Dr. Lawrence Butler, The Bridge Church, Pembroke
If we want to understand sin, then we are compelled to turn to the one place where it is fully explained and taught. That place is God’s Word, the Holy Bible.
It is impossible for humans to comprehend the power and depth of sin as the Lord does, and thus He is truly the only one who can perfectly teach us about it. God has been extremely cautious and selective in choosing the people He wanted to write His Holy Word and therefore teach us about the destructive power of sin. Even though many hands and minds have written and thought about spiritual things, and especially about sin, truth is found in the Bible. Through many translators, and numerous versions of the Bible, God still found a way to reach us with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the necessity of being delivered from the power of evil. Its presentation of sin provides clarity and understanding in a way we could never obtain on our own. Sin can never be understood from our personal moral understanding but must be observed from God’s holy viewpoint.
Theologians, Pastors, Bible Scholars and teachers have posited some major characteristics of sin. If you are wondering about what is good and what is evil and how to know the difference, examine these explanations. Sin is the transgression of a divine command, meaning sin is a violation of God’s Word or a lack of obedience to the Word. A quick review of the Ten Commandments is an easy place to start. We find failing to honor the Lord God is a biggie! Other things are murder, stealing, lying and adultery that God spoke clearly about. None of this changed with the arrival of the New Testament. A second component of sin is a lack of righteousness in the heart of the transgressor. This does not mean that you must perform some act of social consciousness. You must not have evil desires in your heart.
The Bible calls this the “lusts of the flesh” (I John 2:16). You should also be familiar with Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” If you don’t know some of these words, use a dictionary, but don’t fail to be obedient.
