Sins

A common view of sin is the transgression of God’s law. But sin also hurts others and harms the offender. Sin occurs when the heart is rebellious, corrupted, and inclined toward evil. Sin has also been referred to as ‘missing the mark.’ God’s creation was made perfect until sin entered the world and stained the perfection. When we sin, we become less of ourselves, and we experience spiritual separation from each other and from God. Sin has devasting consequences and often begins a destructive cycle that passes on for generations. Therefore we cannot underestimate the calamatous role sin has in our lives as it affects our relationship with God, each other, and the creation (environment). It also inhibits our ability to pursue and live a life of love, joy, peace, and prosperity God promises us.

In this study we turn to the Bible for definitions of sins, and we seek to understand why God calls certain actions, attitudes or mindsets sins. Ultimately, we reflect and confront the sins in our own lives. This is a necessary first step towards becoming free from sins and breaking their cycle of destrcution.

Part I The origin of sin

1. Sin enters the world

In the beginning, God made a beautiful creation, then he made Mankind to take care of it. Mankind is made of both heaven and earth, or spirit and flesh. Spiritually, Mankind has been made in God’s likeness: we are given the divine qualities and the creative power God himself possesses. In our earthly nature, however, Mankind is subject to the flesh’s drive and inclination, just like the animals who were also formed out of the dust of the earth. As God appointed Mankind to rule over his creation, he also made provision for them to survive on earth. God created a paradise where Mankind can freely enjoy a relationship with God and each other while carrying out our responsibilities as caretakers of the world.

With a bite into the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, the eyes of Mankind are open and our consciousness is awakened. We become aware of the power of our will – that we, like God, have the sovereignty to make decisions for ourselves. This leads to the illusion that we can take full control of our lives, the lives of others, and of our environment. The illusion then produces a false self-image that we are to be perfect like God. At the same time, we also become aware of our nakedness: the symbol of our inferiority as we are bonded by our earthly body, we can never become fully divine like God. We become shamed by our imperfections. In our shame, we fear of being exposed by God who knows the full truth of who we really are, including our desire to supplant his role as the true ruler over the whole creation, including us. This is the birth of Mankind’s rebellion against God. Sin enters the world when we put ourselves in the place of God as the ruler of our lives and of our world. As we exercise our free will in rebellion against, rather than in submission to God’s will, we make choices that produce thoughts, attitudes, and actions that are polluted, evil, and ultimately destructive.

Read Genesis 1: 26- 31, 3:1-11

2. To sin or not to sin

This is the first example of Mankind’s struggle against sin.

By 'short-changing' God with his offer, Cain committs the first sin.
God's response to Cain's offer exposes Cain's motivation, which stands in contrast to his brother's. Cain becomes angry.
Even then, God does not accuse or hand out punishment to Cain. Instead, God asks Cain to reflect on the reason of his anger, and encourages him to take the corrective action. That is, change your heart, or repent, and everything will be alright again.
Yet this simple request meets great resistance. Why is it so hard for Cain to 'simply' repent? The core of the struggle is seated in Mankind's deepest vulnerability. Cain's anger masks the deep shame he feels when his consciousness condemns him: that he has fallen short of who God made him to be. What does one do when our shame is brought to light? We either go into hiding (a passive response) like Adam and Eve, or we attack the person who exposes our shame (an aggreive respose).
God admonishes Cain to master the anger that did eventuall lead him to destroy his brother. This is a pivotal point for Cain to choose his next step: either to confront his own evil heart and repent, or to cover up his shame by either going into hiding or into an a rampage.
To confront his sin would take a great deal of humility, where he would confess his fear or pride that is behind his the sin. This would result in acknolwedging his weaknesses or imperfection as a human, further tearing into his feeling of shame. It would also require that Cain would trust God to be merciful and forgiving. This is the struggle Mankind would learn to wrestle when confronted by sin.
Instead of mastering his anger and 'do the right thing', Cain let his anger master him and follows the path of rage and convenience. He choose to murder his brother, which would symbolically cover up his shame. Yet. instead of feeling relieved, Cain adds to his pain guilt and separatin from God and others for the rest of his life.

