Sin

SLIDE 1

A special thanks to all the West Side Church Family for all the cards, visits, meals and especially prayers during my accident and ongoing recovery. As a result of your prayers and support I feel I will be up walking again sooner than expected as God’s healing hands have already started to help me with my rehabilitation. Your love and support has been overwhelming for me and my family. So once again a sincere thank you and God bless, Dennis, Mary

A husband returned home from attending a church service. Due to sickness, his wife had been unable to attend, but she was interested in what the preacher had to say that morning. The husband responded with just one word: sin. She pressed him for more information. Surely the preacher had said more than just one word for his sermon. Finally the husband responded, “Well, I think he was against it.” I didn’t hear the sermon, but I think the husband was probably right.

We don’t hear much about sin. Unless you’re watching a religious program you’ll never hear about it on TV. That’s because we don’t want to hear about it. We don’t want to be told about what we’re doing wrong. We don’t want to hear about our sins. And there are some preachers more than willing to oblige. They won’t mention sin because they say they want to focus on the positive. The only problem with that line of thinking is they’re going to have to leave out so much of the Bible because the Bible addresses the problem of sin – often.

SLIDE 2 Turn with me to Genesis 4. I want us to look at a story about a sin. While it’s not the first sin mentioned in the Bible, it is the first time the word sin appears in the Bible. The first sin was that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. After creating the universe and creating all the animals and vegetation of the earth, God made a garden and in it he placed the first man and woman. God provided this first couple with everything they needed. There was nothing they needed they didn’t have and they could have everything they wanted except for one thing. They were not to eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden – the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Before we go any further let me say that in Hebrew the word know means to know through experience. I know the chocolate chip cookie is good because I tasted it. I know the stove is hot because I touched it. I know it’s raining because I saw it. On the other hand, I know George Washington was the first president because someone told me. In the Hebrew you know something not because you’ve been told, but because you have firsthand experience. Adam and Eve were not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Do you think God didn’t want them to eat from it because he didn’t want them to know or experience evil? And God doesn’t want us to experience it either.

All went well in the garden till the day the serpent tempted the woman to eat from the tree and she did. Then, she gave it to her husband and he ate from it. The Bible says their eyes were immediately opened. At that point they not only knew good and evil, but they also realized they were both naked so they covered themselves. Later, when God came to walk with them as he did each day, they hid. They were afraid. They were afraid because they were naked, but they were also afraid because of what they had done. They had disobeyed God. Where once they had known and experienced only good, now they also knew evil.

As a result of their sin they were expelled from the garden God created for them. The man would now have to work hard to provide food from the ground which would more easily produce thorns than food, the woman would have pains in childbirth, and the serpent would now crawl on its belly. God also said that he would put hostility between the woman and the serpent. One day the woman would have a child. The child would crush the serpent’s head and the serpent would bruise the heel of the child.

This brings us to our story in chapter 4.

1 Adam [knew] wife Eve [remember the Old Testament definition for “know”], and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” (Genesis 4:1)

While it’s usually the father that names the child, Eve names this first child and she names him Cain. His name means “acquired.” Eve says that with the help of God she now has a son. She probably thought that this was the son God had been referring to. We know the son God was referring to was Jesus who would be born for several thousand years.

2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. (Genesis 4:2)

So here are the first two children, two brothers – Cain and Able. If you have children you know there are no two children just alike. And it was true for these two brothers as well. They had different temperaments different interests and different abilities. Like their father who was a farmer, Cain preferred working the ground and producing food for the family. (God did not give people meat to eat until after the flood.) Abel, on the other hand, took care of the flocks which would have been used for clothing, blankets, and perhaps shelter. Each had their unique strengths and abilities.

3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering – fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. (Genesis 4:3-5)

There are a lot of questions we could ask about these verses. Why did they start bringing offerings to God? How did they know what to bring? Why was Abel’s sacrifice accepted while Cain’s was not? We don’t know the answer to any of these questions, we only have guesses. The closest answer we have as to why Abel’s offering was accepted is found in verse 4. We’re told that Abel brought the fat portion from the firstborn of his flock. In other words, Abel gave to God the best that he had. Many believe, therefore, that Cain did not. Perhaps Cain gave God what was left over.

Let’s say, for example, you have two bunches of grapes and you’re going to give one to God as an offering. One bunch has just been picked and at the prime of ripeness. The other bunch is past ripeness. Those grapes are beginning to mold and sour. Which bunch of grapes do you offer to God? Do you offer him your best or what you were going to throw away? Do you give God your best?

We’re not specifically told what was wrong with Cain’s offering, but we’re not told he gave his best as we’re told with Abel. As a result, Abel’s offering was received by God with favor while Cain’s was not. So we’re told that Cain got mad and his face showed it.

