In Romans 3:23 it is stated that...
...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
I think this certainly lines up with reality. I know I do and say plenty of wrong things and I don’t think anyone can honestly say they don’t.
Yet, the scriptures also say ...
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:24
and
God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
I’m thankful God offers His gift of love and freedom from an endless life impacted by sin.
Your thoughts?
Nice post
@InChrist.
To understand all those verses, you must first understand what “sin” is, Biblically speaking....
The common Hebrew term translated “sin” is
chat·taʼthʹ; in Greek the usual word is
ha·mar·tiʹa. In both languages the verb forms (Heb.,
cha·taʼʹ; Gr.,
ha·mar·taʹno) mean “miss,” in the sense of missing or not reaching a goal, way, mark, or right point. In archery e.g. it means to “miss the target”.
So, understanding that “sin” is simply missing an optimum standard (perfection) helps us to realise why it applies to all of us. None of us are perfect....but that was not always the case.
In essence, for those of us who identify as Christians, or even those who worship the God of Abraham, it means a failure to display the standard of perfection with which God created our first parents.
“Defection” (as opposed to “perfection”) in the garden of Eden, was a deviation from that which God originally purposed for his human creation. “Sin” then manifested itself in various ways, according to scripture.....spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. Humans now “missed the mark” of their original perfection in all these areas, to a greater or lesser degree.
The Bible actually identifies two kinds of “sin”.....the one that affects all humankind from birth, which results in physical defects, mental and physical illness, ageing and death. None of these were in the original models, as there was no natural cause of sickness, disability or death in the original paradise.....it would not have been paradise if any of those things were present. It would also explain why we have no natural acceptance of these things, and why they are seen as unwelcome and unnatural to the majority of us. We have no control over this sin (imperfection). It’s part of the way things are for the present. It is not our fault.
The other kind of “sin” is a product of our natural inclination towards wrongdoing and making wrong decisions, based on faulty thinking. This involves our free will. This is the sin we
choose to commit deliberately, even when we know better. This is the one for which we bear responsibility.
Thankfully, the Bible gives us hope of a way out of this ‘less than optimal’ existence, where the abuse of free will (which got us into this mess in the first place) will no longer dictate the quality of our lives. We are all sick of those who abuse their free will, ruining the lives of others, who have their free will trampled on.
A disobedient human (Adam) got us into this predicament, and an obedient human (Jesus) has paid for us to get back what we lost.
Who doesn’t, in their heart, want to live in paradise, with no sickness, ageing or death robbing us of our much loved family and friends?......with no wars, crime or violence taking away peace and security from the world? There is a reason why most of us long for such a life......sin took it away. God made it possible to get it back.
We are not without hope.....
