“I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Psalm 32:5.
It is true that some folks have the mindset of concrete: thoroughly mixed up and profusely set. They would argue with the proverbial signpost, but they cannot argue with God, neither may they box with Him because their arm is too short! So, it is not the burden of men to convince one another that they are sinners. The Holy Spirit witnesses that in every heart. But the idea of sin may be better understood in the simplistic terms of “Use” and “Misuse.” Think about it!
Get it straight, and never forget it! God is righteous, but men are not. If men are not righteous; they are sinners, big time! Some jovial chap will roar that all sin is sin, and there is no difference! Others will say that there is no difference to God. I find it amusing that so many seem to know the mind of God in these matters without a specific scripture reference. Stay with me for a moment.
If all sin is the same, why are there at least three categories of it: transgression, iniquity, and sin? Psalm 32:5. If all sin is the same, why were some sins worthy of death, and others could be atoned for? If all sin is the same why did Jesus say the Pharisees would receive the greater condemnation? Certainly, one sin of any sort severs one from God as Adam and Eve sinned in Eden. But, beyond that the saints have to deal with their sinful nature every day of their life, and there is a wide array of sins. So leaving “Iniquity” and “Transgression” for another time, let us focus on the term “Sin.”
“Sin” means “to miss the mark!” To miss the mark of anything assumes the mark was intended to be hit, but missed. Thus, sin is the misuse of every possible thing in life.
Think about the common sins of men. “Greed” is the misuse of things material or immaterial acquired in access, and restricted to the individual, when enough of those things are already made available for one to serve and honor God day by day. It is use vs misuse. Alcohol and drugs were made by the same God who created everything else. They have a purpose: medicinal, not recreational. It is a simple matter of use vs misuse. Sexual activity was created to insure the survival of the species, thus placed within honorable perimeters. Outside of those perimeters it is misuse; hence, sin. Language may be loving or vile; a matter of use vs misuse.
Human Relationships may be gentle, kind and loving, or abusive, harsh, and mean. It is a matter of emotional use vs misuse. In the wide spectrum of all things, the apostle Paul boldly declared, “Al things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” I Cor. 10:23. In short, all things God created have purpose and rightful use, but the practice of men has established misuse; it does not edify; simply put, it is sin!
FOR THOUGHT: Do you ever misuse things or people? Have you learned that misuse is sin?
Think about common sins of misuse in your life. How may you correct these?
SIN, INIQUITY, TRANSGRESSION, A MORAL VACUUM
“I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I wil confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Psalm 32:5.
Whoa! Hold on there! Wrongdoing is wrongdoing isn’t it? That is a good question, but while it is recognized that all manner of sin is wrongdoing, we must also learn that we are helped in coping with our nature by understanding biblical categories of wrongdoing. So we look at portions of scripture such as Psalm 32:5 and wonder: is David doing double talk, or is there a lot to learn from these selected terms? Let us take a closer look.
David said: “I acknowledge my sin unto thee…” Sin, in the ancient language of the Hebrews, is “Chattah” and means to miss the goal or mark of duty. It also connotes the acquisition of resultant guilt from missing said mark or goal. It is perhaps the best umbrella word for all things wrong, but may be rightfully used to designate the result of other specific acts of wrongdoing, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin, or missing the mark, or the goal of God’s plan for one’s life.
David went on to say: “. . . and mine iniquity have I not hid. . .” Iniquity in the Hebrew language is “Avaw,” meaning to bend, twist, or distort. In Greek of the New Testament, it is
“Anomia,” meaning no law or contemptuous of law, wil ingly ignorant of law (God’s laws in particular) in favor of one’s own views. This is as the old saying, “My mind is made up, please don’t confuse me with the facts.” It is an apt description of today’s diverse “Christian” world.
David continued to say: “. . . I said, I wil confess my transgressions unto the Lord. . .”
Transgression in Hebrew is “Pasha.” It means to revolt; to rebel. This term denotes that one has a proper understanding of law, especially God’s law, and rejects it for what is more humanly palatable. In the New Testament Greek, it is “Parabasis” and means the same thing as the Hebrew term.
David concluded: “. . . and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah” Just stop and think about that!
So, in expanded, modern language, David said: “I own up to missing God’s goal for my life, and I will lay open the substituting of God’s ways through willful ignorance, and in favor of my own. I said I will confess my rebellion, and revolt against God’s Word, and You forgave my forging ahead in my own judgment willingly ignoring Yours, which constitutes my missing the mark or goal that You have for my life. Selah! (Just stop and think about that!)” What a great and wonderful God we have
FOR THOUGHT: What do you think of the distinct categories of wrong doing that David expressed in Psalm 32:5? Can you identify your specific participation in all three? Which of these three do you believe to be most common among church folks?
