Sin, What is it and Why Does It Matter

The simplest and truest definition of sin is to miss the mark.

This definition originated from Greek and Jewish culture. Failing to hit the bulls’ eye when throwing the spear.

The Greek culture considered sin to be the action of not achieving your fullest potential. Jewish philosophy depicts sin as falling short of loving God and failing to live according to the principles and precepts set forth in his word.

From early childhood I recognized principles of right and wrong.

Obedience to my parents and faith in their love for me brought safety. 

Innocence was uncomplicated. 

Love coupled with authority provided boundaries that kept me secure. I had no concept of sin.  I trusted my parents without question.

The Bible tells the story of Adam and Eve in a paradise walking with God in the cool of the day. They had a loving relationship. Everything was perfect for them.

They were innocent, trusting in their Creator, their Father, who had only one command to test their trust and obedience:

“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Lose of Innocence

Lucifer, lifted up in pride had committed the first sin.  He missed the mark when he attempted to usurp the authority of his creator.

“Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket. How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations. You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.’” Isaiah 14:11-13

He was the angel responsible to usher up the worship of all created beings before God. He was beautiful above all other heavenly beings. His body was created as an instrument of praise and worship.  But he lifted himself up in pride and said I shall ascend to be as the Most High God. 

He missed his mark and as a result lost the position of lifting worship to God. Mankind was brought forth to take his place, tenderly created as a son, proving God would be worshipped willingly.

Thus it was and continued until Lucifer, through deceit and cunning convinced Eve that Gods intent was to keep knowledge from them, to limit what they could become and deprive them of being like the gods by knowing the difference between good and evil.

He despised the love and fellowship Adam and Eve had with God.

Full of hate and bitter defeat, he devised the destruction of innocence. He would defeat the Almighty and rob God of his cherished relationship with man.

His plan was momentarily victorious but devastatingly short sighted.

The devil convinced Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She persuaded Adam to join her. Then suddenly, their eyes were opened and they lost their innocence.  They were naked and afraid.

Instead of becoming as the gods, they were filled with guilt, fear, shame, and confusion.

They had sinned!  God had warned them of the consequences of disobedience. What was death? They had never seen it. When would it happen? They had to hide that they were naked.

They must hide from God!

Death happened. Death of innocence. Death of the lamb to cover nakedness. Separation from paradise, no longer walking in fellowship with God. Sin separates.

Now there is toil and frustration, sickness, hunger, fear, regret, anger, and blame.

There is pain in childbirth and subjection to authority.  There is a cursed ground that brings forth thorns and weeds. Life is a struggle. The consequence of sin is real.

Why Free Will?

Sin matters!  Missing the mark matters.  Sin knows no cultural barriers. 

There is no racial distinction or economic privilege.  Sin proliferates throughout all of humankind, exacting consequences as a result of choices for or against the principles and precepts of God. 

Millenniums have passed and the battle continues to rage. Lucifer is still persuading mankind to live in sin, missing the point that God loves them. He desires to bless and commune with them in the cool of the day.

God came as a man, Christ Jesus, to satisfy the judgement of death and redeem his creation, restoring them as his sons and daughters. He is indeed, our heavenly Father desiring to draw us unto himself.

He is our protector, provider, healer, and confidant.

We must choose to have faith in him, to acknowledge He is and that he rewards those who diligently seek him. He has chosen us but he declares, “Whosoever will, let him come.” 

There is that word. Will.

Lucifer said, “I will ascend unto the heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God” Eve thought, “I will eat of the forbidden fruit” Jesus said, “I will lay down my life.” 

Mankind says, “I will cast off the knowledge of God and rule my own life.”

Even though we have cast off the one true God and created a plethora of other gods, God’s plan is still being fulfilled to the minutest detail.  

God alone has created the heavens and the earth for his own pleasure. He has set natural laws in place. He has established truth. His truth.

We have created new gods and chosen to worship the creature more than the Creator.

We have chosen to forget truth by excusing and justifying our failures. We mock God and change the rules and have made ourselves to be little gods.

We acknowledge spirits, energy, vibrations of the mind, and the inner connectedness of all things. We manifest abundance and exercise the law of attraction. We believe in terrestrial beings.

Yet we think there is no God because he doesn’t play by our rules or give us what we demand.

It is much like an ant on the rails of a track screaming at the top of his lungs, “If there is a God, let him squash me right now!” I am sorry for the little ant’s ignorance. God doesn’t answer to you or operate on your time schedule.

Sin does matter. Our faith with obedience or denial does have consequences. 

Just look around and see. 

God didn’t make broken homes, murder, hatred, child abuse, divorce, thievery, poverty, sickness and disease. Yet, we blame God for the evil of this world.

God gave us free will.  The choices we and others make has created the conditions we live in.  He has allowed what we have chosen but given us the power to change it. It is called repentance.

