Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Theology of Sin


In the Biblical perspective, sin is not only an act of wrong doing but a state of alienation from God. (Elwell, 2001) Because of the original sin of Adam we are born into a state of depravity. In the New International Version of the Bible, the word sin appears in the Gospel twenty times. So what is a sin? Eaton’s Bible Dictionary defines sin as “any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God” (Easton, 1897).

Verses
1.      Matthew
6:14 for if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you
12:31 and so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
13:41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil
18:15 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over
2.      Mark
7:20-23 “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
3.      Luke
17:1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come
17:4 even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
4.      John
1:29 the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
8:7 when they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
8:11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
8:21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
8:34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
9:34 to this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out
9:41 to this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out
15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin
15:24 if I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.
16:8 when he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment
16:9 about sin, because people do not believe in me;
19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

Sin Key Verses
John 1:29 the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. John 18:34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. John 16:8 when he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. John 16:9 about sin, because people do not believe in me;
Luke 17: 1-4 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
Mark 7:20-23 “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
Matthew 6:14 for if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you

Summary

Because of the original sin of Adam, man is born into sin and depravity Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-24 NIV). We are all slaves to sin the same sin that separates us from God.  It is only through the Good News of the Gospel that we are forgiven of our sins and blessed by the grace of God. Just as we are forgiven of our sins, so we are to forgive others that sin against us. We need to show the love and grace that Jesus provides for us. Life, as we know it is tempory Life with the Lord, is eternal.

The Bridge Builder BY WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE


An old man going a lone highway,

Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”
Source: Father: An Anthology of Verse (EP Dutton & Company, 1931)