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7)

What’s great about these verses is how God lovingly came to Cain to address the situation. God didn’t just let Cain go on sulking. As a loving Father, God talked to Cain about his anger and encouraged him to do what was right.

After this conversation with God, Cain killed Abel. When God comes again to talk to Cain God asks about Abel’s whereabouts and Cain lies and says he doesn’t know. God already knew what had happened, but was giving Cain an opportunity to repent. When Cain refused to repent God drove him from his home.

This story doesn’t end until verse 16, but I want to focus on verse 7. In this conversation with Cain we find the first use of the word sin.

Have you ever wondered what sin is? I’m not talking about a particular sin – it’s a sin to kick your dog – but how would you define the word sin? What is sin?

We usually define sin as breaking God’s laws such as:

Do not murder

Do not lie

Do not steal

Jewish scholars identified 613 commands in God’s law given through Moses. James tells us that if we’re guilty of breaking just one command we’re guilty of breaking them all. And in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us that it’s not enough to just refrain from physically breaking the law, we must also refrain from the desire to break it. SLIDE 3

21 You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” SLIDE 4 22a But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. (Matthew 5:21-22a)

SLIDE 5

27 You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)

How can we ever keep all of God’s commands? The answer is we can’t.

SLIDE 6 Once we participate in sin we can never get rid of it or erase that experience from our minds. One reason is that once we give into temptation we become a slave to it. That’s the way Paul describes our relationship to sin. Paul also refers to sin as living in us. There is this force that gives power to our selfish desires deep within us. Eve was only looking out for herself. Cain was only looking out for himself. We become slaves to this power within us. It would be better to have never participated in the sin.

Let’s say God said that eating chocolate chip cookies was a sin. Thou shalt not eat chocolate cookies. I don’t know why God would ever say that, though if you’re diabetic you probably shouldn’t eat them. If I’d never eaten a chocolate chip cookie I would never know how good they taste. But since I have eaten them I know and now I crave them. It’s the true with other sins as well. People may tell you the sin is enjoyable – as the serpent told Eve about the fruit – but if we never commit the sin we don’t know because we’ve never experienced it. We see others committing some sin or talking about enjoying some sin and we want to try it not understanding that once we’ve committed it we become a slave to it. We think we’ll just try it once, but that’s not the way it works. Like Adam and Eve, if we could just go back to that first time and do things differently, but we can’t. And unfortunately we don’t do a very good job of taking that kind of advice from others when they discourage us from committing that sin. And so we are left with guilt and shame.

I think it’s interesting that God personifies sin by describing it as crouching as Cain’s door. Sin is depicted as a wild and hungry animal that wants to consume humans. Peter similarly referred to the devil as “a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). It seems hopeless. However, God said that Cain had the ability to rule over it. In fact, God told Cain that he must rule over it. We know how well that turned out though. Cain took Able for a walk in the field where Cain attacked and killed his brother. Was this the sin God was referring to as crouching at his door?

Sin is breaking God’s commands, however, there’s more to sin than that. When God talked to Cain about sin crouching at his door God hadn’t given any commands – at least none that are recorded for us in the Bible. So what command was Cain breaking?

The Hebrew word for sin is “chata”. It comes from an archery term meaning “to miss the mark.” For example, Judges 20:16 talks about skilled soldiers who were so good with a sling that they wouldn’t miss when aiming at a hair. That’s skill. To miss though, was a chata. The New Testament word for sin – “harmatia” – is similar in meaning – to miss the desired target. From this we learn that sin is to fail or to miss the target.

If that’s true, then what is the target we should be aiming for? What target are we missing when we sin? If obeying all of God’s commands is the target then we will always miss. We will never be able to obey every command.

A couple of weeks ago I how we’re told that God is holy and we are to be holy because God is holy. Our goal therefore, is to be holy like God.

Every one of us has been created in the image of God. Since we’ve all been made in the image of God, failing to recognize and honor others with the respect they deserve as being creatures made in the image of God is to miss the mark.

Think about the answer Jesus gave when asked about the most important Old Testament commandment. SLIDE 7

37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. SLIDE 8 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

We are to love God and we are to love others. This is the highest way to keep the commands of God. We see this in reflected the Ten Commandments. The first four commands describe how we can miss the mark at loving God and the last six describe how we can miss the mark at loving each other. Because God created and loves people, failing to love and honor people is a failure to honor God. Therefore, sin against people is sin against God.

