utter war between the Pastor and deacons and elders, and many Pastors’ wives are sitting around gossiping about the personal condition of most of the church members.  Woo wee! Why be a Christian today?

But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out abundantly though Jesus Christ our Saviour (Titus 3:4-6).

Now that you have taken the first and second steps to salvation of your soul by admitting: “I am a sinner”, and accepting that God hates all sin, NOT THE SINNER; and that sin is leads to death—fleshly, emotionally/psychologically, and spiritually, now it’s time to understand exactly, “What is sin?”

What is so important to acknowledge here is that mankind has an inborn “sin radar” that alerts him to knowing when he has done wrong.  It’s that feeling we discussed in an earlier blog—when you know you’ve done something or said or thought about something you shouldn’t have. Sin is any word, thought or action (taken or not taken) that is contrary to the holiness of God.  In other words: SIN IS DISOBEDIENCE. Read Galatians 5:19-21.

SIN CAN BE PHYSICAL—Our fleshly sins include using our bodies to steal, kill, have sex before and inside marriage (fornication/adultery) and including reveries, orgies, licentiousness—sexual intercourse with objects, same-sex, animals, masturbation.  Physical sin also includes speaking in ungodly ways; drunkenness and getting high on drugs; and all kinds of non-verbal gestures (rolling of eyes, sucking of teeth, fingering, etc.).  This type of sin is generally reflected as uncleanness.

SIN CAN BE EMOTIONAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL—Our thoughts turn sinful when we meditate on things which are not pure: plotting to get revenge against someone who’s wronged you; lying and spreading unscrupulous rumours to destroy someone’s reputation; outbursts of wrath, distrust, jealousy, contentions.  This type of sin is emulated as selfishness—to do anything to protect and preserve the ego, the self, from destruction or annihilation.

SIN CAN BE SPIRITUAL—tapping the soul to be directed toward idol worship.  Anything that replaces Almighty God as first place in your life is spiritual sin: acquiring material wealth (money and “things”) and focusing on its pleasures and how to get more of it distracts our attention to worshipping our Creator; witchcraft and sorcery--actual worship of lesser gods in the occult and heresies (any doctrine that goes against the pure Doctrine of Jesus Christ, especially the Resurrection and the Doctrine of Salvation); and, finally, giving your soul to the influences of world.  All these internal, invisible sins appear to the Lord as lewdness reflecting a behavior, dressing, speech and sexuality that is not the image God had for us during our creation.

Sin prompts three basic responses in people from all cultures: shame (the Muslim world and Asian), fear (African, Central and South American, and Pacific Islanders) and guilt (Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian in North American, European and Australian cultures).  Because these responses are uncomfortable, people try to find ways to avoid them.  Ideally we should avoid sin and turn to God in repentance, asking for forgiveness; but in our fallen state (Romans 3:23), we try to find our own ways of coping.  As a general rule, people focus on achieving honour to avoid shame, achieving power to overcome fear, and obeying laws or rules to avoid guilt.  However, the Bible teaches that  only by turning to and obeying God can we rid ourselves of the shame, fear and guilt caused by our sin¹.

To try to cope with or to cover up sin is sinful.  So how can man stop sinning?  Only through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.  And where can man get that regeneration and renewing?  Only in the Church Body whose head is Jesus Christ, whose heart is Jesus Christ, whose hands are Jesus Christ—all working together through its members.

We don’t hesitate to rush into a hospital when our physical bodies are in danger of dying.  We also seek counseling—either professionally or simply by talking to a friend or relative—when our minds are troubled by unstable emotions.  So why is it so colossally slow for some of us to get our souls checked in to the only effective healing place available for salvation?

Those who point their finger at the “Church” must be mindful of the three fingers pointing back at them directly indicating their own hypocrisy.  The Church is a hospital for sick souls.  We enter to get healing from the One who is our Master Doctor—Jesus Christ. Many of us came in so sick, we were like walking dead people.  But once we took the steps to Salvation, we were healed and so, now, we stand as Jesus’ Doctors to heal other dying souls.  

No institution is perfect on earth, especially the Church.  But it is in the Church where we get a second chance, new life, born-again to do the will of God and to be saved from sin and its wages.  In the Church, we receive the constant nourishment our souls need to overcome the influences of the world.  It is in the Church where we get our power to destroy the works of the enemy.  It is in the Church where we shall receive eternal life.  Jesus died for the Church to be raised up in Him.  If you cannot walk into a strong Bible-believing, Bible-preaching and Bible-living Church because you see all the sickness in it, ask yourself: “Am I completely whole—and without sin?”

ALL SIN LEADS TO DEATH.  What is death? DEATH IS THE END OF LIFE—physical (the body), emotional/psychological (the soul), and spiritual.  As humans, we try to cover our sins by attaining honor or fame; acquiring or outright buying power; and hiding inside of laws or rules created by man (not God) to make us feel justified for sinning.  CAN ANYONE FROM ANY CULTURE HIDE FROM THE ONE WHO CREATED US?

© 2018 by Take My Hand Inspirations, a division of PepParadise Society Ltd Publishers.  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior written permission of the publisher.  The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.  Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Reference:

1. Cox, Brenda S., Things Fall Apart Study Guide, Wisconsin, USA: Progeny Press, 2006:20-22.

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