What Is Sin?

I walked more than 3637 feet on the Sabbath. Did I Sin?

I ate meat on Friday. Did I Sin? I drank an adult beverage this past Weekend. Did I Sin? I was really bothered by this....

Hebrews 10:

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

I have accepted Christ. I have been "Born again." I am a new creature according to The Word. Yet, I am not perfect. I'm going to Sin. How do I know what true Sin is? Lets look at this today. Of course you are going to Sin. 

Romans 3:

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Although you are a new creature, you are still in the flesh. The flesh is contrary to the Spirit and to God. It is Human Nature to Sin. However, 

1 John 5:

17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

Remember what Jesus told the Rich person that ask Him "What must I do to inherent eternal life"

Mark 10:

19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Now many think that Jesus was talking about Charity. That He was talking about giving to the Poor. He wasn't. What He was telling the Rich man, was that the one thing He lacked was Him. Jesus. He knew that this man kept the Law from his youth. He knew, in a world since, he was a decent man. But he loved money. As Jesus told us time and time again, you can not love two Masters. You cannot love Money and God at the same time.

Luke 16:

13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

He said to the man, if he was truly seeking Salvation, give up all he has, and follow Him. Accept Jesus as the Christ and forget his love of money. Give it to the poor, for he will have no further use for it. It goes on to tell us how the man chose money over Jesus and ran away.

You have already accepted Jesus as Christ and have already received the Adoption. You are following Him. So what is Sin? The first is obvious. The Catholic Church says there are 7 deadly Sins. I submit to you there are ten.

Exodus 20:

20 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Have no other God, love nothing in your life more than, God. Put God first. Pretty self explanatory. If you do not love God, you will not accept Him and His Will and Way. You can not be His Child if you hate Him. Nothing else will matter after this. Idolatry, taking His name in vain, forgetting the Sabbath. You will commit all these Sins, if you do not love Him. Not Honoring your Father and Mother is a Sin. Murdering an innocent life is clearly a Sin. Having an affair is clearly a Sin. Stealing? Of course. Lying and bearing false witness against someone? Sin.

Is seeking what the neighbor has, and desiring to have the same? Keeping up with the Jones? Is this a Sin unto death? Yes. If you covet, or greatly desire , what your neighbor has, it can lead to stealing, adultery, and even murder. Look at King David and Uriah.

Kind David saw Uriah's Wife, Bathsheba, bathing herself on her rooftop. Some argue that she was doing this on purpose to show off before King David. Doesn't really matter why. He saw her naked on her rooftop. He greatly desired to have her. So he called for her to be brought before him. Then he, and she, committed Adultery. Bathsheba then became pregnant. David attempted to cover it up. But when this did not work, he arranged to have Uriah murdered. The answer is, Yes. Covetousness can indeed be Sin unto death.

So we know that these are pretty simple to understand. But what other Sin is there. James put it pretty clear this way..

James 1:

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

Again, when David saw Bathsheba, he lusted after her. Did he Sin? Well, Jesus did tell us, in a sense, Yes, because it CAN lead to this. But David did not actually physically Sin until he acted on it. The end result of David's Sin was the death of Uriah, and David and Bathsheba's first born child.

A little bit further, just to make it clear, Jame's simplifies it even more.

James 4:

17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Sin is anything that is not of God. If I am an Alcoholic, it is Sin for me to drink. Not Sin for you, but for me. Why? My love of drink is greater than my love of God. An Alcoholic can not drink just one, they get drunk. The Word does not say thou shall not drink. It says, you shall not be drunk. When you get drunk, you loose sense and control. You give yourself over to the feelings and it takes away reasoning. It can lead to other Sins, that can lead to death of yourself and others. If I am not an Alcoholic, is it Sin for me to drink an adult beverage at a social gathering, or have a beer after a long day at work? No.

What about this eating of meat on Fridays? Sin? No. What about eating Pork? No. God says anything received with Thanksgiving, is made clean. Should you eat Pork 24-7? Of course not. It really is not good for you. In time, can even make you sick. But Sin? No.

If you are forced to work a Job that requires you to work on the Sabbath, are you committing Sin? No. Whatever day you have off, you can make that YOUR Sabbath Day. God understands your situation. As long as you follow the Commandment, six days thou shall work, on the seventh, rest. Sin? No.

Is it Sin for me to pass by one in need, have the ability to, and do nothing to help? Yes. Why? Jesus said so. Is it Sin for someone else, who has never heard the Truth, to pass by and do nothing? No. Why? They know no better. For me to do nothing, becomes Sin.

Simply put, when one is attempting to decipher, what is Sin, Sin is to know the right thing to do and fail to do it. That is Sin. Obviously the violation of any of the Ten Commandments are clear Sin and Sin that leads to death. Without repentance and forgiveness, will lead to you condemning yourself.

Do not be mislead, as a Child of God, you are not without Sin. However, you have the authority and the ability to overcome any and all Sin..

1 John 1:

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Simply put, you are a Sinner. You were before you became a Child of God, you are now. The difference is before, you knew no better. You were adopted and washed clean of all Sin unto death, by the Blood of Christ. After, you were forgiven of all Sins you have ever committed.

Now that you are a Child of God, you have the ability to ask forgiveness of any Sin you commit today. If you do, " He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Do not be mislead though. Just because you have been Saved, does not give you the Right to Sin willingly, knowing that you will be forgiven. He will not be used as a ticket to Sin. God knows your Heart. He knows your Mind. He can not be tricked or fooled. He is just to forgive you. His Grace abounds much more than our Sin. You WILL Sin. It's Human Nature. But be of good cheer. Your Father loves you, is with you, and will never forsake you, as long as you do not forsake Him.
Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? Do you have the assurance that He is "faithful and just to forgive you of your sins,"  If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray..

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A new Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

Until next time, be blessed, and Jesus IS Lord of all!