When the wife of Potiphar makes advances on Joseph he declines and asks, SLIDE 9

How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? (Genesis 39:9b)

Failing to honor Potiphar is a sin against God, it is missing the mark he has set for us, and it leads to a breakdown in relationships. Sin, then, is an inability to fully love God and others and it comes from a deep selfish impulse that drives much of our behavior. This is why the story of Jesus is such good news.

SLIDE 10 Jesus is the creator who came to earth and lived the perfect human life. He didn’t fail to love God and others. He didn’t sin. He didn’t give into selfish impulses when the devil tempted him in the desert. He lived the perfect, sinless life.

Yet, he took the history of our failings upon himself and became sin – our sin – that he might take our punishment. He lived for others and then died for others. And after three days he rose from the dead that he might offer us life.

22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:22-24)

Jesus frees us from the punishment for sin, but he also frees us from being slaves to sin. Jesus gives us the ability and the desire to what’s right before God.

What is sin? Sin is breaking God’s commands. Sin is failing to live us to the standard God has set for us. Sin is failing to love others with the dignity and honor God gave them. We have all sinned and we have all been sinned against. We all need God’s forgiveness and his healing. Jesus died and rose again to bring us the forgiveness of God. Have you received it?

How does a worm get inside an apple? Perhaps you think the worm burrows in from the outside. No, scientists have discovered that the worm comes from inside. But how does he get in there? Simple! An insect lays an egg in the apple blossom. Sometime later, the worm hatches in the heart of the apple, then eats his way out. Sin, like the worn, begins in the heart and works out through a person’s thoughts, words, and actions.

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Thomas Costain’s history, The Three Edwards, described the life of Raynald III, a fourteenth-century duke in what is now Belgium. Grossly overweight, Raynald was commonly called by his Latin nickname, Crassus, which means “fat.” After a violent quarrel, Raynald’s younger brother Edward led a successful revolt against him. Edward captured Raynald but did not kill him. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk castle and promised him he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room. This would not have been difficult for most people since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, and none was locked or barred. The problem was Raynald’s size. To regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight. But Edward knew his older brother, and each day he sent a variety of delicious foods. Instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter. When Duke Edward was accused of cruelty, he had a ready answer: “My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave when he so wills.”

Raynald stayed in that room for ten years and wasn’t released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined he died within a year. . . a prisoner of his own appetite.

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This angel named Carruthers was called in to the heavenly front office and informed by St. Peter that he had been picked for a special assignment—to go down to earth and make a list of all the people who had misbehaved.

Two months went by. Then one afternoon the angel came flapping wearily through the Pearly Gates and collapsed on a golden stool by St. Peter’s desk. “Sir,” he said, “you don’t know the magnitude of this job. I’m going to need some help.”

“Impossible,” St. Peter replied tersely. “We’re shorthanded up here as it is. You’ll have to go it alone.”

The angel struggled to the door. Then, suddenly, he was struck with an idea. “Saint Peter, suppose I made a list of all the people who didn’t misbehave. It would be much shorter and I could finish it in a week.”

“Good thinking,” said St. Peter.

The angel returned to earth and, as promised, he was back in a week with his list. St. Peter studied it and passed it on up the chain of command. Shortly, an order came down to write a letter to everyone on the list, commending them for their good behavior.

At this point, the fellow telling the story turned to his friend. “You know what else the letter said?” he asked.

“What?” replied the friend.

“AHA! So you didn’t get one either.”

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Dr. George Sweeting wrote in Special Sermons For Special Days:

“Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls.

“I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.”

The finest attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them. They may take us to our destruction if we cannot give them up. And as Sweeting observed, “Oh, the danger of delay!”

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. (James 2:8)

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12)

Sin – missing the mark

Iniquity – actions that are crooked

Transgression – actions that cause a loss of trust

Hebrew: khata

Greek: harmatia

Often when people are sinning in the Bible they are either unaware of it or they actually think think they are succeeding.

• Pharaoh thought it was a good thing to enslave the Israelites in order to protect national security and build the nation’s economy

• Saul thought he was bringing a criminal to justice as he chased David around the countryside trying to kill him till he finally understands what he’s doing is wrong and admits he had sinned (1 Samuel 26:21)

So sin includes how we delude ourselves to believe our bad decisions are good ones. Eve was convinced eating from the tree of knowledge was good thing because it was: good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom (Genesis 3:6).

So why are we so bad at being able to tell the difference?

The Greek word for sin (harmatia) is very similar in meaning – missing the mark. The New Testament adds some to our understanding of sin. Paul, for example, says that we are slaves to sin.

6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:6-7)

Paul even says that sin lives in us.

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. (Romans 7:14-17)

Our tendency towards self-deception runs deep within us and is rooted in our desires and selfish urges that compel us to act on behalf of our benefit even at the expense of others. It leads to a breakdown of relationships.