Have I Sinned?
The three part series here, ‘Judged’ quotes Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. The earlier article “Seeing Black & White in a World of Shades of Grey” shows “Absolute Moral truth exists and the Bible defines that truth.”
Some believe that they have not, in fact, ever sinned. How does one know? Let us look at the definition of ‘sin’. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (M-W) defines ‘sin’ as: “an offense against religious or moral law” and “transgression of the law of God”.
What ‘law’ of God defines ‘transgression’? The simplest place to ‘define’ the ‘Law of God’ is the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the ‘benchmark’ of moral law.
There are three distinct reasons why. The first is quite simple. They are ‘absolutes’. A humanistic society wants to deny the existence of ‘absolutes’ and make everything situational. Anything one does, one can rationalize or justify as not ‘wrong’. The second reason is they ‘prove’ (test, verify) that everyone is guilty of sin. The third reason is more obscure but is quite significant.
Jesus Christ was God incarnate. He obeyed the ‘Law of God’ perfectly. That is the basis of our hope in salvation. However, the ‘Law of God’ or the Ten Commandments themselves are truly extraordinary.
Where did the Ten Commandments come from? We acknowledge that they are in the Bible. We understand this, whether we believe the Bible or not. The Ten Commandments are in the Bible. Again, where did they come from? The Bible tells us that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses at Mount Sinai from inside a cloud of fire and smoke. Anyone that has seen the “Ten Commandments” movie with Charlton Heston probably remembers the depiction of the scene. Consider though, that GOD spoke from Heaven! With His own hand HE wrote the Ten Commandments. There are very few times that God speaks directly for Himself from heaven, in the Bible. For Him to have not only told Moses the Ten Commandments, but also to have written them with His own hand makes them unique.
Additionally, Jesus explained and clarified the ‘Law’ in what is called the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. The ‘Sermon on the Mount’ is in the book of Matthew, Chapter 5, verse 1 through Chapter 7 verse 23.
Let us take a measure of sin.
The Ten Commandments are in the Bible in Exodus 20:1-17 [crf. Deuteronomy 5:1-21]
1st Commandment
vs. 3, “You shall not have other gods besides me.”
….Is God the first priority of your life? Does worshiping God have the place of pre-eminence? Does money, work, family or a Sunday football game take priority over God?
2nd Commandment
vs. 4, “You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; (5) you shall not bow down before them or worship them…”
We refer to the ‘New Testament’ to further explain and clarify the definition of ‘worshiping idols’.
…Luke 16:13 says, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The Message Bible is clearer, “No worker can serve two bosses: He’ll either hate the first and love the second or adore the first and despise the second. You can’t serve both God and the Bank.”
….Is making money more important than worshiping God? As in the First Commandment, has anything ever been more important to you than God? Money, possessions, a person, a sport can all be idols. Again, looking at M-W for a current definition, “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion”. To what are you ‘devoted’? If you can ‘quote’ 10 statistics about baseball or football, but cannot quote 10 Bible verses, there is a problem!
3rd Commandment
vs. 7, “You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.”
…Refer to the ‘New Testament’ for added definition. Matthew 5:34-36, “But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.”
….Ever, in the heat of the moment said, “G*% Damn” or “J@$^s Ch+@t”? Ever even ‘cuss’ at all?
4th Commandment
vs. 8, “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”
….Ever done anything on the Sabbath - other than worship God? It doesn’t matter if you ‘claim’ Saturday or Sunday as the Sabbath, do you ‘keep it holy’? Is it a special day, one in seven, where one commits the day to rest and worship.
5th Commandment
vs. 12, “Honor your father and your mother…”
….Ever disrespected or ‘talked back’ to your parents? Ever disobey your parents? Ever disobeyed, disrespected, or ‘talked back’ to an authority placed over you by your parents (babysitter, older sibling, or teacher)? Ever let your parents ‘down’?
6th Commandment
vs. 13, “You shall not kill.” [Commit murder]
….Most would instantly answer ‘no’ to this. However, do you also follow the instructions in Matthew 5 about loving your enemy? How about, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you?” Both of these are ways of ‘murdering’ the spirit of a person. Ever been so angry you wished someone dead?
7th Commandment
vs. 14, “You shall not commit adultery.
Again, we refer to the ‘New Testament’ for ‘clarification’ of the definition of ‘committing adultery’.
…Matthew 5:28, “But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
….Ever have sex with anyone Not your legal spouse (or even with your spouse before you were married)? Ever even just fantasize about having sex with anyone?
