Reflections On Sin

Yesterday I found myself thinking some more about sin, and had a couple of interesting thoughts that i will endeavor to line out in a rough form:

1) Sin is defined by the word usage in both Hebrew ( Chata')  and Greek ( Hamartia) as missing the mark, missing, having no part of...
2) Think of it as an archery term - missing the mark - bullseye.  Any shot that misses the bullseye, whether by 1 inch or 1 foot or 1 yard is technically a miss (sin)
3) Think of the bullseye as the perfect will of God. Anytime we miss the perfect will of God we are "sinning" by definition
4) There is no sin in God because He never misses His will.
5) Changes the thinking around Romans 3:23 NIV: "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,..." to fall short is a description of an archers shot
6) The Glory of God is the perfect will of God, is the revelation of God's goodness, and character.
7) God hates sin because it is outside His will, colors Him as less than He is, affects our experience of Him.

Deuteronomy 9:27-29 NIV
[27] Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin. [28] Otherwise, the country from which you brought us will say, 'Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.' [29] But they are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm. ”

Deuteronomy 1:27 NIV
You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.

God didn't hate them! They were His people whom He loved.

8) Story of Adam and Eve - they chose to live outside God's perfect will and provision because they believed a lie about God.

Genesis 3:4-5 NIV
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. [5] “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  The lie was that God didn't really love them and want the best for them...was hiding something good from them.

9) Jesus came and never sinned, because He always did exactly what the Father told Him to do, and said what He told Him to say.
10) When Jesus lived, He perfectly revealed the Glory of the Father, was the Exact Representation of the Father (Heb 1:3).
11) We tend to preach that we need to  hate sin because God told us too, but have not really dealt with why God hates it.
12) We focus on sin and not on God, rules rather than relationship, rules without knowing the why of the rules.
13) Like when we tell our children, don't touch the stove top - its a rule.   the child initially does not realize the purpose of the rule is because we are trying to help them avoid pain and hurting themselves.
14)  It isn't that He hates people who sin, He hates the fact that sin causes people to experience less than what is best for them, causes them unnecessary pain and hardship...and makes them think God is not loving and compassionate.
15) He hates sin because He sees someone He loves make a bad choice that results in their own pain - just like us as parents hate when our kids make bad choices
16) He hates sin for the pain it causes
17) He hates sin for the lack it causes
18) He hates sin for the work it causes (go back the story of Adam and Eve and see what their disobedience causes)
19) He hates sin because it causes people to have a wrong perception of who He is...
20) God loves sinners - sent Jesus to save sinners, not condemn sinners (John 3:16-17), Jesus hung out with sinners (Matt 9:10-12)
21) We tend to label people sinners, yet we are all sinners by the definition of the word.
22) We have vilified sin and sinners, yet we are all sinners.  We associate sin with being evil, yet by definition it is about trying and failing.
23) We tend to be ashamed of our sin, yet we all sin - we all try and fail to attain God's perfect will for our lives
24) The closer we get to the bullseye, and even hitting the bullseye in areas of our life, reveals to us the life God wants for us, it is glorious!
25) The demonstration of the Kingdom of God by Jesus was in essence a revealing the goodness of God, and His attitude and love towards us sinners, life that is possible in Him.

There is much more to think about on this subject, as it relates to the New Testament teachings, etc. Lord, I pray that You will help us to develop a right perspective on sin, especially in Your church.  You desire us to experience Your goodness and blessing, and have made a way for us to do so.