DEFINITION OF SIN

The essential principle of sin is selfishness. It is the love of self as opposed to the love of God. This may have its outworking in many ways, but each of these individual ways is our own way, and not His way. This applies to that which is apparently good as well as that which is obviously wrong. There is no difference with God. "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, every one, to his own way;" Isaiah 53: 6

Our own way in independence from Yahweh is the essence of original sin - Adam's sin, of which we have all partaken and for which Messiah died, taking upon Himself the iniquity of us all.

"By one man sin entered the world .. .. thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" Romans 5:12

"He died for all that they .. .. should no longer live for themselves, but for Him .. " 2 Corinthians 5:15

The following are the main words used for sinfulness and various acts of sin in the New Covenant.

1. SIN - Greek - HAMARTIA. This is the most common word used in the scriptures for sin and it means missing the mark. i.e. falling short of the standard. Failing to be what we should be. Falling short of what Yahweh created us to be. It relates to original sin in us. It was not an ethnic word in Greek, but one used in shooting for missing a target.

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23

2. TRANSGRESSION - PARABASIS A stepping by the side, a deviation, a violation of the law. It is stepping over the line from right to wrong, going into forbidden territory.

"What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions" Galatians 3:19

3. INIQUITY - ANOMIA Without law, not subject to law, violating the law, lawless. 'Nomos' means 'law', and one practicing iniquity is one who deliberately disobeys God's law. This word emphasises the deliberate flaunting of Yahweh's laws. Lawlessness is not being subject to God's laws, it is knowing the law and not doing it.

"Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness" Matthew 7:23

4. DISOBEDIENCE - PARAKOE An erroneous or imperfect hearing. A deviation from obedience. This verb meant to "mishear, or to fail to hear". It could be said of one who did not catch something because it was not clear, or his own hearing impaired. Then it came to mean, deliberately closing the ears to God in order to listen to oneself.

"By one man's disobedience many were made sinners" Romans 5:19

5. TRESPASS - PARAPTOMA A falling aside, a deviation from the right path. This word describes a slip as when one is caught offguard, when he is not looking where he is going, when he takes his eyes off the goal. It is a failure in concentration, a failure in self-control by which a man slips into sin.

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins" Ephesians 2: 1

6. UNGODLINESS - ASEBEIA Impiety, wickedness. This is the disregard for God, as if He did not exist. Godlessness knows there is a God, but disregards Him. "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness" Rom.1:18

7. UNRIGHTEOUSNESS - ADIKIA Injustice, wrong falsehood,deceitfulness. It is the failure to do right to God and man. We are to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts Titus 2:11,12

"All unrighteousness is sin" 1 John 5:17

These acts of sin are the outworking of our sinful state, which is our state of independence from Yahweh. We break His laws because we are going our own way and living to please self. That which may appear right and good, if originating from our own motivations to satisfy our own needs, still comes into the category of the nature of sin as it comes out of a life lived in independence from our Creator and His purposes.

THE ORIGIN OF SIN

- Historically

"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." Romans 5:12

The original sin was in the Garden when Adam yielded to the temptation of the enemy. All of Adam's progeny were born in that state of 'death' which God had predicted would be the result if he disobeyed His commandment. Genesis 2:16, 17

In the Hebrew the word used for 'dying' actually means 'dying you shall die'. That is death by a process of dying. Man died spiritually first - that was immediate separation from Yahweh on a spiritual level. Then the process of death began in deterioration of the soul and body to finally end in physical death.

All men since are born without the real essence of life within, which is this state of death. What remained, was but a shadow of what had been. Man basically was an empty shell needing to be filled, he was without a source of life. Therefore man seeks to fill the empty void with some 'thing' (whether person/idol, activity, pleasure or work) which will give satisfaction and fill the void in his life. Self-seeking, covetous and subject to futility, the result is external acts of sin.

THE ORIGIN OF SIN

- Individually

"Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." James 1:14-15 Because, "The wages/penalty of sin is death" Romans 6:23

"For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world" 1 John 2:16,17

Adam originally was God-centered, but after the fall, mankind became self-centered and his orientation was in the things of this world which occupied his life.

"If then you were raised (in baptism) with Messiah, seek those things which are above where Messiah sits on the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Messiah in God"

"Therefore put to death your members which are upon earth .. .. " Colossians 3: 1-3, 5

Things to put to death - Fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, filthy language and lying. Colossians 3: 5-9

Things to put on - Tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, tolerance, forgiveness and love with the peace of God ruling in your heart, being thankful - having His Word dwelling in you richly. Colossians 3:12-16

Failure to keep one's mind/affection, the centre of one's heart and life on the things above, the things of the kingdom, will result in the earthly, sensual nature taking over and we will either slip up or deliberately sin.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" Matthew 6:33

ORIGINAL STATE OF MAN

When Yahweh created man He had a purpose and plan for his life, to raise him to a maturity of sonship in the perfection of His own life and character. This was the desire of the Father's heart. The necessary condition for this to be effected was that Adam live in a faith relationship wherein he completely trusted and relied upon His spiritual Father, obeying His Word.

