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A Biblical Definition of Sin

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I was taught as a child that sin was doing something wrong. Of course, I soon learned that not everyone saw the same actions as wrong. It became increasingly difficult to have a consistent definition of what constituted as a “sin.” Yet, it is vital to know what sin is. Would we be lost based on some vague, ever-changing concept of wrongdoing? Amid so many conflicting ideas, can we know the biblical definition of sin?

One summer I happened to hear a preacher speaking on this topic. His purely biblical presentation challenged my understanding. I decided to be like the Berean’s (Acts 17:11) and check out the scriptural accuracy of his teaching. This is what I found:

BIBLICAL DEFINITION OF SIN

Any Biblical definition of sin will, at some point, find its way to 1 John 3:4—“sin is lawlessness.” Other translations may say it is the “transgression of the law.” Typically, this definition is interpreted as bad behavior and implies that keeping the law is good behavior. However, is this how Jesus viewed the law?

The most precise summation of the law Jesus gave is found in Matthew 22:37–40. Jesus was responding to the question “what is the greatest commandment?” In His answer, He summarized the law as love: loving God and loving our neighbor. In fact, He said that all of the Law and the Prophets hang on this principle of love. This reveals a relational definition rather than behavioral.

BEHAVIORAL OR RELATIONAL?

Notice, also, what Paul said about the law: “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). Again, this points to relationship. Of course, the kind of love Jesus and Paul are talking about is not a love that is natural to us. This love is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our life (Galatians 5:22). Even more to the point, it is the result of being in a relationship with God: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). God is love and you will love if you know Him—a relationship. 

If love fulfills the law, and we can only have this love through a relationship with God, then it makes sense that the lack of this relationship will result in breaking God’s law. Which brings us back to the definition of sin. It is, at its most basic definition, life outside a relationship with God. Don’t get me wrong, our actions can be good or bad, but these passages focus more on our relationship with God than on our actions. In fact, we find this relationship theme in other passages as well. Here are a few examples:

A FOCUS ON RELATIONSHIP

1 John 3:6—“No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” The word “abide” implies a relationship; it is living in Christ. So, whoever lives in Christ is not in sin. It also suggests that sin is not living in Christ.

1 John 3:9—This passage says that those “born of God”—or His children—do not sin. Being a child of someone, or born to them, represents a relationship. Sin is presented as being in or out of a relationship with God rather than simply “good” actions.

Romans 6:23—“The wages of sin is death.” Acts 17:28 says that God is the giver of life. If we choose to separate ourselves from Him we give up this life. Thus, it makes sense that any work (wages) done outside of a relationship with God (sin) results in death—they cannot save us. Death, then, is not necessarily a punishment for bad actions, but a result of life outside of God.

Jesus brings this idea home in John 17:3 when He said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” The Greek word translated “know” has the concept of experiential knowing rather than informational knowing. In other words, Jesus says eternal life is experiencing God—it is relational. If eternal life is relational, how could sin be behavioral? The opposite of Jesus’ statement would be that eternal death (the result) is not knowing God or Himself (sin).

THE RELATIONSHIP MATTERS

There are more passages we could look at, but I want to offer one more: “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11–13)

John makes it entirely clear: eternal life is a free gift from God in Jesus Christ. If you “have” him (literally “hold onto”—again, relational) you have life; if you do not “have” Him you do not have life. Therefore, according to John, sin would be not having, or not holding onto, Jesus. This is why he says you can know you have eternal life—you can know if you have a personal relationship with God.

The Bible speaks clearly about God’s desire to have a relationship with us. Our study into the definition of sin has been no different. Scriptures reveal that it is not simply a bad action that will keep us out of heaven, but rather, it is the lack of a relationship with God that will. This is not to say that it does not matter what you do—we should desire to do what God asks (John 14:15). Instead, the Bible reveals that the most important thing toward salvation is our relationship with God. Amazingly, everything else we need for salvation comes as a result of this relationship.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Spiritual Gifts

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It doesn’t matter the occasion—birthday, anniversary, Christmas, a reward, or “just because”—receiving a gift is usually a joyful experience. Gifts may be given tightly wrapped in fancy paper, in a nice gift bag, with a simple bow, or even simply by “closing your eyes and holding out your hands.” When there are multiple gifts, people often look like they are going through the produce section in the grocery store—poking, prodding, and shaking—hoping to learn a bit about what is hidden inside. Typically, there is excitement surrounding gifts; a delight for both the one receiving and the one giving.