Like Cain, we live in an imperfect world where sinning is human. As an old adage goes: "to make a mistake is human, to make the same mistake twice is stupid.". God knows that we are human and that in our human nature we would sin. Our challenge lies in how we deal with sin and how we learn from our mistakes.

You are about to embark on a jourey to honestly and fearlessly confront the sins in your life - both sins that you have committed and sins others have committed against you. You will learn what sins are offensive to God and why. And perhaps for the first time, you will look deep into your own heart, and see the fear, defensivenss, shame, pride, jealosy, low self-esteem or anger that lead you to do things you would later not be proud of. This can be painful, yet necessary in order to receive forgiveness, freedom, and to break the chains of destruction passed on from our ancentors.

Read Genesis 4:1-8

Sin starts with an evil desire that first drags us away from our consciousness, and then entices us to committ the sin. The ultimate result of sin is death – in the case of Cain, Abel paid the price of Cain’s sin with his life. For most of us, it is the spiritual death.

Reflect on your life. Can you think of an example when you became aware that a desire was unrighteous, and then you were faced with a choice . How were you first enticed to sin and eventually decided to commit the sin? And what were the consequence of it?

Can you also think of an example when you were enticed but did not give in. What helped you?

3. Evil desires that lead to sin

Read James 1: 14 -15

Part II Sins as Defined in the Bible

Read Galatians 5: 19-21

1. Sins of destruction

These behaviors and actions cause visible destruction in our lives and the lives of our fellow mankind. They also separate us from God. Go through the list one by one and learn the meaning for each one. Look a word up in the dictionary if you are not sure. For each sin, reflect on why God calls it a sin.

Take an invetory of your own life with each one of the sins. Have you committed them? If so, when was the first time? or how frequently does it occur? What was/is the circumstances and whyat led / lead to your action?

Reflect also on the consequnces of your action. What relationship has it damage? How have these actions damage you?

Read 2 Timothy 3: 1-9

These sins are deceptive because people can live in these sins yet still have the appearance of a good and moral person. Divorce and astranged family relationshs are examples of consequnces of these deceptive sins.

Take the same steps as above to learn the meaning of these sins and reflect on how they apply to you.

2. Sins of deception

Read Mark 7:20.23, Matthew 5: 21-23, 27-28

Sin comes to our human nature in many layers. There are the actions, such as sexual immorality, murder or gossips, and the attitudes, such as greeds and selfishness. Then there is the heart. As we have already read from the book of James, sin begins at the heart, when our evil desires take roots. Jesus points to the evil in our hearts: the lust, the hatred, or the contempt we hold towards another person, as sins.

You have just taken an invetory of your sins. Now go deeper to look at your heart. What were the evil desire that led to your sinful attitdue or actions? For example, is there pride in your heart where you always have to be the one to win, the one to have the last word? And how does this lead to jealousy, lying, discord, and even drunkness?

3. Sins from the evil of the heart

Read Ephesian 5: 3-5, James 4:17 and Revelation 21:8

The standard for God’s people is not righteousness (that we don’t sin), but holiness. A holy life is one that is set apart from the world’s values and attitudes. God's people don't walk along the edges of temptations, but live a life that is above reproach.

For those who may feels righteousness for having successfully abstained from sin, James reminds us that it is not just by doing that we sin. By not doing the right things can be a sin as well. Revealations 21:8 is an example of sinning by not standing up for wha we believe.

4. A higher standard for God's people

Part III Self Reflection

What are the sins in your life and what damages have they done – to yourself, others, and in your relationship with God? (both sins others committed against you and sins you have committed against others)
What are the things that make you feel guilty, ashamed, fear, inferior, self-accusing, regretful, resentful, or the need to hide? In what ways have your pursuit of happiness, love, prosperity, or fame causes damage and pain to yourself and to others?
In what ways do you try to control or manipulate others or your circumstances to get more than your share, or to make you feel more superior or important than others?
In what ways do you trust in yourself more than you would trust in God to provide for you?