| Chapter 16 Which Sin III There are two areas in the family of God, in my opinion, that are the most contentious and controversial. Satan loves to stir controversy and contention, and therefore must be extremely pleased over these two areas. So now, let me take you along on a 'which hunt'. Which bible? Which church? And therefore, which Sin? Which sin? Now that we are saved, and we are a member of the family of God, we need to study more deeply the commitment we have made. We have repented from our sin, but, what is sin? I'm afraid most of us go through life without a clear understanding of what sin really is. Before that wall of defense gets all the way up, please consider some of the following points. We generally don't have trouble seeing sin in others, but what about our own sin? No, we haven't murdered anyone, or we haven't committed armed robbery. We haven't worshiped other gods or idols. We haven't coveted our neighbors wife or property. We haven't taken the Lord's Name in vain. We are not gluttons. We never work on the Lord's day. We never gossip. We never worry. We never doubt that our prayers will be answered. We never question the Lord's actions. We never procrastinate. We never break a promise. We never take an oath. We never view others as being lesser beings. We never fear. We never judge. We never attempt to conceal the truth. We are never manipulative. We never miss an opportunity to do our Father's will. We never brag or boast on ourselves. We never turn away from those with misfortune. We never say "Why me?". We never refuse to 'listen' ( really hear what the speaker is trying to say ) to the other person. If you agreed with each of the above statements, please go back through the above paragraph. Don't apply those statements to others, just yourself. If you again agree with each of the above statements, you are either the Lord Jesus Christ, or are lying to yourself. The Bible tells us, that we all have sinned, and continue to sin. If we can believe the Bible, then we should be vitally interested in what 125 _______________________________________________________________________________ sin is, so that we can do something about our sin. I don't believe that most people set out to purposely sin. It just happens! Why? In the pages that follow, I'll try to steer us to some answers. Not only, to what sin is, but also how to overcome it. At this point, it would be useful for you to make a list describing sin as you understand it. After you have made your list set it aside until later. Webster's New World Dictionary defines sin as "the breaking of religious law or a moral principle, especially through a willful act". There are at least thirteen Hebrew, Chaldee, Aramaic words and their roots that have been translated to the word sin. Ashmah and ashman are derived from asham which means to be guilty; offend, trespass. Chata means to miss, to forfeit. Chet means a crime or it's penalty. Chataah, chattaah, or chattath means an offense or a sacrafice for it. Shagah means to stray, to mistake, to wander. Avon, avown from the root avah which means to make crooked, do amiss, commit iniquity, pervert. Pesha from the root pasha means to revolt. Also there are at least two Greek words and their roots that have been translated to the word sin. Hamartia from the root hamartano which means to miss the mark or offend. Amathes means ignorant - unlearned. In addition, there are instances where grammatical license has been used in translations, such as using 'without sin ' instead of the interpretation of 'sinless' for anamartetos. There is no wonder that what one man sees as sin another doesn't. And yet, I am sure, there is no ambiguity in God's mind as to what sin is. I am satisfied that if we carefully search the Bible, and meditate, and analyze what we are being told, we too will find no ambiguity. Instead, I feel that we will come to the realization that we have been, to Satan's glee, making the definition of sin much more difficult than necessary. 126 _______________________________________________________________________________ |
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