Photo by Jess Watters

It is no surprise to learn that God desires to give us gifts (Luke 11:13)—eternal life itself is a gift! Yet, when God gives to His children, He loves to “open the floodgates.” For example, not only does God give us the gift of the Holy Spirit, but He also provides additional gifts through the Spirit. We call them “spiritual gifts.” Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation about these gifts. So I went back to the Bible, set aside what I thought I knew, and studied about them.

Gifts of the Spirit

Paul writes about them in three of his letters (Romans 12:6–8, 1 Corinthians 12:7–10, and Ephesians 4:11). These are the gifts he mentions: apostleship, prophesying, evangelizing, pastoring, teaching, serving, encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, leadership, showing mercy, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, and tongues and their interpretation. This is quite a list! As gifts, though, none of these can be earned, or purchased, or learned.

The phrase “gifts of the Spirit” helps us to understand that these gifts come to us after we have made a commitment to Christ and have received God’s Spirit. We receive the promise of the outpouring of the Spirit when we are baptized (Acts 2:38). It is after this point that we would expect to receive any further gifts from the Spirit.

Are the gifts reserved only for the leadership of the church or other specially chosen people? Or can we all receive them? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:11, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” In Hebrews 2:4 we read that the gifts of the Spirit are “distributed according to His will.” Romans 12:6 says, “We have different gifts according to the grace given us.” Basically, they are available to everyone but God is the one who decides who gets what.

Finding Your Gift?

How do we go about finding out which one(s) we’ve been given? Some claim that everyone will get the same gift, so we only need to look for one. However, the passages we just read show that God gives out different gifts as He determines. There’s no passage in scripture that says we will all receive the same gift. Besides, a gift is not the evidence of the Spirit in a person’s life, the fruit is.

Others will suggest that we just fill out a questionnaire and hope it will reveal our gifts. While they can be helpful, there is a weakness in those tests: us. We have the ability to test ourselves into a gift. In other words, we can answer the questions based on who we wished we were rather than who we really are. Besides, was that how the early church learned their gifts?

Revealed When Following

We won’t find a formula for a spiritual gifts inventory in the book of Acts. They learned what their gift was by seeing it revealed in their lives. This is because spiritual gifts are revealed in those who are diligently following and obeying Christ. They are given whenever God’s people need to be built up (Ephesians 4:12, 13); whenever people need to grow in faith or in the knowledge of the Son of God. The gifts are given to us to compensate for our inadequacies when we are doing God’s will.

In other words, you must be actively following Jesus to find your gift. You will never learn what your gift is by sitting in a pew—you have to be out working for the Kingdom of Heaven. Then, when you are in a situation where a gift is needed it will show up.

Furthermore, whatever your gift is, you will discover God’s blessing as you use it. A broken heart is encouraged; a sad heart finds hope; a prodigal son returns to Jesus; a seeker begins to understand Biblical truths. Other people will benefit—they’ll grow spiritually—when a gift is used.

According to His wisdom, God will give us a gift as they are needed. We don’t have to have all of the gifts. We don’t all need to have the same gift. But, if God calls us to do something that is beyond our abilities, He will grant us a gift from His Spirit to complete it. Then, as Peter wrote, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received…” (1 Peter 4:10).

The Work of the Spirit

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We may talk about the promise of the Holy Spirit and how important it is to have in our lives. We speak about how great it would be to have the Spirit poured out upon us. But what exactly does the Holy Spirit do? Does He have a part in our Salvation? Or does He just go around handing out gifts—causing people speak in tongues?

Jesus gave a concise description of the Holy Spirit’s work in John 16:7–14. While trying to comfort His disciples after telling them that He would be leaving, He explains to them what the coming Helper will do. He says a lot here, but according to Jesus, the Holy Spirit has two main missions: conviction and guidance.

In verse 9, Jesus says that part of the work of the Spirit is to help us see the truth of sin: that we are outside of a saving relationship with God. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can see the reality of our sin and recognize our need of a Savior. Therefore, the Holy Spirit begins working in our lives before we even start following Jesus! If you love Jesus today, it is because of the work of the Spirit in your life.

