Have you noticed we don’t use the word “sin” much these days? I admit that I have done many sinful things in my life. We all have. Sometimes we repeat these sins over and over. I hesitate to use the word sin because it seems to make everyone uncomfortable. I’m not sure why.
Sin Is Not a Bad Word
We were all born with a sin nature. The world wants to tell us otherwise-that we are all born inherently good. Then sin just occurs due to circumstances that are beyond our control. These situations we are in make us do bad things. It almost seems we don’t have a choice but to go ahead and tell the lie, steal from a store and even murder someone.
It doesn’t matter the severity of the sin, it’s all okay because it’s not really our fault. Whether it’s gossip or pornography, you get a pass. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
What Does Sin Mean?
Augustine of Hippo (354–430) said sin is “a word, deed, or desire in opposition to the eternal law of God“. That’s a good start. the Hebrew word khata‘ and the Greek word hamartia are where we get the word sin. In simple language, it means “to fail” or “to miss the goal”. Ancient archers would refer to Khata when their arrow missed the mark. When the Bible mentions sin, it means you didn’t reach the goal. And I would add, it doesn’t mean you stop running the race. You keep working for the goal. Sin doesn’t mean we are just bad and should give up, we are simply still on the journey to heaven.
Is Sin in Your Vocabulary?
Don’t be afraid of the word sin. Remember that it’s right there in Genesis and everyone has been sinning, missing the goal, since Eve bit into the forbidden fruit.
Wheat’s been on my heart lately is our unwillingness to acknowledge sin in our lives. How easy it is to blame our circumstances or failures, instead of taking direct responsibility for our actions. Temptations turn into reality as we repeat the same sins again and again. We’ve stopped trying to hit the mark. It’s easier to keep letting the arrows fly aimlessly. And as you know, the more we keep sinning, the easier it becomes to put the blame anyone but ourselves. We attribute missing the goal to our life circumstances.
Pretty soon you’re a different person. You’ve stopped believing in God’s Word as your guide. You believe you can no longer reach the goal. So you allow yourself to just keep on sinning in this area of your life.
A Follower Keeps Following Christ
When we become a follower of Jesus, we think we will just continue on this narrow path and “be good”. But it is incredibly hard because we live in the world. As soon as the serpent appeared on the scene, temptation became a really hard thing to overcome. Satan is right there, enticing us to a path that leads to destruction. That same path is completely accepted by others. Sexual sin, abortion, lying, cheating, stealing. . . it’s not a short list. Before we know it, we are willing to stop following Jesus. It is a choice we are making. Don’t convince yourself it’s out of your control. it takes courage to choose to keep following Christ after we have really screwed up.
I would like to add that as fellow believers, we need to be there to embrace someone who is confessing their sin and asking for forgiveness. What a beautiful thing it is to witness someone who has been in a sinning cycle for years and decides to confess and change their behavior. We should be continually lifting these individuals in prayer, asking God to give them the strength they need every day to have victory over the sin that has corrupted their life so deeply. We want to help them grow their faith and reach the goal!
Falling into Sin
When we become a Christ follower, we start off strong. Sometime people who are important to us disappoint us. We were naive, thinking life will be easy. Now we know better. Choices become less clear and before you know it, you’ve really screwed up. There’s no turning the clock back. There’s so much regret. The sins have happened and it’s so much easier to just stay where you are, rather than confess it to God and ask for forgiveness. That would require making a change feels too hard.
Change can be incredibly hard, especially if you’ve been lying to yourself and trying to reason with God. It’s a funny thing really. God fully and completely knows what we think and do every second of the day. We haven’t been hidden from him and we know it. We are just like Adam and Eve, ducking into the bushes hoping God won’t notice our sin.
Think about how God must feel. He cares deeply for us. We know this because he created us in his image and likeness. You care deeply about the people in your life, your family and friends. God cares even more more than we can imagine.
Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Psalms 136:2
David was the apple of God’s eye, despite his sins. God doesn’t stop caring for us when we sin. He’s still on our side. Yes, David was disciplined for his sins just as we face consequences for our sins. Typically we face natural consequences for our actions. For instance, if we choose to continually gossip, we will lose friends because we aren’t found to be trustworthy. Sin has all kinds of consequences on our lives.
Own Your Sin
The world want us to believe we are a victim, like an infant who doesn’t have control over their actions. Hunter Biden is a prime example of this. His sins are dismissed because he is troubled and can’t help himself. We know this is wrong and it’s not a new philosophy either.
I ran across a quote by a famous lawyer, Clarence Darrow. You may remember him from your history books as the lawyer who defended Darwinism in the Scopes Trial. In 1902, he gave a speech at the Cook County Prison in Chicago. It became so famous it was published. Here’s Darrow’s words.
There is no such thing as a crime as the word is generally understood . . . I do not believe people are in jail because they deserve to be. They are in jail simply because they cannot avoid it on account of circumstances which are entirely beyond their control and for which they are in no way responsible.
Clarence Darrow
Is is any wonder we struggle to own our sin? Darrow’s words have influenced the philosophies of universities and law schools in America for over 100 years. (As a side note, is it any wonder that Chicago continues to be a city with a giant crime problem?)
Going back to the quote, can you see the similarity to how we regard sin in our own lives.
I can’t avoid it.
It is beyond my control.
I am in now way responsible for my actions.
Satan is relishing in this brainwashing. From the beginning of time, this has been happening. In Genesis 3:12, Adam was quick to blame someone else too! “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate.” We all naturally want to blame someone or something else for our actions, but God holds us each accountable for our bad decisions.
So where do we go from here? We’ve got sin in our life. For some of us, it’s impacting our life in ways that seem insurmountable. Some of us feel like we are handling our sin okay and can keep it tucked away in this little part of our soul. It’s manageable. Either way, sin is sin. Whether we want to admit it, sin affects our whole being, our entire relationship with Jesus. Paul reminds us in Romans 3:23
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Paul Dealt with Sin
Acknowledging ongoing sin in our life is hard. We have created patterns of disobedience, not living faithful to God’s word. Thinking about Paul writing that letter to the Romans, don’t you know he dealt with memories of killing fellow Christian. How incredibly hard it must have been for him to ask for forgiveness for these sins. Thankfully we aren’t facing that particular circumstance.
Maybe Paul can be our inspiration to take full responsibility for our life, our thoughts and actions. Don’t let other people’s opinions or your own view of yourself keep you from confessing your sin. Ask God, as well as those your have hurt, for forgiveness. Get rid of the victim mentality.
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
I John 1:6-10
Trust God to reshape you. He’s the potter. We’re the clay. There’s no better way!
