Considering that the word “sin” is mentioned 403 times in the Scriptures, is there any wonder that The Bible is God’s instruction manual to life for Her sinful children?
Do you consider yourself to be sinful, or do you consider yourself to be a good person who sometimes does inappropriate things? To understand what sin is, we must look at the very definition of the word.
Sin
–noun
1. transgression of divine law: the sin of Adam.
2. any act regarded as such a transgression, esp. a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.
3. any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense: It’s a sin to waste time.
Transgression
–noun
1. an act of transgressing; violation of a law, command, etc. sin
The truth is that we are all sinful; no matter how “good” we believe we may be. We were all born into sin, which differs from Adam and Eve who were created perfect and who remained perfect until they sinned. In being perfect, they had only one way to go which was down, but having been born into secondary sin we must take it upon ourselves to move upwards and away from sin to achieve perfection in Father’s eyes.
Because we are all sinful, having been born into sin and stumbling daily, the Scriptures are there to help us in guiding us through our lives in a way that is righteous in Father’s eyes. It is our responsibility, each of us, to pull away from sin. At times this can feel like a game of tug of war; with our spirit on one end and our fleshly selves on the other, because while the spirit is willing the flesh is weak.
Matthew 26:41 "Stay awake and pray, so that you won't enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
I always thought that I was a “good person” too. I thought that I was a loyal, honest, kind, thoughtful, caring and loving. But as I began to learn The Way, I was able to really take a deeper look at myself and check off all the qualities that were most certainly human, but that could most definitely be improved upon. In short, I was humbled and was able to more easily see that while I am human I am also sinful and there is always room for improvement and that it was up to me to begin the process of changing myself from the inside and in essence, to “put on the new man” and leave the old behind. This is the process of pulling away from sin.
Ephesians 4:23-25 “you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; 24 you put on the new man, the one created according to God's [likeness] in righteousness and purity of the truth.
25 Since you put away lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.”
The first step to doing this is coming to an understanding of The Way and what is expected of each of us. This is done through study, prayer and meditation and a deep searching of our hearts. It can also be done in contemplating what Christ might do if he were faced with any given situation you may find yourself in. Think about past experiences and situations and how you handled them and ask yourself truthfully if you could have done anything differently that might have been more in line with what Father and Christ might have wanted. Be honest with yourself and if needed, step outside of yourself to get a better look at who you really are. In learning The Way and searching our hearts and approaching each and every situation with this mindset we become even more aware of our faults both small and large, and what we need to work on in order to pull away from sin and become less and less of this sinful world.