He also convicts about righteousness, “because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.” When Jesus ascended into Heaven, His living example was gone. Yet, today we still ask, “What would Jesus do?” We may not know how He would act in every modern situation, but that’s where the Holy Spirit comes in. We can know what is right because the Holy Spirit will convict us about it.

Finally, the Spirit will convict about judgment, “because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” Satan revealed the true nature of his government at the cross and the lines have been drawn. As a result, judgment has come upon the former “ruler” of this world and his followers. The Spirit convicts us of this and gives us the hope that we do not have to take part in their judgment.

The other major mission of the Holy Spirit is guiding us to all truth (John 16:13). This verse shows the true nature even of the conviction process: to lead us. The Spirit intends to lead us to all that is true. The truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment. The truth about God. The truth about us.

It will not be just any truth, though. Jesus said that “he will speak only what he hears.” In other words, the Spirit will never contradict what has already been spoken. He will not change anything, but will remind us of what Jesus had taught (John 14:26). Some of the truth the Spirit will reveal to us includes what is yet to come. In fact, we have the hope that we have because the Spirit has revealed the glory God has waiting for us (1 Corinthians 2:9–12).

Ultimately, though, the Spirit’s work will result in bringing glory to Christ (John 16:14). The Spirit’s work is not to glorify us. It is not to make us greater in the eyes of others; it is to make Jesus great in our eyes.

This is what the Spirit’s conviction will do. Convicted about sin, we see the greatness of our Savior as the Way. Convicted about righteousness, we see the greatness of our Shepherd as the Truth. Convicted about Judgment, we see the greatness of our Advocate as the Life. The Holy Spirit will help correct all of our inaccurate views of God. The Spirit reveals that God is more loving, more forgiving, more merciful, more awesome than most Christians make Him out to be.

As the Spirit leads and convicts in our lives, Jesus becomes greater, and our love for Him can only grow stronger. Here’s the conclusion of the matter: the Spirit works to draw us to Christ, help us fall in love with Him, and then encourages and enables us to faithfully follow Him.

Thank you, Father, for sending us your Spirit!

Matthew 18:15–17: Church Discipline or Relationship Repair?

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Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

We’ve all experienced being hurt by someone, or hurting someone, as a result of careless words or thoughtless actions. It may be from a stranger, or a family member, or a friend. Maybe even another Christian. But what are we to do when we are truly hurt by another person? In Matthew 18:15–17, Jesus gave us counsel on how to deal with such situations. I have often heard this text used as an example of church discipline. However, I’d like to suggest a different purpose for this counsel: Relationship repair.

This is how it begins: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” (verse 15).

First things first: this is what we do if someone “sins” against us. It is not a generic, “if someone sins” statement. Rather, these are the steps we take when someone has done something to injure our relationship with them. Jesus also reveals the purpose of His counsel right away: to gain our brother back, not to give us opportunity to get restitution or revenge (or discipline).

Interestingly, the first step is for us to go, by ourselves, to the person. This step is often ignored. Typically, we want to wait for the other person to apologize—“He hurt me, he can come to me”—but Jesus tells us to take the first step. We also want to avoid the person entirely if possible. How many times have you complained about how another person has hurt you when you haven’t talked to that individual privately first? (I know I’m guilty of this). Yet, Jesus says that you should first go and talk to them privately about how they hurt you.

But what if talking to them by yourself does not work? “But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (verse 16). These witnesses “establish the charges,” so they should be people who have also witnessed the person hurting you. Yet, it is not to gang up on the person—not a lynch mob—but as in the first step, they are there to help you restore the relationship.

“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church” (verse 17a). Not much is said here, but continuing on the idea of the first two, it would appear that this step calls upon the whole church to help in restoring the relationship.

“and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (verse 17b). To many, this means shun them—treat them as outcasts. This statement is why many view the passage as church discipline guidelines. That doesn’t fit the context though. If this was all about gaining our brother, why would Jesus now say we can hate them? Consider this: how did Jesus treat the Gentiles and tax collectors? He ate with them, ministered to them, and befriended them. No, He’s not giving us permission to hate. He’s telling us that if we are unsuccessful in restoring the relationship, we should start over. We are to treat them as someone who needs to know the message of the Gospel.

