What is Sin?
Do you sin? Are you a sinner? Are you a sinner if you sin? Will God strike anger toward me if I sin? What is this word that we call sin, and how does it affect our lives?
Jesus, as He walked with His disciples on the Sabbath, reached over and plucked ears of corn and did eat. This was, with the Sanhedrin, an unlawful sin, and to the eyes of religion, it was sin; but the fact, then and now, it was not. Jesus even spoke of David, the anointed, that when he was hungry, him and his men went into the temple and did eat the ‘show bread’. Many still don’t understand that man was not made for the Sabbath, but that the Sabbath was made for man; Jesus is the Sabbath, He is King of all kings, Lord of all lords, President of all presidents. This is and was not sin, speaking of what the religious leaders said was wrong. For He that could do no sin, didn’t, but He was accused of it, and in spite of being sinless, became our sin and it was nailed to the cross.
In our Lord’s prayer, Jesus said; “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”. Matthew. And in Luke it says; “and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us.” We can clearly see that the definition of sin is a debt. Now in the ancient days of archery the word sin was used when an arrow missed its mark.
Through those years of the average common man not having access to the written Word of God, the word ‘sin’ began to take on this wrathful meaning, this inexcusable action that took man from the Graces of God. If you were an archer back then and had not as yet developed your skills, you were labeled as a sinner. This was not a bad thing, and was not looked down upon, but was viewed as a person that is still in the process of growing, a novice. Today, after all these years of implanted ideologies, and misled concepts, to sin or be a sinner is now some great malfunction to be looked down upon.
“The scripture says: But your iniquities have separated you from God, and your sins have hidden His face from you.” Notice that we have, because of our sins, and the guilt that many times comes from it, been drawn from God because of that sin. Now, again through the centuries, we have been taught that God withdraws from us because one has missed the mark of the ideal situation; but, in fact, this is not the case. It’s our feeling of guilt, and the teaching that’s been drummed into man, that has brought this principle to fruition. It is man, with his guilt and guilty conscience that has persuaded himself of his unworthiness, for God will never step back from man. Romans: 8; “For I am persuaded that neither death or life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come…shall be able to separate us from the love of God…” And I wonder how many power-hungry, so-called leaders of our modern day Sanhedrin, have used this tactic on their underlings so they will toe-the-line, and keep intact that false dividing line between them and their parishioners? I know that many do this in ignorance, but many know full-well that no sin can separate us from the Love of God, nor can any of the principalities or powers in the dark and high places separate us. So why do so many create that great dividing line between those that do this so-called ‘good’, from those that do this so-called ‘bad’? God loves us all equally.
Now, I’m not saying that to sin or be a sinner is something good, God forbid, but I am saying that all of us has, and still does owe a debt, continue to miss the mark. And to label someone with this misguided word, with its misguided meaning, brings us therefore into a debt to them, and we have certainly missed the mark. In other words; we have all sinned, not any are righteous, at least in their flesh, for none of us have perfected the qualities of God as of yet. But this word from the beginning of its injudicious values has been used by those standing in the pulpits, as a weapon to extort a great gulf between those in the assembly and those that stand outside. It was used to give them, those so-called leaders, a sense of superiority, in hopes of driving a few into their congregation; but instead, have driven many away from it. Sin is an action, or inaction, a debt owed, or a mark missed, not a tool to hold over those that don’t meet our criterion. People seem, especially religious leaders, to have to have their egos stroked and hold fast to their ideology, making sure there are levels of people; some in the upper seats, some in the lower. As long as they feel superior, and can make us feel inferior, a divided line is established, then their own agenda has been met; they hit their mark, but missed Gods’. Do these that use this controlling method, are they any worse than the rest of us? No. But the position that they are placed in, whether by the people, themselves, or God, has placed them into a situation they might be somewhat more accountable, for I wonder how many have been led into bondage because of their antics.
