What is Sin?

  Orthodox Christianity teaches that man has fallen, that we are totally depraved. They say that we sin because Adam sinned and his nature is passed onto his descendants. While it is true that Adam sinned and the human race is fallen, it is not for the reason that orthodoxy teaches. It was not Adam's sin that was passed on to us; it was his death sentence that was imputed to us. Let's pluck another petal off of the Calvin TULIP doctrine, we are not totally depraved, we are totally mortal; born into the dying process. We fail to hit the mark because we are weak and dying!

  We will look at Adam's disobedience and it's affect on the human race and we will look at several biblical definitions of sin. As always, let us not guess or stumble on religious tradition, let's jump right into the scriptures!

  
  Judges 20:16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. (KJV) This scripture is referring to a group of Benjamite warriors. Notice the verse is speaking about their ability to sling a stone. They did not miss! Said another way, they could sling a stone and not sin.

  Where did that come from you ask? Sometimes truth seekers need to look at the underlying Hebrew and Greek to understand what is really being said. It is also a way to check the translators. In this case, the word miss is translated from the Hebrew word ajx chata' khaw-taw'. That same Hebrew word occurs 238 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. The two most common translations of that Hebrew word khaw-taw is sin or sinned. In my opinion, this is the single best definition of sin. Sin is literally failing to hit the mark or missing the mark.

  Paul speaking in Romans also stated in 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (KJV). Here is Paul giving us another definition of sin, falling short of the glory of God. Yes that is correct, anything less than perfection is sin. No one ever wearing the flesh has been perfect except for our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. He alone wore the flesh and lived a life of sinless perfection.

  Contrary to orthodoxy, the penalty for Adam's sin was not hell fire forever and ever. It was death. Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (KJV) God never warned Adam and Eve of eternal punishment, the only punishment God warned His children of was death. When our first parents sinned, their death sentence was passed on to all of their seed.

  Did they pass to their seed sinful fallen natures or did they pass on the death sentence? In order to properly answer this question we will have to depart from the popular translations of the bible such as the King James. The King James only crowd believes their bible is perfect, flawless and inspired; not true. Only the original tongues were inspired. Romans 5:12 Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and thus death passed through into all mankind, on which all sinned. (Concordant Literal) The concordant literal is the only version I know of that translates the Greek this way.

  So in Romans 5:12, Paul is saying Adam's sin caused death to be passed to his seed, on which, all sinned. When we look at literal interpretations we can often times gain additional insight into God's Word for us. This is why I use many different translations of the bible when I study. Lets look at Genesis 2:17 again. From Young's literal we read: and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, for in the day of thine eating of it--dying thou dost die.' (YLT) So we see that what God promised Adam was not immediate death but the dying process. We know that Adam and Eve went on to have children so they did not literally die that day, their punishment was the dying process. Therefore, what they passed on was death through the dying process. Simply put, Adam had lost his immortality. He became mortal and lost the vitality that had kept him prefect.

  As you can see, when we bring children into this world today, they do not need to learn sin. Sin happens as a result of being mortal and lacking the glory and vitality of God. We naturally fall short of the glory of God. Missing the mark (sin) comes easily for creatures that are dying. It was not sinful natures that Adam passed to us it was the process of dying.

  This process of dying is what Paul says "on which all sinned". Dr. Stephen Jones puts it this way:

Man sins because he is mortal. He is mortal because God made him liable for the original sin of his father Adam. Therefore, God is the direct cause of man’s weak (mortal) condition and the indirect cause of his personal sins. The question is: Does this make God a sinner? We immediately answer, NO. Is God liable in any way for man’s sin? We immediately answer, YES. This is one reason why He made Himself liable for our sin through Jesus Christ, and then paid the penalty for sin.

  Paul speaking of Adams sin and Christ's death says: Romans 5:18, 19 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (KJV) Please notice that the all men and the many are the same. Christ's death took care of the sin debt for ALL sinners, not a few, not the majority, but ALL.

  Here are some more scriptural definitions of sin for your use and study. They are all taken from the KJV:

Proverbs 21:4 An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

Proverbs 24:9 The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.

Romans 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 

1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

1 John 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto

  Christ paid the penalty! The penalty for sin is death, not eternal torment in fire. If eternal torment is the penalty for sin, it has not been paid for anyone.

  God has a plan and He has His way of doing things. We should not question His motives, His methods or His ways. We cannot understand His mind, nor can we fathom His wisdom, judgment, mercy or grace. We must have faith that: Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (KJV)

  Romans 11:33-36 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseller? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. (KJV)

  Keep the faith brothers and sisters, the sin debt is paid. John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw (Greek: drag) all men unto me. (KJV) Christ WAS lifted up on the cross, His work is finished; He will drag ALL unto Himself. You CAN trust God's Word.

Grace be with you!

Quote taken from Creations Jubilee by Dr. Stephen Jones Book available online by clicking hypertext!