When dealing with His own personal relationships, Jesus also lived by this counsel. A great example is Jesus talking to Peter after the resurrection (and after Peter’s denial). Jesus went to Peter, not to confront his denials or to get even, but He came to restore their relationship. Three times Peter denied Jesus, three times he was able to confirm his love for Jesus (John 21:15–17). The end result: a repaired relationship.

Matthew 18:15–17 reveals steps towards reconciliation not discipline. Because reconciliation is at the heart of being a disciple (John 13:35). It is our message and ministry: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19, emphasis mine).

Therefore, if one of my relationships has been broken because I have hurt someone, or someone has hurt me (whether it is some unfortunate misunderstanding or purposeful), I have been given the ministry (and guidance) to do all within my power to mend that relationship.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:12, 13).

Armor of God: Gospel Shoes

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I was taught as a child the importance of wearing shoes. Occasionally, I was allowed to run around barefoot, but not as often as some of my friends or cousins. I remember one summer, while visiting my cousins, that they made fun of me because I wasn’t able to walk barefoot on the gravel driveway like they could. They said I had pretty feet (not something I liked to hear). I felt embarrassed having to go back to get my shoes, but I had no choice. My feet were just too sensitive.

Paul also talked about the importance of shoes. This is, in fact, the next part of the armor we must put on: first the belt, then the breastplate, and now shoes (specifically, “as shoes for your feet, put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” – Ephesians 6:15)

Shoes shouldn’t need much explanation. They protect our feet from rocks, thorns, twigs, or any other sharp object on our path. To a soldier, good shoes are vital. Remember, our goal is to be still standing at the end, and protected feet are good at standing. It reminds me of something my grandpa said once about one of my cousins who had a large shoe size: he had “a good foundation.” Good shoes are about securing our foundation; the better the shoe, the better the foundation.

Even in spiritual combat, soldiers must make sure their feet are well anchored, because you never know what you will find laying on the battlefield. There will be things that cut you, trip you, or make you very miserable. I’m sure you’ve experienced some of these stones. You will be faced with a cold, hard truth: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Ouch! We wince, lift our foot, only to step down on another sharp truth: “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Oh! This stuff can hurt! One step, “you’re nothing but a filthy sinner”—another step, “even your good works are worthless”—sends pain throughout our soul. This is why Paul advises, “…as shoes for your feet…”, or “…Having shod your feet…”, basically protect your feet.

Since our feet are so vulnerable, we need to make sure we do not buy into the alternatives. Satan will urge you to head into battle Barefoot with the Hesitancy that comes from Human Inadequacy. Forget about the Gospel, focus on you—the natural you. You must stand on your own weakness; bear the pain of the journey and toughen up! Of course, Satan knows this will leave you vulnerable. On the other hand, man suggests that you put on the Socks of Laziness that comes from a Hidden Gospel. Good news can make you feel warm and fuzzy, but there’s no need for everyone to know that you have it. Man’s motto: “Keep it close, but keep it hidden.” You see, your feet can’t get hurt because you won’t move out of the comfort of the pew.

No, true protection comes only from the Gospel of Peace (Ephesians 6:15). This is the good news of Jesus Christ! The good news that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that who ever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). That, “the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life” (Rom. 6:23). Standing on this Gospel, those other sharp truths will not make us stumble!

But that’s not all. Paul asks a very important question: how can people know the good news if we don’t tell them (Romans 10:14, 15)? For the armor, he mentions the preparation, or readiness, that comes with this Gospel. There needs to be a willingness to share this Gospel. Isaiah 52:7 says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.” How wonderful it is to hear the good news of salvation, and to hear that we can have peace with God. How beautiful is the person who shares this with us! God calls the feet of those who carry His good news beautiful—not pretty, not calloused, scarred, and stinky—beautiful. God doesn’t want us to have tough feet; He wants us to have beautiful feet!

There is a difference between pretty feet and beautiful feet. Once, while I was a lifeguard, I was called to an injury. An older lady had cut her foot on the nearly smooth texture of the concrete floor. I learned that she never went anywhere without wearing shoes—she had beautiful feet, but every step was painful. I realized that the more she wore her shoes, the more she had to.