8th Commandment
vs. 15 “You shall not steal.”
….Ever take anything that does not belong to you? This is broader than one might ‘rationalize’. If you have ever taken a ‘long lunch’ or extended a ‘break’ and been paid for that time, you have stolen money from your employer. If you have ever taken or used company property (like pens, paper, or stamps), you have stolen. If you ever ‘surfed’ the net on company time, you have stolen. If you ever ‘borrowed’ software, you have stolen. Time is the single most ‘stolen’ thing in the world. Any period, during a workday, when you are not actively pursuing the job you are paid for you are stealing time (and money). Time is an irreplaceable resource. Once a moment has passed, it is gone forever. Ever ‘steal’ someone else’s time? If you have ever been purposely late to a meeting with another person, you have stolen his or her time. If you have ever ‘stood someone up’ you have stolen his or her time.
9th Commandment
vs. 16, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
….Ever gossiped? Ever said anything about anyone that you do not know is true? Ever told a story about someone? Ever blamed someone else for something you did? Ever let someone take the blame for something you did by silence? Ever tell even a ‘little white’ lie, or fib?
10th Commandment
vs. 17, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.”
….Next to ‘stealing time’ this is probably the most ‘common sin’. Did you ever want someone else’s shoes? How about wanting their car, or their girlfriend/boyfriend? Ever try and ‘keep up with the Jones’? Ever want another’s talent, power, prestige, or money?
[Put this into perspective: Did you ever wish you had Michael Jordan’s talent at basketball? Ever wish you had Bill Gates’ money? Ever wish you looked like someone else, or had ‘their body’?]
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, You have sinned and "fall short of the glory of God". While the ‘Law’ exists to teach us how to live Godly lives, it also condemns us all to a ‘verdict’ of guilty in the eyes of God. God knows we are ‘incapable’ of perfectly fulfilling the law. Under ‘Old Testament’ Law, there was a series of animal sacrifices to ‘cover’ those sins (if one became a Jew, and followed the prescribed rituals [1]).
Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, made a single sacrifice for ‘all’ sins, past, present and future!
Hebrews 10:10-12 explains, “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man[Jesus Christ], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,”
Understand this, I am not perfect… 1 Timothy 1:15 applies to me! "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
The purpose of the ‘Law’ is to show us we NEED the forgiveness of sins guaranteed by Christ’s sacrifice before we are judged. (See the three part article ‘Judged’ below.)
Again, Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned”. The Ten Commandments ‘prove’ that truth.
[1] Under Jewish (Old Testament) Law, the ritual sacrifices for covering sins were a quite involved process. It contains two elements that are ‘impossible’ to fulfill today. First, the sacrifices must occur in the ‘Temple’ (not a synagogue). There is no Temple today. The ‘Temple of Herod’ in Jerusalem was destroyed around 70 A.D. There is currently a Muslim Mosque on the site of the temple (part of the ongoing ‘feud’ between Palestinians and Jews (see “Palestine vs. Israel OR Muslims vs. ‘The World’” below). Additionally, only a High Priest, a Jew, can make those offerings. When the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., the patrilineal records of the Tribes of Israel were destroyed also. Therefore, there is only ‘one’ Jew that can ‘prove’ his lineage as a Jew (Jesus Christ - His parental lineage is recorded in Matthew and Luke). [This article was edited 14 October, 2005 - See the comments section: Kurt rightfully pointed out an error (mine) regarding the lineage of Christ, I mistakenly attributed the lineage to the House of Levi, Not the House of Judah - descendant of David, King of Israel - The distinction provides Jesus' claim to both the throne of Israel, and the Priesthood of Israel... Thus making Him both the only person 'capable' of claiming the throne and the only Priest capable of fulfilling Judaic/Mosaic Law regarding priests.]
Some believe that they have not, in fact, ever sinned. How does one know? Let us look at the definition of ‘sin’. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (M-W) defines ‘sin’ as: “an offense against religious or moral law” and “transgression of the law of God”.
What ‘law’ of God defines ‘transgression’? The simplest place to ‘define’ the ‘Law of God’ is the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the ‘benchmark’ of moral law.
There are three distinct reasons why. The first is quite simple. They are ‘absolutes’. A humanistic society wants to deny the existence of ‘absolutes’ and make everything situational. Anything one does, one can rationalize or justify as not ‘wrong’. The second reason is they ‘prove’ (test, verify) that everyone is guilty of sin. The third reason is more obscure but is quite significant.
