— SIN —
A constant problem faced by everyone is the problem of sin. Sin is the great separator between God and man today as in all ages past. The reality of sin plagues the man that never attends religious services as well as those that do attend religious services. To this great problem that mankind continues to confront in daily life we direct the following comments.
DEFINING SIN:
SIN (Heb. hatta’a; Grk. hamartia, a falling away from or missing the right path). Also numerous other Heb. words.
General. The underlying idea of sin is that of law and of a lawgiver. The lawgiver is God. Hence sin is everything in the disposition and purpose and conduct of God’s moral creatures that is contrary to the expressed will of God (Rom 3:20; 4:15; 7:7; James 4:12,17).
The sinfulness of sin lies in the fact that it is against God, even when the wrong we do is to others or ourselves (Gen 39:9; Ps 51:4).
The being and law of God are perfectly harmonious, for “God is love.” The sum of all the commandments likewise is love; sin in its nature is egotism and selfishness. Self is put in the place of God (Rom 15:3; 1 Cor 13:5; 2 Tim 3:2,4; 2 Thess 2:3-4). Selfishness (not pure self-love, or the exaggeration of it, but in opposition to it) is at the bottom of all disobedience, and it becomes hostility to God when it collides with His law.
All sin therefore has a positive character, and the distinction between sins of commission and those of omission is only on the surface. In both cases, sin is actual disobedience (see Matt 23:23).
(From The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
COMMENTARY (glc): People in the world becomes amenable to the law of Christ whenever they reach the age of accountability. Now, the age of accountability may be different in people, some people who are born are born with brain damage so that they never in life will be able to make a choice between good and evil, still others that may be born with the ability to choose between good and evil are damaged in auto accidents, etc., so that they too, are unable to choose between good and evil — all such people will not be amenable to God. Only those that develop normally with normal intellect in place will attain to the age of accountability (i.e., having the ability to choose good and/or evil whenever the choice is made available to them). The individual that chooses to disobey God will be considered by God as transgressor (i.e., sinner), cf.,
James 2:8-12, Howbeit if ye fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one (point), he is become guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty. ASV
CONSIDER THIS: Here in James 2:8-12 the subject of sin (i.e., transgression) is considered from both the Law of Moses and according to the “law of liberty” (i.e., the law of Christ). In both cases one is considered to be sinful even though he/she may keep part of the commands but fail to keep other parts of the same law. In this contexts we can surely see, man’s sin will separate him from the God that will eventually be his judge even though he might keep some law faithfully. The important point in this context is, man cannot keep part of the law of God and fail to keep other parts of the same law and expect God to reward him. Again, man cannot consider the good deeds he does as more important than keeping all of God’s law — cf., 1 Samuel 15.
KEEPING SOME OF GOD’S COMMANDS
There are far too many people today involved in religious activity that are not obeying God’s commands and they know that they are not. Those that keep some of God’s commands are weighing their good deeds against their failures and are accepting their definition of righteousness based upon their partial obedience to God’s law and simply ignoring their failures to obey God in many other areas. This self standard of determining righteousness is completely unacceptable to God — cf.,
Col 3:24-4:1, knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ. For he that doeth wrong shall receive again for the wrong that he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. ASV
Matt 6:24, No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. ASV
Consequently, no person can partially serve God and please Him. To serve God correctly let us determine to do all that God requires of us. God requires of us first that we become converted, converted from the kingdom of darkness (i.e., Satan’s kingdom) into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13-24). Secondly, once we have been converted to Christ’s Church we then need to continue to serve God faithfully for the rest of our lives, this faithfulness is not to be a pick-and-choose type of faithfulness but an acceptance of all God’s instructions continually — cf.,
Revelation 2:10, Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.
2 Timothy 4:6-8, For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing. ASV
Let us always serve God willingly and completely, let us determine to do whatever we learn from God as our responsibilities.
DIFFERENT WAYS THAT PEOPLE INVOLVE THEMSELVES IN SIN
1. FAILURE TO OBEY GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS:
Acts 5:29, “But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men.”
2 Thessalonians 1:8, “rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus:” ASV
1 Peter 4:17, “For the time (is come) for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if (it begin) first at us, what (shall be) the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?” ASV
2. DOING MORE THAN GOD INSTRUCTS:
2 John 9-11, “Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into (your) house, and give him no greeting: for he that giveth him greeting partaketh in his evil works.” ASV
3. DOING LESS THAN GOD INSTRUCTS:
James 2:10-11, “10For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one (point), he is become guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law. ASV
Matthew 23:23, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. ASV
Luke 11:42, “But woe unto you Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass over justice and the love of God: but these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
4. ALTERING GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS:
2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts;” ASV
1 Timothy 6:3, “If any man teacheth a different doctrine, and consenteth not to sound words, (even) the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;”
Galatians 1:6-8, “6I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; which is not another (gospel) only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema.ASV
2 Peter 3:15-16, “15And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you; as also in all (his) epistles, speaking in them of these things; wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as (they do) also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” ASV
Matthew 15:3, “And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” ASV
CONCLUSION: The disciple of Christ will always be careful to love God and neighbor but will also make every effort to comply with God’s instruction that relate to other areas of life and service also. Cf., Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. ASV