You see, the longer the gospel is our foundation—the longer we walk in it and the longer we share it—the more beautiful our feet become and the more sensitive we become. Things that may not bother others become painful to us. We’ll become sensitive to our own rough edges. We become fully aware of our need of a Savior. Then we see the importance of the shoes: the longer we stand on the Gospel, the more we’ll have to. The more we share the Gospel, the more we’ll want to.

Paul proudly proclaims in Romans 1:16, “…I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes.” Don’t be ashamed of the protection of the Gospel. Don’t be ashamed to share it with others. For if you desire to have victory in this rough world, you must secure your foundation; made ready by the Gospel to keep standing.

May the Good News of salvation be your foundation. May you proudly proclaim the Gospel of Peace to those you care about. May we stand, unashamed to have beautiful feet because of the Gospel of Christ!

John 14:1–3 – Jesus’ Forgotten Ministry

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Jesus warned the disciples the night He was arrested that He would have to leave, but promised them He’d return. His promise was straightforward: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1–3). He told them that He needed to prepare a place for them and promised that once those preparations were finished He would return.

This is an often memorized promise that brings hope in these dark days. Yes, Jesus will return! However, this promise has made some wonder, what is taking so long? The seemingly long time since Jesus’ promise is because He has a lot to do to prepare a place for us.

When I was younger, I imagined Jesus with a tool-belt and a hammer pounding nails into the newly added walls in our heavenly mansions. As if the “preparations” for us were physical. Of course, if Jesus went to heaven to simply build a few rooms for those going to Heaven, why couldn’t He just speak them into existence? He’s done it before! He would have been there and back in only moments. It became apparent to me that the preparations were greater than simply making a few (or even many) more rooms.

So what is Jesus doing that seems to take forever? We have already read this reminder: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). We may perceive the long delay as slowness, but in reality He is patient. He’s not trying to rush salvation. He wants to save as many as possible.

You see, Jesus had a much greater work in mind when He left to “prepare a place for us.” We find it described in Hebrews 9: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by  means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11, 12).

Verse 24 explains where Jesus entered: “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” Jesus entered into the holy places of heaven on our behalf. To do what? Reading on tells us: “Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:25, 26).

These verses paint a fascinating image. It is one of Jesus as our High Priest. It parallels a heavenly ministry of Christ with that of the earthly High Priests. According to the book of Hebrews, when Jesus entered heaven, He entered into the Most Holy Places of heaven as our Hight Priest. This is a major part of His ministry that many have forgotten.

You see, the only reason the High Priest went into the Most Holy Place was for the yearly Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 16:1–30). It was the only time, and only reason, anyone entered into the Most Holy Place. To the people of Israel, it was the day the sanctuary would be cleansed of their sins. In other words, when that day was over, those who had trusted in God and the sacrifice for their sins were at peace with God—cleansed completely from all their sins (Leviticus 16:30). It is a concept heard in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” It was also seen as a day of judgment for them—whatever sins were not confessed and cleansed from the sanctuary that day, were then the responsibility of the person (guilty).

Why is this important? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Some believe this means that we will all have to stand physically in some heavenly courtroom—typically after we die. However, the Bible says that Jesus is “the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42; see also 2 Timothy 4:1). Furthermore, Acts 17:31 says that God has “selected a day” to judge the world through Jesus. Thus, while the Bible says that our lives are judged after we die (Hebrews 9:27), it also says that the final judgement will occur at a specific time and will concern both those living and those dead. Basically, the day of judgment will come and we will be judged—for those living in that day, it will be while they are still alive.

In addition, Jesus said that when He returned, He would reward everyone according to their works (Matthew 16:27, see also Revelation 22:12). According to what we just read, we must appear before the judgment seat of Jesus so that we can receive our reward, yet Jesus is coming with His reward. How can this happen? Remember what Revelation 14:7 said: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come” [emphasis mine]. Part of Jesus’ ministry as High Priest is taking part in the judgment. Therefore, the judgement of the dead and the living will take place at a specific time before Jesus returns.

This means, when Jesus returns, our judgment has already been decided—whether or not we have accepted His sacrifice on our behalf—and our reward is coming with Him. “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).

When Jesus is finished and returns for His children, there will be no more work to be done toward sin. It will be finished (see John 19:30 and Revelation 16:17). He won’t be coming to die again, He won’t be coming to try to fix the world, He’ll be coming as King of kings and Lord of lords to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him (Revelation 19:11–16)!