What exactly is sin and how does it affect us?
Below is a list of words and phrases concerning sin that comes from Vines Complete Expository Dictionary.
Iniquity; vanity; sorrow; to be tired or fatigued; painful burden or difficulty; sin is a toilsome, exhausting load of trouble and sorrow; crime or offense; deceit; trespass; violation of God’s ordinances; mischief inflicted on others; evil.
The statement above concerning “toilsome, exhausting load of trouble and sorrow” which is self-inflicted is the point of this post.
During a normal day you are doing things that are routine when suddenly you find yourself contemplating doing something that is not a part of your daily routine; in fact, it is not part of your life. What is troublesome is you know you should not be entertaining anything that you know is wrong to do; not that what you are thinking is wrong in general, and in fact, considered normal behavior. However, what you are entertaining is wrong because you know the action you wish to take is not pleasing or acceptable to the LORD. You feel justified in doing what you have been considering while at the same time you feel ashamed and guilty. You decide you need to do this thing you have been considering regardless of how you feel or think about it. After, you partake you find yourself feeling alone, abandoned, and troubling you the most is you are deeply troubled and filled with sorrow for doing what you knew was not fitting to do in the first place. Now, things are beginning to head toward troubled waters: You not only feel bad, but you also feel as if the LORD has abandoned you and His protection removed. What happens next is that you begin to experience things that you never considered could happen: You become ill, or you just feel so bad you become depressed or melancholy. You are now tired from the toil of placing the burden of this sin on yourself; you are exhausted and loaded down with a self-induced burden, shame, and sorrow for disobeying your conscience. You are trapped in your own self-made religious trap, failing to understand 1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV) where Paul tells us plainly:
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is constructive.”
You see there is no need to be trapped in a religious trap you created. Jesus has already paid the price for all sin, past, present, and future. There is nothing you can do to reverse what Jesus has done for each of us. That battle is over, you are free, free from all guilt brought about by the sin you have developed and made into something contrary to the gospel.
Paul tells us in Romans 3: 22-26 (NIV):
“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith;” Not by your self-made religious ideals, guilt, or failure to be holy and seem self-righteous.
There are always things we should not do because Jesus tells us that we are “take up our cross and follow me.” Question is, do you understand what Jesus meant? One site gotquestions.org states that our Christian life is about total surrender to Jesus, not our own pleasures, desires, ideals, and emotions. Our life is all about “Taking up our cross and following Jesus” which means being willing to die to follow Jesus. This is called “dying to self.” It is a call to absolute surrender. After each time Jesus commanded cross bearing, He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the entire world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” Luke 9:24-25 NIV. Although the call is tough, the reward is matchless.”
So, you see then that the consequence of sin is based on misunderstanding of what Jesus has accomplished for us; and that being His disciple (student), requires total surrender to Him. Thinking you failed Him is a religious mindset that leads to the forfeit of life because total surrender to Jesus is not part of your present character. If you are surrendered to Jesus and stumble, please do not acquire to yourself guilt, or a sense that you failed; you have not failed, and you are not in jeopardy of losing your salvation or face some sort of catastrophe. Remember what Paul tells us about sin: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NIV”
In Paul’s statement concerning sin, the first half of the verse could represent those who have not fully surrendered to Jesus while the second half could represent those who have fully surrendered to Jesus. If that is the case, then the consequence of sin is the sting of death itself, which could be the result of not fully surrendering to Jesus. Regardless, if you feel ashamed because you feel you let Jesus down by doing something out of character, you should examine the relationship you have with Jesus, does it exist, or is this relationship simply a religious ideal.
Bottom line is the consequence of sin is death, and that death does not exist among followers of Jesus.
Thank you for reading.
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