Is sin an action? We label many actions a sin, but is that an accurate definition of sin? A definition of sin I heard recently was our attempt to be independent from God. There are so many concepts of sin out there it is important for a group to be in agreement on one concept for discussion and comprehension. My contention is sin is not an action. I will use several examples for this. First, let us go back to the first sin - when Eve reached for the forbidden fruit with the intent to eat it, but had Adam blocked her, would she have not sinned? If someone attempts a murder, but is completely unsuccessful are they free of sin? An adulterous moment is prevented by witnesses, are they innocent? The answer to these questions is NO! They are not innocent. The intent was to do, the decision was made. The action is not the sin, rather the decision or intent is the sin. The actions are only a consequence of the sin in the mind or heart. We all accept (well most) that a person that loses control of a car on an icy road and runs a pedestrian down is not guilty of murder. We accept this because we recognize intent makes a difference. This is the concept of sin I use. I agree with the statement that sin is our attempt to be independent of God - when we decide to disobey God in any manner we are saying we are independent of Him. The disobedience may be murder or it may be eating fruit, but either way the disobedience is in the decision, not the action. The action stems from the decision and the action may be thwarted despite the decision, yet this does not provide innocence.
The great question to be asked after any discourse whether it be religious, political or scientific is "So what?" This concept of sin impacts many things. A great question for men is where does admiration end and lust begin? I have heard it said that lust is the mind saying "If I could get away with it, I would do it!" This is opposed to the mind (male) saying "She is very attractive (hot). Good job God!" The sin is in the choice/decision not the action. Jesus made this clear when he talked about murder and hatred being the same and adultery and lust being equal. This was not about there being some new rules, rather it was about where sin truly lies - in the mind/heart. Jesus was speaking against the Pharisees that invented rules to avoid coming close to breaking the rules, yet sinned in their hearts continually. He was not adding rules for us, but talking about where the problem really is.
I hope this has not been too confusing. Reply to this and let me know your thoughts. Coming soon - Why the forbidden fruit? Thank you.
1 comment:
I think that your assessment of sin is fairly accurate. Especially in the traditional Christian circles, sins seem to be specific actions found on some unwritten/written list. We can all sin doing something that is completely legitimate for someone else's circumstances. Only God knows what hangups, actions, or attitudes are hindering us from being like Him. This why it is so important to strive to know what the Word of God says, be in constant prayer, and be in communion with the Holy Spirit; if we let the H.S. be our guide it is much easier to live our lives as God would have us do. However, there are some specific things that God makes clear are wrong - for example the 10 commandments. Then there are the things that we know we should or shouldn't do (sexual immorality or loving your neighbor as yourself, for example), that require us to understand the character of God (reading the Word), pray to prevent temptation (Matthew 25), and seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance to determine what those commands look like for us. Mature Christians understand and are much more careful to resist judging others' motives, because they realize that sin to one person is not the same for another AND we are all responsible to God for what we currently understand - not what the church police think we should know.
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