Jesus Christ was God incarnate. He obeyed the ‘Law of God’ perfectly. That is the basis of our hope in salvation. However, the ‘Law of God’ or the Ten Commandments themselves are truly extraordinary.
Where did the Ten Commandments come from? We acknowledge that they are in the Bible. We understand this, whether we believe the Bible or not. The Ten Commandments are in the Bible. Again, where did they come from? The Bible tells us that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses at Mount Sinai from inside a cloud of fire and smoke. Anyone that has seen the “Ten Commandments” movie with Charlton Heston probably remembers the depiction of the scene. Consider though, that GOD spoke from Heaven! With His own hand HE wrote the Ten Commandments. There are very few times that God speaks directly for Himself from heaven, in the Bible. For Him to have not only told Moses the Ten Commandments, but also to have written them with His own hand makes them unique.
Additionally, Jesus explained and clarified the ‘Law’ in what is called the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. The ‘Sermon on the Mount’ is in the book of Matthew, Chapter 5, verse 1 through Chapter 7 verse 23.
Let us take a measure of sin.
The Ten Commandments are in the Bible in Exodus 20:1-17 [crf. Deuteronomy 5:1-21]
1st Commandment
vs. 3, “You shall not have other gods besides me.”
….Is God the first priority of your life? Does worshiping God have the place of pre-eminence? Does money, work, family or a Sunday football game take priority over God?
| | |
2nd Commandment
vs. 4, “You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; (5) you shall not bow down before them or worship them…”
We refer to the ‘New Testament’ to further explain and clarify the definition of ‘worshiping idols’.
…Luke 16:13 says, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The Message Bible is clearer, “No worker can serve two bosses: He’ll either hate the first and love the second or adore the first and despise the second. You can’t serve both God and the Bank.”
….Is making money more important than worshiping God? As in the First Commandment, has anything ever been more important to you than God? Money, possessions, a person, a sport can all be idols. Again, looking at M-W for a current definition, “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion”. To what are you ‘devoted’? If you can ‘quote’ 10 statistics about baseball or football, but cannot quote 10 Bible verses, there is a problem!
| | |
3rd Commandment
vs. 7, “You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.”
…Refer to the ‘New Testament’ for added definition. Matthew 5:34-36, “But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.”
….Ever, in the heat of the moment said, “G*% Damn” or “J@$^s Ch+@t”? Ever even ‘cuss’ at all?
| | |
4th Commandment
vs. 8, “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”
….Ever done anything on the Sabbath - other than worship God? It doesn’t matter if you ‘claim’ Saturday or Sunday as the Sabbath, do you ‘keep it holy’? Is it a special day, one in seven, where one commits the day to rest and worship.
| | |
5th Commandment
vs. 12, “Honor your father and your mother…”
….Ever disrespected or ‘talked back’ to your parents? Ever disobey your parents? Ever disobeyed, disrespected, or ‘talked back’ to an authority placed over you by your parents (babysitter, older sibling, or teacher)? Ever let your parents ‘down’?
| | |
6th Commandment
vs. 13, “You shall not kill.” [Commit murder]
….Most would instantly answer ‘no’ to this. However, do you also follow the instructions in Matthew 5 about loving your enemy? How about, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you?” Both of these are ways of ‘murdering’ the spirit of a person. Ever been so angry you wished someone dead?
| | |
7th Commandment
vs. 14, “You shall not commit adultery.
Again, we refer to the ‘New Testament’ for ‘clarification’ of the definition of ‘committing adultery’.
…Matthew 5:28, “But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
….Ever have sex with anyone Not your legal spouse (or even with your spouse before you were married)? Ever even just fantasize about having sex with anyone?
| | |
8th Commandment
vs. 15 “You shall not steal.”
….Ever take anything that does not belong to you? This is broader than one might ‘rationalize’. If you have ever taken a ‘long lunch’ or extended a ‘break’ and been paid for that time, you have stolen money from your employer. If you have ever taken or used company property (like pens, paper, or stamps), you have stolen. If you ever ‘surfed’ the net on company time, you have stolen. If you ever ‘borrowed’ software, you have stolen. Time is the single most ‘stolen’ thing in the world. Any period, during a workday, when you are not actively pursuing the job you are paid for you are stealing time (and money). Time is an irreplaceable resource. Once a moment has passed, it is gone forever. Ever ‘steal’ someone else’s time? If you have ever been purposely late to a meeting with another person, you have stolen his or her time. If you have ever ‘stood someone up’ you have stolen his or her time.
| | |
9th Commandment
vs. 16, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
….Ever gossiped? Ever said anything about anyone that you do not know is true? Ever told a story about someone? Ever blamed someone else for something you did? Ever let someone take the blame for something you did by silence? Ever tell even a ‘little white’ lie, or fib?
| | |
10th Commandment
vs. 17, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.”
