The Definition of Sin

👉🏼 God made it clear what sins are when He gave the law.

👉🏼 When people do things that go against the law = they sin.

👉🏼 The law was never abolished, so when people sin, they break the law.

1 John 3:4-10 

"Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to TAKE AWAY our sins, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in him WILL NOT SIN. But anyone who KEEPS ON SINNING does NOT know him or understand who he is.Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that THEY BELONG TO THE DEVIL, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family DO NOT make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are CHILDREN OF GOD and who are CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God."

Matthew 5:19 "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven."

Luke 6:46-49 Building on a Solid Foundation“SO WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME 'LORD, LORD!' WHEN YOU DON'T DO WHAT I SAY? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who HEARS AND DOESN'T OBEY is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

It's the same way with the traffic law. When you run through the red light, you break the law - it’s a violation and you get punished. Red light is an indication of a boundary, to keep you in line. But it's up to you to respect that boundary, for the safety of you and others around you. Violating boundaries set by the law NEVER ends in rewards, but hurt. It's no different with the laws of God.

For example: Exodus 20:13 “YOU MUST NOT MURDER.” Killing someone is a violation of the law = Physical Sin. But, this violation starts AT HEART. No one just blindly decides to kill another person without thinking, planning, and a reason behind it (unless it’s an unforeseen tragic accident). It begins with HATRED, so this violation starts with HATE = Spiritual Sin. 

John 3:15 “Anyone who HATES another brother or sister is really a MURDERER AT HEART. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.”

Mark 7:18–23 “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.) And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For FROM WITHIN, OUT OF A PERSON'S HEART, COME EVIL THOUGHTS, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; THEY ARE WHAT DEFILE YOU."

‼️ SPIRITUAL SINS ‼️ are more dangerous than physical sins because they are HIDDEN, and most people do not acknowledge them and do not repent from them. Those sins don’t have to turn physical to be counted as sins. So people will be judged on them. They are jealousy, hatred, envy, slander, lust, anger, wrath, gluttony, sloth, pride, arrogance, greed, deceitfulness, etc. When God comes to judge everyone, He will examine everyone’s hearts and motives. So it really doesn’t matter what you ‘think’ is right. God made it clear what is right and what is wrong, and His laws will be used as a standard for judgment, and no one will have any excuse for not knowing because even if they have never read God's written law, their own conscience (their soul) tells them. When people keep rejecting their conscience and its warnings; they lose it! There is a point of no return. 

Romans 2:12-16"When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is OBEYING the law that makes us right in his sight. Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their HEARTS, for THEIR OWN CONSCIENCE AND THOUGHTS EITHER ACCUSE THEM OR TELL THEM THEY ARE DOING RIGHT.  And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life."

1 Timothy 1:19 "Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked."

1 Timothy 4:1-5 "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and THEIR CONSCIENCES ARE DEAD.  They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer."

Luke 11:33-36 "Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.”

Isaiah 50:11 "But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment."

Ezekiel 18:4 “For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.”

Proverbs 14:14 “Backsliders get what they deserve; good people receive their reward.”

👉🏼 Isn't it INSANITY to do the same thing and expect a different result? 

DEADLY SINS ARE SPIRITUAL

They are committed WITHIN THE HEART and it doesn’t matter if they turn to physical actions; they are still sins that need to be repented from. They are ANGER, GREED, LUST, PRIDE, WRATH, SLOTH, GLUTTONY. Each one of those sins BRANCH OUT to other sins. Some examples:

LUST = adultery, cheating, prostitution, perversion (porn watching), etc. ANGER = hatred, murder, slander, gossip, jealousy, etc.

Anger is a human emotion, and it's not wrong in itself. It's the MOTIVE behind it that counts. Every one of us gets angry at something, but it's either motivated by God's righteousness OR by evil desires. God Himself is angry with the wicked people:

Psalm 7:11 "God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day."

James 1:19-22 "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves."

GREED = the love for money, theft, cheating, covetousness, etc.

PRIDE = entitlement, superiority, disobedience, self-delusion, refusal of correction, etc.

WRATH = revenge, physical violence, abuse, cursing others, false accusations, etc.

SLOTH = not providing for the family, selfishness, wasting the limited time we are given, being a burden to others, etc.

GLUTTONY = alcoholism and other “consumable addictions” (which leads to more sin), it’s a form of idolatry, etc.

HATE  just as anger, hate is another human emotion. It's the MOTIVE behind it that counts. One either hates what is good OR hates what is wrong. 

Proverbs 8:13 "All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech."

ALL OF THEM VIOLATE THE TWO ROYAL LAWS on which 10 commandments are based:

1. Love God with all your heart, mind and soul

2. Love your neighbor as yourself

God KNOWS what people are motivated by. Nothing can be hidden. 

Proverbs 16:1-2 "We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but THE LORD EXAMINES THEIR MOTIVES." 

All the sins that branch out of these are included under that same umbrella of DEADLY SINS. In confession, a person must acknowledge the root cause of the wrongdoing. For example: it is the SIN of LUST that causes a person to watch porn, so it's the LUST within their HEART that must be acknowledged, and REPENTED FROM, not just its symptom 👉🏼 "watching porn." There's no point is confessing "I'm sorry for watching porn" because the root cause that LUST is still in the heart, and it's guaranteed that a person will continue lusting one way or another. So they remain slaves to sin. 

Matthew 5:28 "But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Of course, to make confession effective and repentance complete one MUST believe that Jesus Christ has the power to REMOVE all sins from their HEARTS. Only Jesus Christ is able to pull the roots; those SINS are like dark entities. NO ONE is able to do it on their own - it's a divine intervention! It's a promise to those who BELIEVE and REPENT! That's what being under the NEW COVENANT means = a HEART CIRCUMCISION.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 "And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations."

Proverbs 6:12-19 

"What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars, signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye, a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers. THEIR PERVERTED HEARTS PLOT EVIL, and they constantly stir up trouble. But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing. There are six things the Lord hates—no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family."

UNINTENTIONAL SINS 

Physical sins WITHOUT Spiritual Intent.

1 John 5:16-17 "If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. ALL WICKED ACTIONS ARE SIN, BUT NOT EVERY SIN LEADS TO DEATH."

Leviticus 4:2 "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. This is how you are to deal with those who SIN UNINTENTIONALLY by doing ANYTHING THAT VIOLATES ONE OF THE LORD'S COMMANDS."

Deuteronomy 19:5 ”For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood. And suppose one of them swings an ax to chop down a tree, and the ax head flies off the handle, killing the other person. In such cases, the slayer may flee to one of the cities of refuge to live in safety.“

People call them "accidents," and yes accidents happen. But if accidents violate the law, they are also sins, and the person who caused the accident is guilty of the outcome. This also needs to be acknowledged, confessed, grieved over, and repented from. Doing so will not lead to death.

But whoever causes harm to another without initial intent, but refuses to admit, shows no remorse and doesn't repent, but instead justifies themselves saying they are "not guilty" because they didn't mean it just to avoid taking responsibility; that's WRONG and will not be forgiven. 

James 4:17 "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."