This is the title of a book by Dr. Karl Menninger, the eminent psychiatrist. For the most part, psychiatrists see all mental problems as a chemical imbalance (because we do not have a soul, just a material body), so this book was revolutionary in thought. Billy Graham says sin is a disease. The only cure is the blood of Christ. [The solution to our three problems of sin, death, and Satan.] The three areas of sin are the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes (cf. 1 John 2:15). The Greek word hamartia means to "miss the mark" or to fall short of a goal; it is an archery term and we sin when we miss achieving the norm or mark of God's law as the standard.
To label sin as human weakness, bad habits, mistakes, errors, or shortcomings merely makes the sin more dangerous--like mislabeling poison as the essence of peppermint! There are basically five names for sin: lawlessness (1 John 3:4); iniquity or deviating from right (Hos. 14:1); missing the mark (Rom. 3:23); trespassing or selfishness (Mark 8:34); and unbelief (1 John 5:10).
A renowned philosopher said that the "absurd is sin without God." Take God out of the equation and you can have no sin. When we violate our fellow man we sin against him; when we violate God's holiness we sin against Him. So what is sin? A succinct definition of sin is any want of conformity to, or transgression of, the Law of God, or the will of God.
Jesus mentioned sins of the heart--these have to do with our mental attitude. There are sins of commission (when God's Law is couched in negative terms, as R. C. Sproul says, such as "Thou shalt not..."), and sins of omission (not sins we haven't gotten around to committing yet, but where we fall short of the glory of God and fail to do what Jesus would do, or what is commanded). John Bunyan wrote a book Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and Paul called himself the chief of sinners also, so we need not despair that our sins are too bad to be forgiven. Charlie Riggs sees sin as any thought, word, act, omission or desires contrary to the Law of God.
Of course, sin is universal and we are born sinners: "We are not sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners," as it has been said. The point to see our sin is not that we are "good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation". "We can't escape our birthright," Billy Graham says.
Not all sins are equal though; there are some more heinous or egregious than others and are an abomination and special offense to God. There is no such thing as venial and mortal sins as Rome teaches. Venial being forgivable, and mortal being those the kill the justification of grace and require the sacrament of penance ("the second plank of salvation for those who have made shipwreck of their faith).
No sin can make you lose your salvation, and all your sins, as a believe, are forgivable and covered by the blood of Christ. But remember Christ is always making intercession for us when we sin (Heb. 7:25) and when we sin we only have to confess it and move on according to 1 John 1:9 ("If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"). Soli Deo Gloria!
To label sin as human weakness, bad habits, mistakes, errors, or shortcomings merely makes the sin more dangerous--like mislabeling poison as the essence of peppermint! There are basically five names for sin: lawlessness (1 John 3:4); iniquity or deviating from right (Hos. 14:1); missing the mark (Rom. 3:23); trespassing or selfishness (Mark 8:34); and unbelief (1 John 5:10).
A renowned philosopher said that the "absurd is sin without God." Take God out of the equation and you can have no sin. When we violate our fellow man we sin against him; when we violate God's holiness we sin against Him. So what is sin? A succinct definition of sin is any want of conformity to, or transgression of, the Law of God, or the will of God.
Jesus mentioned sins of the heart--these have to do with our mental attitude. There are sins of commission (when God's Law is couched in negative terms, as R. C. Sproul says, such as "Thou shalt not..."), and sins of omission (not sins we haven't gotten around to committing yet, but where we fall short of the glory of God and fail to do what Jesus would do, or what is commanded). John Bunyan wrote a book Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and Paul called himself the chief of sinners also, so we need not despair that our sins are too bad to be forgiven. Charlie Riggs sees sin as any thought, word, act, omission or desires contrary to the Law of God.
Of course, sin is universal and we are born sinners: "We are not sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners," as it has been said. The point to see our sin is not that we are "good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation". "We can't escape our birthright," Billy Graham says.
Not all sins are equal though; there are some more heinous or egregious than others and are an abomination and special offense to God. There is no such thing as venial and mortal sins as Rome teaches. Venial being forgivable, and mortal being those the kill the justification of grace and require the sacrament of penance ("the second plank of salvation for those who have made shipwreck of their faith).
No sin can make you lose your salvation, and all your sins, as a believe, are forgivable and covered by the blood of Christ. But remember Christ is always making intercession for us when we sin (Heb. 7:25) and when we sin we only have to confess it and move on according to 1 John 1:9 ("If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"). Soli Deo Gloria!
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