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The word "sin" is primarily a religious word that embodies any thought, word, action, omission, or desire that is contrary to God. It is the opposite of righteousness (perfection), it is the essence of corruption and godlessness, the disease that corrupts the human mind and the act that keeps God from fully communing with humans. In God's Word the word "sin" is used in several different senses:
Sin - OT:5766 `evel (eh'-vel); or `avel (aw'-vel); and (feminine) `avlah (av-law'); or `owlah (o-law'); or `olah (o-law'); from OT:5765; (moral) evil:
KJV - iniquity, perverseness, unjust (-ly), unrighteousness (-ly); wicked (-ness).
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Interlinear Bible (New Testament)
Sin - NT:264 hamartano (ham-ar-tan'-o); properly, to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize), i.e. (figuratively) to err, especially (morally) to sin:
KJV - for your faults, offend, sin, trespass.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Sin desires to have you, but you must over power it. Genesis 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (from New International Version)
Just thoughts alone can be sin as explained in Matthew 5:28 "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (from New International Version)
The desire to sin comes from 2 sources.
God will not let anyone be tempted beyond what they can handle, plus if the temptation presents itself, God will always give a way to avoid the sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (from New International Version)
Sin began back in the Garden of Eden, sometimes referred to as the "Original Sin" [refer to "Original Sin"]. The two first humans, Adam and Eve, were placed in this garden where all their needs were met (food, comforting warmth and direct "one on one" time with God), yet they failed to obey God's one and only request. This rebellion became the first sin against God, which led to banishment and other judgments against Adam and Eve and all of their offspring (all humans) [refer to "Original Sin"]. In this account found in Genesis 2:8 - 3:24 you'll notice that the first sacrifice for the first sin was the death of an animal to cloth Adam and Eve, or in other words "shed by the blood". Also notice that even though Eve was the first tempted, Adam was the one primarily responsible and he partook together with Eve.
When we talk about "sin" we need to keep in mind that there are three aspects to "sin". First, and for most, we have to be presented with the temptation to sin or rebellion against God. Secondly is the actual committing of the sin and finally, are we actually responsible for the committing of the sin?
Another aspect to this "sin" issue is salvation [refer to "Salvation"]. The question arises that if one sins, then they are forever separated from God? Not true if their level of intellect does not aspire them the ability to know of God's existence, then how can they be held accountable. For example, the mentally ill, mentally handicapped or just too young to know person, probably don't have the ability to ascertain God. Obviously, they may still be "blind" as referenced in John 9:41 and John 15:22 above.
Another verse, which takes a little explaining, is found in 2 Samuel 12:19 - 23 "... Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." After David's son dies he realizes that there is no more need to mourn in sorrow, for that will not bring his baby son back, but that his son is with God and David will join him when he dies. So, we can infer that all babies that die are automatically with God.
So the verse in Romans 3:22-24 "... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ..." only refers to those that are intellectually capable of comprehending the existence of God.
God's Word is clear, for all who believe that Jesus as their true savior, will be saved from eternity in hell [refer to "Salvation"], but it is also clear that attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan (blasphemy) is unforgivable as found in Matthew 12:30-32 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." [refer to "Un-pardonable Sin"]
God has provided a means by which all humans can be forgiven for all of the sins that they commit (assuming that they are accountable). In essence, God provided His Son, Jesus, as the atonement (put in place of) for our sins committed in the past, present, and future. The only thing that God requires, in order for us to receive this free gift, is to accept Jesus as our own personal savior [refer to "Salvation"]. Upon true acceptance, God's Holy Spirit [refer to "Holy Spirit"] will indwell you and help in combating sin. Unfortunately, there are some Christian denominations that have strayed from God's Word and claim that forgiveness can be obtained by some sort of work or confession to a church leader, which is not found anywhere in God's Word. Although, God's Word does encourage prayer and confession as found in James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
Those that are without the ‘Law of God', which is contained in God's Word, actually have, what we call the ‘natural Law of God' which is described in Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Essentially, God makes His presence known to all no matter where they are located. God's creation and God's presence in creation puts Him in front of every single human. It is up to each individual to choose to accept God or reject God [refer to "Salvation"]. It is also only God that makes the final decision whether one becomes a personal part of His family [refer to "Creation"].
For a lot of people this "sin" issue is a mute point. They are sort of like the blind Pharisees in John 9:40-41 that don't believe that they are sinning when in reality they know full well that they are sinners. In other words there are a lot of people thinking that they are "good people", but in reality are sinning regularly.
Then there is the "point-of-view" attitude. One persons point-of-view regarding sin doesn't necessarily agree with another's point-of-view. In other words, sinning is all in the eye of the sinner. Which God's Word debunks.
There are also those that calculate sin by morality standards. If it hurts another person, then it is wrong. The level of the pain encountered determines the level of sin. Which God's Word also debunks.
Finally, there is the conscience. If your conscience tells you it is sin, then it is sin. Again, God's Word debunks.
Needless to say, all of these definitions or examples of sin are not Biblical even though many may claim them so.
So it all boils down to the fact that, thanks to Adam and Eve, we are all sinners (once we become accountable) and this was God's plan from the beginning. We also know from the Bible several additional facts regarding sin:
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