What Is Sin?

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 1Jh. 3:4

   Although that is part of the meaning of DOETH, it does not express the full impact of the passage. John is NOT saying that you are ‘practicing’ to do what is right, he says you are DOING IT!

   You shall know them by their FRUITS! (Matt. 7:15) The production of the crop is the illustration Jesus used and John is eluding to in 1John 3. Simply, he who DOES (produces) what is right is righteous, he who sins (transgresses) is of the Devil. Loosely translated is the use of the word, ‘practice’ in the modern versions. Sin is failing to do it. The pattern of those born of God is a production of good fruit. In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are known. Whoever PRODUCES righteousness is of God! (1Jn. 3:9-10) Therefore it requires that man have a free and independent will, able to OBEY God and DO what is right from his heart. From that premise, we can clearly understand what the Bible teaches about sin.

   Temptation is Not Sin!

   Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. James 1:13-15

   The desire must be united with the will for sin (transgression) to take place. If the temptation is halted in its tracks as 1Cor. 10:13 directs, the desire is not enticed into sin. The way of escape is your own free will to choose the right way over the wrong. ‘Full-grown’ sin is the transgression accomplished, whether in actuality or in the heart. The violation results in spiritual death. Repentance is the ONLY remedy.

   Not All Sin is the Same!

   Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin.”  John 19:11

   Clearly, Jesus taught that levels of responsibility exist toward God. In the parable of the faithful and evil servant, Lk. 12:35-48, knowing the Master's will and failing to do it resulted in a more severe punishment. However, the parable also shows that ignorance is NEVER an excuse either. The greater sin is the transgression that incurs the greater condemnation. Just as all the commandments are not the same, neither can all sin be the same.

   By pure definition, many acts of transgression bring about immediate spiritual death. For example, a person cannot commit an act of ‘occasional’ immorality and still claim to be ‘practicing’ righteousness. The desire conceived is worthy of spiritual death, as one who hates his brother is guilty of murder in his heart! This is the reason Jesus warned us so severely in Matt. 5:27-30, about cutting off or plucking out the offending members, rather than going to hellfire whole, thinking we are ok!

Sin is Not the Foregone Conclusion!

   For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Rom. 6:14

   Sinning daily in thought, word and deed (as every pastor claims) is CERTAINLY NOT producing the fruit of right behavior as 1John has said. The confession of sin John speaks of in 1John 1:7-9 is the RARE occasion of sin….’IF ANYONE SINS!’ he says! (Not when.) He is teaching the EXACT opposite of a ‘sin confess’ lifestyle of constant transgression that many professed Christians live under. The forgiveness of the sin in this case is contingent on WALKING in the light, abiding in Him and being faithful. This is not a formula for automatic recovery of immoral acts that bring about spiritual death.

   You are a slave to who you obey, sin to death, obedience to righteousness. If sin has dominion over you (daily in thought, word and deed), you are a child of the Devil! Jesus' purpose was to destroy the works of the devil, NOT cover sin with some kind of false cloak of religion.

   Sinning against God is serious business. That’s why real repentance is so important. There has to be a clearing of the wrongdoing BEFORE mercy can be granted. Otherwise, the desires will never change. The godly sorrow breaks up the stubborn heart so it can yield to God and STOP the sin! That’s where the fear and diligence comes in. In the end, the heart is PURIFIED by faith! (2Cor.7:10-11) The new birth begins on SOLID ground and a departure from iniquity.

   This CANNOT possibly happen by degree or gradually over time, (as the pastors claim!) The Bible states that for a person to know to do right and do it not, to him it is sin! (Js 4:17) How could you constantly be doing the wrong thing and be the person John is talking about in 1John 3:9-10, Born of God? Scripture constantly warns of not stumbling others with your behavior or failing to act out of faith in matters of food, drink, and apparel. Although many of these things are not sin in themselves, they can become a source of stumbling to others if indulged in.

   Then the sin becomes an offense that can destroy the faith of another! Jesus was VERY severe in His warning of Matt. 18:6 about these things. WOE unto the person from which the offense comes! Better to adopt Paul’s direction and be SAFE. Exercise care in everything! It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak! Rom. 14:21

   What about such things as smoking, drinking, obesity (overeating) crud talk, and forms of entertainment? AGAIN all these fall under Paul’s admonition and should be avoided. Indeed some of them can quickly become an awful source of indulgence and enslave you into sin! The problem with these types of things is the unethical behavior they promote in the churches, unabated because NO ONE will say a word about it. In fact it's commonplace among professed Christians today to assume everyone is the Romans 7 wretch, chief of all sinners! Therefore they heap all sin into one lump and indulge themselves in all of it.

