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Chapter 5: Sin
The next subject we will study is sin. There is a grave misunderstanding about sin, both by the church and by the world in general. Sin, by God's definition, is any act or thought that does not stem from faith or violates the commands of Christ. Any act that violates a person's conscience is a sin for that person, even if the act or thought in itself is not a sin that is specifically mentioned in the Bible as sin. Romans 14:23 NIV and everything that does not come from faith is sin. Another misunderstanding about sin is that there are some sins that are worse than others and that certain sins will send you to hell and others God will overlook, because they are not really that bad. This is a horrible false teaching that has been taught by the roman catholic church and her daughters through the centuries. Mark 3:28-29 NIV I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." One sin, of any type, after you know right from wrong, is enough to render you lost.(only God knows how he will deal with those who die before reaching an age of understanding or are mentally deficient from birth.) The only sin that is unforgivable is blasphemy against the Holy ghost, which in effect is rejecting Christ until the day you die. Many people have the false impression that one good work will cancel out one or many sins. They also believe they can somehow gain favor with God by doing some type of good work to atone for their misdeeds. Romans 4:4-7 NIV now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. God has only one standard, and that is 100% perfection. Matthew 5:48 NIV be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect. Let me explain it in very simple terms that everyone should be able to understand clearly. As an example, I will use a baseball player's batting average. If we had a baseball player who batted 1000 times and hit 999 home runs and struck out once, he would have a batting average of .999. If he batted 1000 more times, ten thousand more times, or ten million more times and hit a home run every time he was at bat, he could still never achieve that perfect average of 1000 again after only one strike-out. He could never get rid of a 9 at the very end of his average, even if the number were carried out to infinity. After just one failure, perfection could never again be achieved. It is exactly the same with God's standard and sin. After only one sin in your lifetime, you can never again reach perfection. Hebrews 10:14 NIV because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made Holy. Hebrews 9:22 NIV in fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Revelation 1:5 NIV and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, After one sin, we must achieve perfection by accepting the fact that Christ lived the perfect life for us and that through the shedding of his blood his perfection will be credited to us because we believe in him. Romans 4:8 NIV blessed is the man whose sin the lord will never count against him." Faith in Christ will cancel out all of your strike-outs (sins) and leave you only with your base hits and home runs (good works) on your record. At the last judgment, those with faith in Christ will be given a position and a job in God's kingdom, based solely on the good works they have done that stemmed from faith. You can be saved on your deathbed, (if the Holy spirit calls you at that time) without even one good work to your credit and still enter into God's glory; however, you probably won't have a very good job in God's kingdom. But as king david said, it's better to have a menial job in God's kingdom than to spend eternity with the wicked. Psalms 84:10 NIV better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. |