What is sin? Easily stated, but tricky to wrestle. We went through the spectrum of definitions used to describe sin, iniquity and transgression. We saw how John defined it:
1 John 3:4
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
Sin is lawlessness; I.e. Torahlessness. Torah is the standard, the target, the plumb line. Is the Torah missing anything? Does it require correction?
Psalms 19:7-9
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
At the end of the discussion we made the tough determination that sin is the breaking of Hashem’s commandments. For those of us who discovered this walk after being a part of the visible expression of the church, have rooted out many errant teachings on what Hashem considers to be sin. We were handed a coat lies we struggle to shrug off. Over time we realize Shabbat, the feats, purity laws, dietary instructions, relational values are all still relevant to a believer in Messiah. But what may be less frequently realized are the instructions in the church which were taught to be laws, which in fact are not. Drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco,watching sports, playing cards, dancing…and many that I’m sure you can add, are taught by various groups as sinful activity. Unfortunate, since some are instructions in G-d’s word. Continuing to call these activities as sinful is a misrepresentation of G-d’s standard just as much as the omission of Shabbat and others. Clearly some of these activities or habits can be damaging physically if carried to the extreme. Yet, we should be careful to not confuse it with sinful behaviour.
However, we must be aware that although a behaviour is not sinful it is possible it may lead to sin, or at least are not beneficial to our walk before Messiah.
1 Corinthians 10:23
Do All to the Glory of God
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
We heard it said, we are not to add to or take away from the word of G-d. From where we have come from, we quickly see the beautiful flowers that were removed from the Torah and seek to replant them into the garden; however we must also recognize those weeds that have been added that can diminish the beauty of the garden.
May your ways be pure before the Creator of the Universe.
TorahNorth 