"What is man that You are mindful of him, .. ... ? For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honour"

And set him over the works of your hands .. " Psalm 8: 4-5

Adam was given the dominion of all things and the task of bringing it into subjection to the Father (Gen1:28 to subdue it) The ultimate fulfilment of this was in the Son of man, Y'shua, who is the second Adam. Hebrews 2: 5-13 & 1 Corinthians 15:28. Y'shua lived in that perfect dependence and reliance upon the Father and became the first of a new order, the Son of Man. He passed the test wherein the first Adam failed, and as well as passing the test, purchased back the lost dominion and brought many other sons into glory. He said, "And the glory which you gave Me, I have given them" John 17:22

Adam created in Yahweh's image and likeness, was a creature of glory and honour. He was created with an impartation of the glory of God, we now fall short of that stature of glory (Romans 3:23). He was 'crowned' with glory and honour. And the glory and honour which he was given was according to the high calling of the kingly status of ruling the whole earth and bringing it into subjection to the Father. John seeing a glorified saint fell at his feet in awe (Revelation 19:10), such was the majesty of this one who had been restored to the glory intended in the original creation.

When Adam was stripped of the glory he felt completely naked. He lost the glorious garments of light which covered him and needed an earthly covering according to his now earthly state. (Genesis 3: 7,8, 15). Having been created in the 'likeness' of Yahweh he was clothed with His righteousness in garments of light and glory (Psalm 104:1-2), as are the resurrected saints and angels seen in the book of Revelation.

Adam's original state of nakedness was physical only (Genesis 2:25), but after the fall he also became spiritually naked (Genesis 3:7). Two different terms are used to denote two different states of nakedness, the first was physical only. (In Genesis 2:25 the Hebrew word AROM 6172 means bare, but not "ashamed" i.e. not in a state of inner shame or guilt.

But in Genesis 3: 7, 10, 11, a different word is used - EROM 5903 which the Theological Wordbook says "is used to denote spiritual and physical nakedness").

In his exalted state Adam communed face to face with Yahweh in the 'cool of the day' or as in the Hebrew 'in the ruach of the day' - when the Spirit of God moved upon the earth at evening. He was in perfect accord, one in heart and mind with the Godhead, and in that fellowship of love and truth the Spirit of God filled him with all wisdom and knowledge in accordance with his progressive level of spiritual growth, in that school of the Spirit.

What a deception the enemy presented when he said "You shall be as gods" Genesis 3:5

Pre-empting the plan of Yahweh and taking them by a counterfeit way John 14: 6

FALLEN STATE OF MAN

The original sin of man was to choose to be as 'god' by knowing good and evil. That is, to be a source in himself of making the decisions for himself based upon his own knowledge. Man by choice of disobedience became another source of decision-making, an independent will. By that choice he became separated from the life of God, which was his life-source and he died from the inside out. Man died in his spirit, which was the part of himself through which he had relationship with Yahweh. Man had subjected himself to, and placed himself under the dominion of Satan in the realm of his 'flesh'. Thereafter 'flesh' ruled and he was a law unto himself.

Dead works are the deeds and actions of a life lived apart from the living God. They may be religious works, social activities or humanistic programmes, self-righteous works, hypocritical actions or outright evil deeds, but whatever, all acts of a man in himself, if they do not originate out of relationship with Yahweh, are "dead works". "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23) - That is, whatever is not born out of our faith-union with the Father but rather originates out of our own motivation, is sin.

Y'shua said, "I do always those things that please the Father" John 6:46

and, "I do nothing of Myself" John 8:28

Dead works keep alive a consciousness of sin. Only the Blood of Y'shua can purge our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:14

Once we are freed from these we can enter the rest of faith - Hebrews 4:10

We then have confidence toward God to come before Him - Hebrews 10:22

Restoration to sonship with our Heavenly Father is the outcome of turning from sin through the mediatorial work of the Son of God, our Messiah. We need to repent from all 'dead works' - all acts that are life-less, that is, devoid of the empowering of His life. And, let us look unto Y'shua the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that He saw set before Him of receiving many sons to glory, endured the torture stake on our behalf. Let us therefore lay aside every thing which would hold us back and the particular sins which beset each of us, and run with endurance the 'race' that is set before us of obtaining the prize of the high calling of God in Messiah Y'shua (Hebrews 12:1-3; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" John 1:14