We have all heard the word and it’s meaning over and over. What is SIN? But, never has there been a word so vague and unclear as this little word “SIN”. “To miss the mark” and I still ask what are we talking about?
There is a problem in much of what we call Bible study. You see we have a real problem separating the ERROR being described from the EXAMPLE use to make the teaching clear. The word SIN is only an example or illustration, “To miss the mark”, But just what mark, what are we trying to say?
When we discuss Bible we often reduce the topic to a verse, a sentence, a phrase, or even a word, then we analyze the thought right to what we believed when we started.
I will not go into a long discussion of what makes up this problem, instead I am going to say it now in the beginning. Then, I pray, we will explain the problem and some of how it came to be.
God is absolute GOOD, to turn from God in any way is EVIL, evil that leads to sin! Sin is the result of evil. The Evil of turning from God.
The problem is, “To miss the mark” is so much more than just doing wrong. The origin of the problem is in the age-old discussion of what is Good and Evil. Down through the centuries of life on earth people have debated and discussed and tried to tell where Good and Evil come from, they mostly fail to get the answer.
Let me note here so many preachers often say “Sin” leads to Evil. That is simply backwards and such a teaching leads to many kinds of error in understanding of the subject. God is absolute GOOD, to turn from God in any way is EVIL, Evil that leads to SIN. Sin is the RESULT of EVIL NOT THE CAUSE OF EVIL. It is not possible to turn from SIN and say this is wrong I will not do this anymore, I will serve God. This is not good enough you must turn to God’s Grace through the work of the Cross, the source of all GOOD!
The righteousness of God is needed because man has no righteousness acceptable to God. No one was ever saved by the Law of Moses for by the law is the knowledge of sin. And there were the traditions and laws of men that date back to Ancient Times which said man by knowledge and his ability can overcome evil and come to God.
God created the world and space, and time, and MAN because He Wanted too. He was making a creature for FELLOWSHIP. A creature that could and by a free choice would, choose to love and fellowship with Him. Because Adam and Eve had a right and the ability to choose, Satan stepped in to deceive them and try to get the obedience and fellowship for himself. Satan tried to be as God but failed. But, he did not give up. He is still trying to be as God, to be the object of worship. Yes, Satan is alive and real and still going about the earth to deceive and accuse people.
PLEASE CAREFULLY PAY ATTENSION HERE!
To focus so much on evil is to fall for Satan’s deceit.
To focus so much on evil is to think about and focus on the opposite of GOD.
We must not allow Satan’s lie to keep us from the truth. Satan says you are so evil you cannot know God and be good or Holy. But that is Satan’s LIE. All of mysticism says that the Flesh even matter is evil, made by a Demiurge (a lesser god and made in error.) Babylonian and Egyptian Mysticism that resulted in Greek Philosophy all say that the flesh is evil. Even to the point of at times saying the relation of a man and wife is evil resulting in children born in sin. This idea was interjected into Christian thought from the teaching of Philo in Egypt to Origin and later made more final in the theology of Augustine. These early teachers were heavily influenced by Gnostic mysticism.
If you have thought that the way people in our time think is new or different, you are wrong.
The problem has always been people thinking moral right is
“What I want right Now”,
and moral wrong is
“Anything that keeps me from what I Want”.
People try to live as close to the world as they can get. How close to the world can I stand and still be called a Christian. When all of your focus is on how close to the world can I live, you are concentrating on the world. You are concentrating on what is evil and how close to evil can I live. It is hard to see truth, it is hard to see Jesus.
When God gave Adam and Eve the right and ability to choose to have fellowship with Him or Not, it was not a new idea. The angels of heaven had already done that. So, it may not be so strange that God gave humans the ability to choose to obey Him or Not. He wanted a creature that could, had the right too and would choose to love and fellowship with Him. All the choices we make and all of the “Good” and “Bad” we may do is a free choice God created us able to make.
Here I find the most terrifying truth I have read in the Bible.
God gave us the ability and right to make our own choices,
(now think about this),
God will honor those choices! Even if it means we reject Him.
Hell (eternal separation from God) is the clear truth that
God will honor every choice.