Sin - What is it? Part 3

This is the third and final post on "Sin - What is it?" Here was part 1 and part 2.

The Result

The payment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). The Bible says that we are born spiritually dead by nature because of sin (Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1). Jesus often warned that sin leads to the “lake of fire,” “the fire of hell,” “everlasting fire,” where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” “where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” Clearly God’s judgment for sin is eternal and full of wrath (Matthew 5:22; 10:28; 18:8,9; 23:51; 25:41; Mark 9:48; Luke 16:23; Revelation 20:13; etc.).

The Love of God for Sinners

But that is the very reason why God sent His Son into the world, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God does not desire to punish sinners, but He sent Jesus to be born of a virgin without any sin in Himself, so that He would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21; 2Corinthians 5:21).

A Change of Mind

The first thing Jesus preached was “repent, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Repentance is a broken-hearted sorrow and hatred for sin. It is to change your mind toward God and turn from your sins, humbly learning what is right from His will in the Bible. Scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Humble repentance is turning to Jesus empty of all self-righteousness and without faith in one’s self. It is calling out to God for mercy. It is an open-hearted confession before God that you are guilty and worthy of eternal judgment. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1John 1:9,10). Jesus warned very strongly that you must repent or perish (Luke 13:3,5).

Salvation is Free

The Bible says that God shows His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus did not die on the cross for good people, but only for ungodly sinners (Romans 5:6; 1 Timothy 1:15). He died for those who would repent and believe that God raised Him from the dead, and who would trust in God through Him as Savior. This salvation is a free gift through faith, apart from any good works that we could perform (Romans 4:5,23-25; 5:9,10; Ephesians 2:8-10).

Faith in God

Faith is not blind, but trusts Him who alone is faithful and trust-worthy. The Bible claims that Jesus Christ is the faithful God revealed in human flesh (John 1:1,14; Revelation 19:11,13).

How to be Set Free

Christ came to set us free so that we would live to obey God from the heart: “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people [i.e. his own special people], zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). Jesus invites you to come to Him for rest from the burden of your sins, “Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... For I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28,29).

Conclusion

The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). This means that God is calling you to repent today and believe His message of hope by submitting your life to Jesus as your God and Master, that you may find forgiveness of all your sins and a brand new life by the power of His Holy Spirit! Begin reading the Bible today to know all that God Himself has spoken. God gave us the Holy Bible so that we would know Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, and that by knowing Him we would have eternal life (John 17:3). Will you read the Bible to know the Lord Jesus Christ and His love for sinners who trust Him? You can begin by reading the Gospel of John and then Romans in the New Testament.

Sin - What is it? Part 2

This is the second part of a short series on defining sin and learning about the answer to it. Here was Part 1.)

How You Have Sinned

This means that every time in your life when you told a lie or said something false about someone, you sinned. Every time you disrespected your parents or refused to obey them as a child, you sinned. Every time you gave your whole heart and soul to something while neglecting obedience to God’s Word, you sinned. Every time you spoke of God in vain or lived in a way that would dishonor His name, you sinned. (See Exodus 20:3-17).

Sinful Desires

Sin includes corrupt attitudes and desires of the heart (Genesis 6:5; Mark 7:21). To covet, desiring something that belongs to another person, is sin. To lust, desiring sexual pleasure with someone outside of marriage, is adultery in the heart. Hatred and unjust anger are considered murder (Matthew 5:22; 1John 3:15). Sin says, “My way is better than God’s way. I will do what I want... whatever pleases myself.” Rather than saying, “The things that I want must be governed by God’s Word, or they are not right at all.” As Jesus prayed to His Father, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Sin is Against God

God considers sin to be enmity against Himself (Romans 8:7). Which means that if you sin, God is your enemy and you are His enemy (Isaiah 33:14; Romans 5:10). Sin is rebellion (1 Samuel 15:23). It is an unwillingness to submit to what the Creator has revealed in His Word. It is a form of self-righteousness, thinking it is justified in doing what God hates.
Lying to Yourself
Sin is deceptive, ensnaring and will lead you astray (Proverbs 5:22,23). It makes you lie to yourself, telling yourself that you are not really that bad. It is a deadly form of pride which stubbornly refuses to be corrected or rebuked. Sin will make you blame anyone except yourself, saying, “It was her fault... his mistake... their problem... not mine!” But it is your problem!

Causing Harm

Sin makes you love what you should hate and hate what you should love. It will rob you and others of everything truly good in life and will poison every relationship. Sin causes people to fight and quarrel and kill. It is a warfare of pleasures battling within you (James 4:1). It is deceptive, destructive and disastrous. In fact, all the suffering we experience in this world began with Adam and Eve’s original sin in the garden (Genesis chapter 3; Romans 5:12).

God is Holy and Just

Because God is perfectly holy and just, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. Therefore God has promised one day to judge the world with righteousness (Psalm 98:9).

(To be continued...)

Sin - What is it? Part 1

What is sin? We as Christians hear that Jesus died for it, but what does that mean? I'm publishing the first part of a series of simple posts that seek to briefly explain this important topic from Scripture.


The Bible says Jesus died for people’s sins. So what is sin?

Definition

The definition of sin is lawlessness: “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).

The Law of God

God created the universe with natural law and order. The Bible teaches us that mankind was made with a moral law, which is contained in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). All ten commandments are summed up in these two commands: 1) “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” and 2) “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:36-40).

Our Problem

Our problem is that we have each broken that standard. Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit would come to convict the world of sin (John 16:8,9), and the Spirit reveals to us in the Bible that “there is none righteous, no, not one... there is none that does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10,12).