Sin in Time

 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? The world says this or that is ok; however, I hear from my religious friend that this or that is a sin. How do I know? Who is telling me the truth, and who is lying to me?

My friend even scared me by reading this passage to me.

“How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? We know it is He who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. “ Hebrews 10:29-31

I have accepted Christ and have been "born again." According to the Word, I am a new creation. However, I am not perfect, and I will still sin. How can I discern what constitutes true sin? Let's explore this topic together today. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, LORD God, we come before You today with all our praise, glory, and thanksgiving. We thank You for sending Your Son to die for our sins so that we may be forgiven. We are grateful for the opportunity to approach You, delve into Your Word, and grow in wisdom and understanding of what You desire for us. We ask for eyes to see, ears to hear, and a spirit to comprehend Your Word and Your intentions for our lives. We ask this in Yeshua’s name. Amen!

Of course, you are going to sin. Turn to Romans 3. Start at verse 21

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at present, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:21-26

Read that one part again. Christ came, why? “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Does this mean that since He came and since He died for us, we no longer sin? Of course not.

“If we... Who are we? Us. Saved people. “Say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8

This is why it is crucial to comprehend this passage. Turn to Romans 5:6

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8

Again, highlight it, underline it, know it. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” So, all sin, whether saved or unsaved, should beg six main questions.

What is sin?
What is the difference between saved and unsaved, if all sin?
What is the evolution of morals?
Does God change with the times?
How can you remain steadfast?

These are what we will be talking about in this series entitled “Sin in Time.” Let's start with “What is sin?”

Of course, we know the “big ten.” Is that all though? Look how Yeshua answered this question from the young rich man. Matthew 19:16-22

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, 'Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?"

Now read this next part carefully with me. Look how He phrases this.

“Jesus said to him, 'If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

He was asked what the young man had to do. He answered and said, in essence, sin not. He told the truth. He had not sinned against these. If he had, I’m sure that Jesus would have pointed it out. 

However, He said, “If you were perfect.” In other words, you are okay; however, if you want to be perfect, you want more blessings and freedom, and you want to grow closer to me, then give up the world and follow me.

The man was attempting to live sin-free; he was doing ok for the most part, but he still lived in and loved the world. He was still sinning even though he was trying to be perfect. Say it with me: without God, it is impossible.

Remember, money and riches are very powerful idols in many people’s lives.

“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." Luke 16:13

What is sin?

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 a sin. Having an affair is 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 Joneses? 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.

Then you have this category, if you will. Sin that does not lead to death.

“All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.” 1 John 17

Also, here in the Word, we read this.

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17

To put it extremely plainly, whatever is not of God is sin. Believe it or not, you cannot walk the fence. You really cannot. Turn to one of my favorite chapters in the Word of God, Romans 8. Starting at verse 5

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

When you set your mind on the flesh, you accept, expect, desire, and produce the works of the flesh. Worse than that, you see nothing wrong with them. Turn with me if you would like to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

When you are in the flesh, you will produce these things and you will do these things. In Galatians 5:19-21, it spells out what the works of the flesh truly are.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

When you seek after these things long enough, God will give you up to them. Romans 1:24-32 Some will, and He will allow you, to find a false church that teaches the things you want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:2-5. This, however, does not mean it is true or good. Just because someone wears a collar or calls themselves a teacher, pastor, or priest, does not mean that they are. If what they teach is not in here, or is contrary to this (Holding up the Bible,) then they are a false teacher.

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Sin is anything that is not of God. If I am an Alcoholic, it is a sin for me to drink. Not a 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 shalt not drink. It says, You shall not be drunk. When you get drunk, you lose your senses and control. You give yourself over to the feelings, and it takes away reasoning. It can lead to other sins, which can lead to the death of yourself and others. If I am not an Alcoholic, is it a 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 is not good for you. In time, it can even make you sick. But sin? No.

Is it a sin for me to pass by someone in need, who can help, and choose to do nothing? Yes. Why? Because Jesus said so. But for someone who has never heard the Truth, is it a sin for them to do nothing? No. Why? Because they don’t know any better. In my case, choosing to do nothing becomes a sin.

Simply put, when one is attempting to decipher what sin is, sin is to know the right thing to do and fail to do it. That is a sin. Do not be misled, as a child of God, you are not without sin. However, you have the authority and the ability to overcome all sin..

Now that you are a child of God, you can ask forgiveness for 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 misled, though. Just because you have been saved, it 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. 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.

Have you been adopted? 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 Yeshua's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent of 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 Yeshua, Amen!

"That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Yeshua, and shalt believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, You shall be saved." Romans 10:9. Now you should 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, ask questions, or just say hi, the email is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Ghost and the peace of our Lord Yeshua be with you all. May God bless and be with you always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Yeshua is Lord!