SIN, SOFTNESS, SABOTAGE, AND SALVATION
“And surely your blood of your lives wil I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shal his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”
Genesis 9:5-6.
Hundreds of years before God gave the Hebrews the Old Testament Law, He set the cornerstone for the progress of civilization: capital punishment, Genesis 9:5-6. Additionally, His view of the criminal deeds of mankind is blatantly underscored in Holy Writ. Additionally, His instructions to His people included plain information about how to put evil away from them. Deut.
17-22. Parents were charged with the responsibility of turning in incorrigible children, even consenting to their just death, Deut. 21:20. One may protest that those instructions were valid under the Mosaic Law, and not under the dispensation of Grace. That would be correct other than the Genesis 9 reference which was hundreds of years before the law. But the question remains,
“has God’s viewpoint toward sin and evil changed, or our responsibility lessened?” Obviously it has not changed since He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Are you thinking with me?
As the time of man’s rule on earth comes speedily to an end, Satan has worked hard to inundate the world with material things. This has been a most effective softening tactic. For far too many it has crippled the will to be responsible; to clearly delineate right from wrong; to call sin what it is, and to maintain law and order on the Judeo-Christian foundation of civilization.
So, the world, and particularly our nation sinks further each year into the quagmire of evil and degradation by rejecting the principles that make a nation great. Demonstrations abound of specific intent to sabotage order. This can only result in national and global anarchy as a ready stage for a dictator, the likes of which has yet to be seen on the world scene.
The good news is that although the sun may be going down on this age of grace, it is still called today. Let the people of God everywhere be patient and faithful to sound the warning of the last days: “harden not your heart as in the provocation.” Psalm 95:8; Heb. 4:7. Let the words of the wise man, Solomon, be heard: “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” Prov. 14:34. I am grateful to God that the old ship of Zion still sails faithfully upright at Francois Missionary Baptist Church. Let us pray for the strengthening of others in the Lord!
FOR THOUGHT: Did Israel repeatedly forget God and turn to the common sins of the world throughout the Old Testament? Did God judge and punish them for it? What do you think will happen to churches, who have more responsibility under grace, will face in judgment? Will God’s judgment linger indefinitely?
SIR, WE WOULD SEE JESUS!
In modern churches it seems much has been lost in the last few generations. Great spiritual joys have given way to mere acquiescence and the ascendency of things of fleshly pleasure. Although giant steps of progress are evident in material things: contrived programs, and social relaxation, one is left to wonder if creature comforts should be termed “progress.”
Think with me about this for a moment.
At the Triumphal Entry of Jesus, Jerusalem’s attention was centered upon Him, His raising of Lazarus, and the many things He had said and done. Most were extremely happy, but some were caught up in bitter hatred and selfishness. In this context, the Bible says, “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.” John 12:20-21.
What a refreshing request both for then and now. Modern churchgoers look at a physical building and determine, “Is it nice, new, comfortable? Does it show evidence that someone is investing a lot of money into it that I can enjoy?” The list of qualifications to satisfy the demands of their potential membership goes on to include popularity, and the possibility of forging friendships with business possibilities. It must be big enough for one to hide himself from responsibilities, while offering programs for all ages, and feature a pleasant, politically correct, totally inoffensive name. On, and on, it goes ad nauseam!
Now before someone gets excited about criticizing the folks described, it must be recognized that churches abound which are working hard to make exactly that impression on those outside the membership. But do such churches own up to the bible and Jesus as their head? Well, yes, of course they affirm that as basic, fundamental, but it may be so basic and fundamental that it is hardly mentioned. They assume it to be a given: so there is no need to major on it anymore; it is time to move on to things of quicker and keener interest.
Could it possibly be that in shifting emphasis from the spiritual to the social that purpose and mission have been practically abandoned? Moving on from Jesus is always moving on too far. Besides, others will do the creature comfort game better. The ancient Greeks’ request might be embarrassing to a lot of churches today, but it is still appropriate: “Sir, we would see Jesus.”
FOR THOUGHT: Do you think material things such as stained glass windows and pipe organs are allowed to get in the way of in-depth Bible presentation and fellowship? Do you think Jesus would be welcomed into many churches today with His preaching that He would not abandon?
Why were the Grecian Jews desiring to see Jesus over and above the religious activity that was going on that day?