I’m sorry I’ve sinned. I missed it God!  I do believe in you. I want you. I want what is good and right. I want what is honest and pure. I want a clean heart and a right spirit.

Redeem me and restore me to the family. Deliver me from my brokenness and addictions. Come and live within my heart and lead me into all truth!

God will cover every contingency concerning mankind.  He will give people what they choose. Redemption and restoration unto eternal life or judgment and a place in the bottomless pit with Lucifer. 

He doesn’t want you to be lost and separated from him forever. He honors your free will. But he will judge sin.

When it is all said and done.  There will be a new heaven and earth. His government and kingdom will expand forever and the redeemed will rule and reign with him for eternity.

He put on flesh and went to Calvary on your behalf. He wants you to share eternity with him.

Don’t listen to the lies of this world with all of its crazy chaotic destruction.

Redemption

Ask Jesus to open your eyes to the truth and reveal himself to you! Give him permission to work in your life. Use the free will he has given you to choose him.

Declare, “I want you Jesus.” Choose Jesus and watch in awe as he transforms your life!

God will give you a new heart and open your understanding. 

After repentance, the next step is to be baptized in the name of Jesus. This act of obedience to his word will cause you to be a new creature. All things are buried under the blood of Jesus Christ.

You come up out of that watery grave to a brand new life filled with the promises and protection of a son of God!

In Acts, chapter 2, verse 38, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ commanded all to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and they “shall” receive the Holy Ghost just as he and 120 of Jesus’ closest disciples had received just moments earlier.

They were praying and worshiping and the Holy Ghost fell on all of them and they began to speak in a heavenly language.  You too will speak in tongues when you are filled with God’s Spirit!

The Bible says that there were 3000 Jews who obeyed Peter. They repented and were baptized in the name of Jesus.

This was the birth of the Christian church that is still vibrant and victorious in today’s world.

I was saved in this very same manner.  I repented and was baptized in Jesus name. I can’t express to you the depth of joy I felt when I received the Holy Ghost!  I was overwhelmed with joy.

I was praising God after I had repented when my jaw began to stutter. In faith, I just let the sounds come out and acknowledged that I was being filled with the Holy Ghost.

I felt as though I was standing in the presence of God. I felt no shame or guilt, only complete peace and acceptance as God enveloped me with his warmth and love.

That was July 24, 1978! 

I was not proud of the life I had lived. I was plagued with failures, homelessness, lawlessness, and drugs.

I was a liar and a thief, thinking only of myself and how I was going to get what I wanted. I knew about honesty and integrity. Even people without religion know there is right and wrong. There are parameters for how to treat people but I really didn’t care. There are no rules in living to survive.

I had spent a life time of feeling alone, not knowing who I could be safe with or what my purpose in life was but I knew if I could just find Jesus, everything would be alright.

Now, I can’t imagine living without Jesus in my life. I depend on him to guide and keep me. I know I can trust him with my life. He loves me as a father loves their child.

He talks with me and leads me when I pray. He is not just a concept or religious ideology. He is personal and tangible. His ways are practical. His word is reliable. 

Quagmire of Consequences

Sin. Missing the mark has lead mankind into a quagmire of consequences. We have chosen to forget our Creator. We have become gods knowing good and evil and have of our own volition chosen evil, self-will, lust, envy, covetousness, hate, emulations, anger and revenge.

The Bible says because we have chosen not to retain God in our knowledge but have worshipped what he has created more than who he is, he has lead us over to strong delusion to believe a lie. Thus, we have created a world of atrocity.

Truth has become a subjective noun used conveniently to frame our excuses into justifications. Lies are acceptable means to an end. 

There is no accountability for our actions, but we cannot escape the consequences of a society that continues to spiral into untenable destruction.

Integrity, principles, and moral conscience have been twisted into hate crimes deemed punishable by a minority society who can’t tolerate an opinion or value opposing their own scruples or lack of them.

So sin, missing the mark, does matter.  What will you do when there are no laws or code of acceptable conduct, no mark to attain to? Where will you and your children find safety if nothing is considered wrong?

You may say but who am I to say what is acceptable?  I am nobody, but God, who created all things out of nothing, who spoke and the heavens and earth took on form, gave us a law. 

He later brought it into such simplicity that even a child could understand it:

“An expert in the law, tested Him with a question: “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”

Jesus declared, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”(Matthew 22:35-40)

The Bible says that God created all things for his pleasure.  We were created to love God and fellowship with him through choice not demand.  You have that same choice. 

Sin will be judged and all who spurned the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ, whose names are not found in the book of life will be cast with Lucifer into the bottomless pit for eternity

He is a God of love. One day we will live in his presence without opposition. The battle of choice over sin or righteousness will be settled.

You have the opportunity to know Jesus, not as a religious ideology, but as a father and friend, as a comforter and companion. 

The Bible is not man’s book about God but it is God’s book to us, revealing everything we need to know to know him and his plan for us.

Please choose wisely.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

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