Sin

   We hear it said again and again we must not sin.  It is assumed that we know what sin is.  It seems to be assumed that sin is doing 'bad things'. Yet, wherever we look, we see sin rearing its ugly head.  We see even professed Christians unabashedly sinning without the slightest contrition or repentance. At least part of the problem is that we no longer know what sin even is.  So I will spend this post describing sin in a biblical manner.
   Before I do so, however, I must implant within the reader's mind a sense of the holiness of God.  For apart from a proper understanding of the holiness of the Lord, no one will truly understand what sin is.
    At the beginning of Isaiah's ministry, he saw a vision the Lord (Isa. 6:1). High and exalted, sitting upon a throne.  He observed with awe the seraphims calling out "Holy, holy holy is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa. 6:3).
   After seeing such a marvelous vision, what was his response? "Woe is me, for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" (6:5) He very quickly realized the full extent of the holiness of God and his own depravity in comparison.
   In the Law of Moses, the holiness and justice of God is emphasized to the uttermost. God repeatedly tells them to be holy, as He is holy.  We see repeated examples of God's justice throughout the Bible.  God gives the Israelites the law, in which were laid out the demands which one must follow in order to actually please God.  Of course, no one could completely follow the law, so atonement had to be made so the transgressions of the person would not incur God's wrath.
As a result, sacrifices had to be made continually.
   When one fully realizes the holiness of God, sin takes on a new definition. Sin is rebellion against God.  Sin makes a person unacceptable in the sight of God.  Sin is transgression against God, and we have all sinned (Rom. 3:23).  Sin is the exaltation of self above God - those who sin please themselves at the expense of obedience to God.
  God does not change.  He was the same when He led the israelites out of Egypt as He is today, in the Christian era. The only difference is that Christ, as the second person of the Godhead, came down to this earth, fulfilled the law, and laid down His life as an offering for sin, and now all Christians are justified by faith alone through grace alone.
   We are bent to sin - as lost sinners our hearts were bent against the things of God. This fact caused the Psalmist to cry "There is none that doeth good, no not one".
   We were guilty and subject to eternal damnation, but God send His Son to make atonement for us. Just because we are forgiven, does this give any of us an excuse to sin?  Does this give us the right to pretend that God now tolerates sin?  Believe me, He no more tolerates sin than He did when He killed all those Israelites in the wilderness for their murmuring, or when He punished the pagan nations for their absolute wickedness.
   What have we been saved from?  Sin?  Since Sin is our enemy, ought we not to treat it as such?  Ought we not to obey the advice of Romans 6:12, where we are told not to let sin reign in our mortal body?  As I have said before, we are never supposed to ask 'how far can I go (that is, walk in the flesh) before I make God mad?' Believe me, I have been guilty of asking this many times.  I still ask it from time to time, usually to find justification for doing something I don't feel right about doing.
   The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).  We have been saved from the consequences of sin, but does this mean we can keep sinning now because Christ has taken the punishment for our sins? Let us consult the Word of God, which is, by the way, very clear on this issue.

     Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.   Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.   Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 

(1 John 3:1-10)

   These 10 verses has a lot to say about the marks of a true Christian.  Are these verses teaching sinless perfection?  Certainly not - see 1 John 1:8.  However, what it does say is that someone who says he is a Christian but doesn't act like a Christian is probably not a Christian.  Those whose lives are characterized by continual, unrepentant sin are most likely lost, and in need of repentance.  Remember, sin is a direct affront to God, and if we say God is our Father in Heaven, and we have been bought by the precious blood of Christ, we ought to live as if that were the case.

   Our carnal flesh is still at enmity with God.  It constantly nudges us to sin against God.  And oftentimes, we fall and stumble.  Does this mean we are not true Christians? No.  It simply means we must continue on to completion (Heb. 6:1). Instead of mulling over our failures, we must focus on becoming more and more like Christ.

   And we as Christians must repent - often daily, it seems.  This is why surrender (and the faith and trust which lead to it) is so important. When we surrender, we do God's will rather than our own.  When we fail to surrender, we sin, for we choose ourselves and the things which please us more than the God.

   It is impossible to overcome sin on our own - it must be done with the help of the Holy Spirit. When we walk after the Spirit (which is impossible unless the Spirit Himself dwells within you) we do the will of God. 

   Romans 12:1 says "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."  When we do this, we are worshiping the Lord in spirit and truth (John 4:24), we are walking after the Spirit (Rom 8:1), and we are doing the will of the Father (Matt. 7:21).
  Sin is surrender to ourselves and our flesh, and worship is surrender to God.  When we sin, we are committing idolatry by exalting ourselves above God. We are therefore urged to die to sin (Rom. 6:11).
  We are not under the law.  The law was ineffectual in making people well-pleasing to God.  We, as Christians do not follow the law, but we walk after the Spirit.  We surrender ourselves to God, and thus do His will.
  Just as we were once dead in our trespasses and sins, we are now supposed to die to sin.  We die to sin by putting to death the deeds of the flesh in the Spirit.  As we do God's will, we put to death the flesh with its lusts.
  Having the aforementioned concepts in mind, read the following passage:
  "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 6:15 - 23.)
  We can either yield to the flesh or the Spirit.  Which one shall it be, O reader?