By Brother Michel Lankford
This is a question that comes across my desk A LOT, in one form or another. People seemed quite confused over the idea of what is sin and what is not sin. Truthfully, I blame a lot of watered down preaching and teaching for this confusion. People are simply not taught how to study the Bible for themselves, and they really are becoming overly dependent on the paid professional in the pulpit to tell them everything they need to know. They really do assume that if the preacher up front isn’t talking about it, then it must not be important. It is a serious problem.
We must remember to define sin the SAME way that God defines Sin in His Word. By clear and simple definition, based on the original Biblical languages, sin is anything that transgresses; anything that Misses the Mark, or that violates God’s Laws, Commandments, Instructions, or His expressed Desires, (1 John 3:4; Hosea 8:1; Daniel 9:11).
More Detail: Did I Sin? Or Did I Not?
- Did you desire it, think it, say it, and DO it in accordance with Godly Love? If YES, then you are doing right. IF NOT, then you have sinned, and need to repent, (1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Ephesians 4:32; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:34-40; Matthew 7:12).
- Did you desire it, think it, say it, and DO it in accordance with Faith in YHWH and in Messiah? If YES, then you are doing right. IF NOT, then you have sinned, and need to repent, (Romans 14:23b; Hebrews 11:1,6; Romans 10:17; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; 1 John 2:22).
- Did you desire it, think it, say it, and DO it in accordance with OBEYING YHWH Almighty God’s Commandments? If YES, then you are doing right. IF NOT, then you have sinned, and need to repent, (Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 John 3:4; Hosea 8:1; Daniel 9:11; John 12:49-50; John 14:21; John 15:10; Romans 8:5-8).
- Did you desire it, think it, say it, and DO it in accordance with the intent to GLORIFY and HONOR YHWH Almighty God on Purpose? If YES, then you are doing right. IF NOT, then you have sinned, and need to repent, (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17-23; James 2:12; John 5:19, 30; 1 John 2:1-6).
- Did you desire it, think it, say it, and DO it in accordance with the Good things that you already know to do from God’s Word? If YES, then you are doing right. IF NOT, then you have sinned, and need to repent, (James 4:15-17; Isaiah 5:20-24).
If we made the willful choice and chose to define everything as the CREATOR defines them in His Word, many of our debates would be more quickly and easily resolved. This concept is not the least bit complicated. The real problem is that people desperately wish to believe that they are not sinning, when God says they are. That is the only reason why folks go to such great lengths to over complicate an issue that is truly quite simple and straight forward.