We have all sinned, and continually do, and I’m not saying it’s ok, but I am asking; by what right do we have to judge others, by our owns faults? What purpose does it serve to look down on others? Even if we have moved past our immature archery level, or have paid all our debts, we still owe a debt to God, and His precious Son Jesus; a debt that can’t be paid; but by faith. That’s what Jesus did on our behalf, the debt of all of us has been compensated for by Jesus; by His life, and what was done on the cross; There is no other debt that is held to our charge.
Through the years God has been painted by man, and we’ve bought into it, that He is some evil monster in wait of revenge on someone’s sin; of course He is not. God has been portrayed as the ‘the big man’, ‘the man upstairs’, or even pictured as a man, much like a large shepherd with a shepherd’s cane with its crooked neck, ready to yank in a would-be sinner by the neck, and set him straight. Missing the mark is what it is, we all miss it; owing a debt to our fellow brothers or sisters, is still a debt; we owe each other. But if once and for all, our sins were redeemed, paid for, we are then no longer slave to them. If God so loved the world, then it seems to me that no one’s left out; He loves us all; and these statements are true, then why do we, as humans, try to keep those that flaunt their sins pushed down to a dirty level; is it so we can elevate ourselves?
The hierarchy of religion has to have different levels of parishioners, some on the bottom and still maintaining those few on the top, or so they have been manipulated to believe, but this is not so. When Jesus chose His disciples, He chose those of low character, not to speak badly against them, but men and women of the shady side of man. Some were men that reeked of fish, one a thug, and more than one of His followers were prostitutes, think about it, folks just like you and myself; there was no level of hierarchy in his mind, he only saw what the Father saw; people.
Sin is what it is, and I don’t want to overstate it, and I sure don’t want to understate it, but if Jesus didn’t judge those around Him by their popularity or ability, then why do we? The main reason that we seek Christ and a relationship with the Father; is that when He looked at us, He saw the same as when looking for disciples, Jesus just saw the person, not the deeds. We like to think of our self as special, and in God’s eyes we are, His people made in His similitude. But ain’t it nice he didn’t hold you and me to this perverted level that religion wants to hold others’ too, and you have to join their club to be treated as equals?
So think about this; the main sin that we all sin with, is when we judge others, and that is usually done by our own inabilities. It only takes a little insight to see the perversion that we have place upon sin, and I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, none but Jesus has resisted it, but it is what it is; a missed mark, a debt owed, a stepping stone to stand on, and then jump to the next stone until we get across that river, but still always in His arms, by faith.
Paul said; “oh wretched man that I am”, even calling himself the chief among all sinners; he was required by God for much labor in the forwarding of Gods’ Kingdom, and all of this because he asked God for it. Was Paul being humble when he made this statement, and was it to bring a point, or did he falsely accuse himself in the sin category? I think not. For the life and dedication that Paul took on, and for the things he needed to do, and didn’t do; or the things he shouldn’t have done, but yet did, and in an honest answer, Paul admitted that he’d missed the mark more than all others, and continued to owe that promised debt. Was he punished for his sins, the mistakes? Did he live outside the Graces of God? Of course he did not.
Society; that is individuals, groups, schools and governments are all run by the ‘reward and punishment’ rule, a standard that they think is essential to keep us out of chaos. But does God use this same program? In no way is that a standard for God. It rains on the just and the unjust, or is equally withheld. This is one of those ideas that man made up, becoming our orthodox belief, and then again, pawned it off on God. It’s not that God rewards our beauty, and slams our ugly; His grace is sufficient for all, and His Love remains stable. God wants a relationship with all, His love is already there, but society says if we sin, then we’re separated from him. And if we are, it was our choice through guilt that separated us; not God. These are myths that man has attempted to place on his underlings, to keep us where they want us, that is beholden to them for truth; but this platform is now failing, as God is revealing Himself to many that has ears to hear.
We all fall short, no more or less than others. But God chose to Love us in spite of ourselves. The Grace of God has no boundaries for those that are made in His similitude, for when He said that He loved the whole world, He meant it.
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