   Whereas if they cared and had come to God through REAL repentance and faith their lives would reflect the standards of the Bible instead of them trying to explain them DOWN. Real Christians, like Paul, are deeply concerned about personal conduct and the sins of the people. They do not shrug off all the immoral activity going on around them as though nothing is wrong and all these people are on their way into the Kingdom! The possibility of disqualification is a present danger. Even IF the Pastors are numb to it. The Scriptures make it clear.

   But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1Cor. 9:27

   Just because your Pastors won’t warn you of the certain types of behavior that will disqualify you from the Kingdom doesn’t mean that you can DO them anyway and get away with it! BE NOT DECEIVED!  “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them!”  Eph. 5:6-7

   What THINGS is he talking about? READ the previous verses: ‘Fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, coarse jesting, drunkenness, idolatry.’  (Also check Gal. 5:19-21, 1Cor. 6:9-10)

   Don’t fall into the trap of these things not applying to the ‘Christian’  WHO ELSE would they be written to? The heathen were ALREADY DOING them! Don’t be foolish enough to assume this doesn’t apply to ‘Christians’ or that they can do them occasionally and still be safe!

   Another snare you can fall into concerning the sin issue is the ‘No one is Perfect’ excuse. Again this assumes sin is the foregone conclusion from start to finish for the Christian. Since he came to God ‘IN SIN’ and was forgiven while doing it, God doesn’t expect much of an improvement. Just a ‘desire’ to change somewhere along the line is good enough. So your bad behavior isn’t a crime against God to be cleared and repented of, but a ‘symptom’ of your sinfulness you must learn to cope with. Now obedience is canceled out with repentance!  

   God’s focus is on the heart and it is perfectly capable of yielding to Him in humble obedience and rendering due service. WHO produced a crop in the parable of the sower? The seed that fell on the good and NOBLE heart and took root! (Lk. 8:15) That’s the difference between life and death and making it or not into Kingdom. Whether you will obey or excuse yourself from it. It’s not a matter of WHO is perfect here, what counts is will you OBEY what He has said when He looks into your heart for devotion!

   The blame of sin isn’t so much keeping the rules and obeying the laws. Although Scripture does say that it’s the DOERS of the Law who will be justified! (Rom. 2:13) It’s a heart condition before God. The wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, WILLING TO YIELD, full of mercy and GOOD fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. (James 3:17-18)  Is that the conduct of your life? The PRODUCT of your WALK? If not you are operating outside of faith, and whatever is not of faith is sin, according to the Bible. Therefore use ‘rghteous’ judgment and examine yourself here.

   THAT is the servant who will be found so DOING when the Master returns. The others will be DISQUALIFIED for missing the mark.

Every sin has the potential of disqualifying you from the Kingdom. Some do so much more rapidly than others and some can place you in a state of hopelessness. Willful acts of deliberate sin are said to crucify Christ afresh and hold Him to open shame! (Heb. 6:1-6) Many NEVER recover from these types of sins because they insult the Spirit of Grace and trample the blood by which they were sanctified, treating it like the blood of animals, with no power to eradicate sin from their lives! (Heb.10:29) Like Esau, they went past the point of NO RETURN. The root of bitterness defiled their conscience and they could no longer find repentance unto God although they sought it with bitter tears. (Heb. 12:15-17)

   Love can cover a multitude of sins, but the sinning person MUST be TURNED from the error of his ways to be saved! (James 5:19-20) Nothing is more dangerous to the soul than the complacent, flippant attitude toward sin the present-day Gospel breeds among professed Christians. They are told that God saves them in their sins because they were born that way, so they indulge themselves in all of it without fear. Ultimately it numbs their conscience to conviction and renders real repentance null and void.

   The outcome of your salvation is NOT going to be decided by calculating your successes against your failures, BUT on whether or NOT your HEART was fully yielded to God and OBEYED Him! Your WALK will reflect your level of devotion. That’s why FEW there be that will find it!       

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