….Next to ‘stealing time’ this is probably the most ‘common sin’. Did you ever want someone else’s shoes? How about wanting their car, or their girlfriend/boyfriend? Ever try and ‘keep up with the Jones’? Ever want another’s talent, power, prestige, or money?
[Put this into perspective: Did you ever wish you had Michael Jordan’s talent at basketball? Ever wish you had Bill Gates’ money? Ever wish you looked like someone else, or had ‘their body’?]
| | |
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, You have sinned and "fall short of the glory of God". While the ‘Law’ exists to teach us how to live Godly lives, it also condemns us all to a ‘verdict’ of guilty in the eyes of God. God knows we are ‘incapable’ of perfectly fulfilling the law. Under ‘Old Testament’ Law, there was a series of animal sacrifices to ‘cover’ those sins (if one became a Jew, and followed the prescribed rituals [1]).
Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, made a single sacrifice for ‘all’ sins, past, present and future!
Hebrews 10:10-12 explains, “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man[Jesus Christ], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,”
Understand this, I am not perfect… 1 Timothy 1:15 applies to me! "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
The purpose of the ‘Law’ is to show us we NEED the forgiveness of sins guaranteed by Christ’s sacrifice before we are judged. (See the three part article ‘Judged’ below.)
Again, Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned”. The Ten Commandments ‘prove’ that truth.
[1] Under Jewish (Old Testament) Law, the ritual sacrifices for covering sins were a quite involved process. It contains two elements that are ‘impossible’ to fulfill today. First, the sacrifices must occur in the ‘Temple’ (not a synagogue). There is no Temple today. The ‘Temple of Herod’ in Jerusalem was destroyed around 70 A.D. There is currently a Muslim Mosque on the site of the temple (part of the ongoing ‘feud’ between Palestinians and Jews (see “Palestine vs. Israel OR Muslims vs. ‘The World’” below). Additionally, only a High Priest, a Jew, can make those offerings. When the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., the patrilineal records of the Tribes of Israel were destroyed also. Therefore, there is only ‘one’ Jew that can ‘prove’ his lineage as a Jew (Jesus Christ - His parental lineage is recorded in Matthew and Luke). [This article was edited 14 October, 2005 - See the comments section: Kurt rightfully pointed out an error (mine) regarding the lineage of Christ, I mistakenly attributed the lineage to the House of Levi, Not the House of Judah - descendant of David, King of Israel - The distinction provides Jesus' claim to both the throne of Israel, and the Priesthood of Israel... Thus making Him both the only person 'capable' of claiming the throne and the only Priest capable of fulfilling Judaic/Mosaic Law regarding priests.]
posted by Unchained Slave at 5:50 AM
3 Comments:
You did a really good job of bveaking this down and applying it. Similar to situational ethics, people tend to answer the question of sin based on 'the curve': "I'm a pretty good guy most of the time." and they think that their good deads will cancel out their evil ones -- which is a faulty, substitute belief in redemption that at least acknowledges the need for redemption.
Sometimes my wife and I tell each other stories about little events when we were kids. Just a little pillow talk, something we recently started. Before then, I thought of myself as a pretty decent person during ths unsaved years, but then I began to realize that most of the things I could remember from childhood were things I had done wrong. Our memories are very selective, and give a false sense of security, until we really stop to think about it. In fact, it has been a task thinking about the things I did as a kid that were right!
Thanks for the posting!
Just curious about the last sentence where you said that Jesus is from the lineage of Levi. Both lineages that you referenced show him from the lineage of Judah. The book of Hebrews clearly explains why this is so.
Kurt, you are correct, I stand corrected and am editing the post to reflect that.
Jesus Christ is the only person that can 'present' His lineage as a Jew - He meets three 'additional' criteria:
He was fully human: His lineage from Adam as recorded in Luke.
He is of the house of JUDAH which gives Him the 'Throne' of Israel.
(Matthew patrilinage).
He is 'appointed' as a High Priest under a 'new covenant' with the House of Judah (Jeremiah 31:31) as a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4, Zech 6:13, He 5:5-6)
The importance of this particular statement is that ONLY Jesus Christ can 'Prove' His lineage - as a Jew.
Thank you for the 'correction'. I hope this, and the correction to the article 'adequately' clarifies the point.
In Christ,
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