This Is The WAY
THIS IS THE WAY
Week Five –SIN: More Than You Think –
This morning…
In the south, Cokes are sodas but not all sodas are Coke.
Sin, Transgressions, and Iniquity
1 Peter 2:21-25 Christian Standard Bible
21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
One of the most often heard excuses that the those who choose not to believe in God or even Jesus is why was the punishment of the fall of mankind so severe. Even in the church, we tend to exaggerate the gift of grace, or we go to the other extreme of faith by works.
I believe that there are two ideals here at work in that hold us back in truly understanding our predicament as mankind and keep us from truly understanding the LOVE of the FATHER. Jesus shows us that THIS IS THE WAY.
The ideal that we do not understand, and I was raised in church, what is SIN.
SIN
What is sin?
Perhaps you’ve developed a mental checklist of what constitutes a sin. Depending on your background, that list may include moralistic stuff like lying, cheating, cussing, lust, drunkenness, etc.
Maybe sin has been weaponized against you with threats of fiery torture and condemnation. And many of us have used sin to measure ourselves against others—am I better than that person? Am I doing okay? Am I a “good” person? Am I worthy of love, forgiveness, and acceptance?
The Hebrew word for sin is “khata”(ha-tah) and it means “to fail” or “to miss the goal”, and the word is not about morality.
So what is the mark?
Genesis 1:26 Christian Standard Bible
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.
So we are made in the image of God. Any way that we fail to meet that image, is a sin. Our God is Holy.
1 Peter 1:13-16 Christian Standard Bible
13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.
The world like to redefine sin based upon their own wisdom much like Adam and Eve did in the fall.
Genesis 3:2-6 CSB
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Sin can be both intentional (sins of commission) and unintentional (sins of omission).
JJ Packer defines sin as “a universal deformity of human nature that is found at every point in every person; Sin is a spirit of fighting God in order to play God.”
Sin can be further defined as any thought, word, or action that conveys or displays something or someone to be more valuable than Jesus, because all sin is generated from three desires—the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.
1 John 2:16 Christian Standard Bible
16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.
The Bible is trying to tell us that failed human behavior, our tendency toward self-deception, it runs deep. It’s rooted in our desires and selfish urges that compels us to act for our own benefit.
Sin is depicted as a wild, hungry animal that wants to consume us.
We see this in the story of Cain and Able where God explains sin…
Genesis 4:6-7 CSB
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent? 7 If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
We know how that story ends…the New Testament backs up this definition in
Romans 6:23 CSB
23 For the wages of sin is death…
If we are honest with ourselves, we can see this coming to life (or producing death) all around us….
The truth is,
Romans 3:23 Christian Standard Bible
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
So, as of right now, you probably haven’t heard much that you didn’t know already…. let’s go deeper.
TRANSGRESSION
The Bible explores a more relational consequences of sin with the Hebrew word pesha which we translate as “transgression”, sometimes as rebellion and in older translations as “trespass”.
Pesha describes the betrayal of a relationship.
To break this down so we can understand it. In Hebrew, if you are out of town and a thief breaks into your house and steals something, that is robbery. But if the thief is your neighbor then its pesha because they are someone you should be able to trust.
The same relational betrayal can happen between humans and God. Prophets in the Hebrew Bible accuse the Israelites of pesha, in this case referring to worshiping other gods and violating their relationship with Yahweh.
So pesha, or transgression, describes the rupture of trust in relationships, a lack of faithfulness and integrity, leading to painful experiences that harm everyone involved.
We see the residue of this all over our society as most likely we have all had someone that we trust break us, and that stains our lives, our souls, the way we act or don’t act towards God and towards others.
INIQUITY
The Hebrew word is avon (ah-von) ((like known) is another word for sin but with a different nuance. We translate it as “iniquity”, or guilt or sin. This means “to be bent or crooked”.
The image of being crooked offers a powerful metaphor to talk about people’s behavior. Our choices have been bent out of shape, distorted.
In the Bible, “avon” refers to all kinds of crooked behavior, Ten Commandments kind of stuff. Strong’s defines it as perversity, i.e. (moral) evil. Iniquity is a type of sin that is related to inner character. It is a moral uncleanness that is demonstrated and is often a very intentional twisting or defiance of God’s standard.
Isaiah 59 “avon” describes the corruption among Israel’s leaders that things were so morally distorted in Jerusalem that crooked was the new straight.
Another fascinating thing about the word "avon" is that it refers not only to distorted behavior, but also to the crooked consequences: the hurt people, the broken relationships, the cycles of retaliation.
You find this idea in the biblical phrase "to punish" which in biblical Hebrew is to visit someone's "avon" upon them. That is, to let them sit in the consequences of their crooked choices.
God gives people the dignity of carrying the consequences of their bad decisions.
So, we see this coming to life in our lives, in our society, in our nation and even in the world.
THIS IS THE WAY!
Psalm 32:1-5 CSB
1 How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!
2 How joyful is a person whom
the Lord does not charge with iniquity
and in whose spirit is no deceit!
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was drained
as in the summer’s heat.Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
Everyone has had bruises…but not many have had what they call a bone bruise. I hear about this in football…
A Bone Bruise is similar to bruises on your skin but they are more serious because damage to your bones can take longer to heal and may lead to fractures. They are very painful.
I believe we have all suffered “bone bruises” in our spirits. We walk
Isaiah 53:1-7 NKJV
53 Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
The point is if the church understands the danger of Sin and what comes from it THEN the church will begin to understand just how much Jesus has done for us!!