Basic Notion of Sin
Missing the mark
James 4:17
Sin is missing the mark of what God wants us to do. II Timothy 3:7 speaks of "always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." This verse is the negative way of phrasing the same concept. We have all the knowledge about what to do and how to live righteously, but if we fail to do it, to put it into practice, it is sin to us. It becomes a selfish pursuit of knowledge, and we are missing the reason that God gave it to us. The word sin is hamartia: missing the point, missing the mark. James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion . . . is . . . to visit orphans and widows in their troubles, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." Notice what he puts first: Pure religion is helping those who are in need, showing your love to them, and then it is keeping oneself pure. Remember, the knowledge God gives us is predominantly and ultimately practical, useful, helpful, outgoing.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
It Takes a Church
Depravity
Total depravity refers to the nature of fallen persons, not to their deeds. The word “total” refers to the total person--that every aspect of the person--mind, will, emotions, body--is corrupted by sin; and to the total human race, that every person since Adam and Eve, except for Jesus Christ, has been born with a nature that is alienated from God and in rebellion against God. Also, depravity must be viewed in relation to God, not by comparing men with men. With reference to God, total depravity means that no one is able in and of himself to do anything to choose God, to seek God, to please God, to love God, to glorify God, or to merit His salvation. Left to himself, every person will seek the things of self and sin. We are as unable to seek God as a corpse can choose to get up and walk (Eph. 2:1-3). The Westminster Confession states it clearly. Speaking of Adam and Eve it says (VI: II, III, IV),
Perversity
Genesis 20:9
Also contains it: And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? How have I offended you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done." The word "offended" is translated from chata', and "sin" is translated from a cognate. Abimelech charges Abraham as having missed the standard of behavior against him and his nation.
Jeremiah writes in Lamentations 5:7
"Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities." Here, the fathers missed achieving God's standard, that is, the level of conduct He would have exhibited was He involved in the same situation as they. "Iniquities" is translated from the Hebrew Avon, which suggests "perversity."
Rebellion
New International Version
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as King."
New Living Translation
Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as King."
English Standard Version
For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and the presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.”
Transgression
Ezekiel 9:4
Obviously, to sigh and cry over the abominations of Israel, we have to know what sin is and what God considers abominable. The apostle John tells us that "sin is the transgression of the law" (I John 3:4). In Romans 3:20, Paul instructs us that "by the law is the knowledge of sin." In Romans 7:7, he reflects that he "would not have known sin except through the law." So we must know God's law in order to identify sin properly.
2. Models of Sin
Stain
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (ESV)
What do you do if you have confessed your sin and received God’s forgiveness but continue to be afflicted with the after effects of your transgression? The after effects are the stain of sin – the residual vexation in your soul over what you have done. The stain of sin often is the shame, embarrassment or feelings of failure that continues to plague you. It can be a self-loathing and inability to forgive yourself for the stupid choices that you’ve made. The stain of sin can also be an obsessive preoccupation with reliving your sin, which dangerously can become the tool of the flesh and the devil to subtlety lure you back into sins lair
Crime
Crime is a legal concept.
Sin is a moral concept.
Crime is defined, therefore, by civil codes.
Sin is defined by God.
Not all sins are crimes (e.g., adultery).
In general, every justly-defined crime is a sin, if for no other reason, that it is a sin to break a just law (although typically crimes are sins in their own right).
Personal Rejection
Rejection is a painful experience no matter what the cause, and all too often, we don't assign enough blame to the rejecter. We simply agree with his or her evaluation of us and carry a feeling of inferiority or of being "damaged goods" all our lives.
3. Dimensions of Sin
Spiral
While the effects of compromise are poignantly recorded for us in Christ’s messages to Pergamos and Thyatira, its insidious nature is usually not understood by its victims until it is too late and they are trapped in a spiraling escalation of sin. This type of sin is like a vortex that continually leads its prey into greater degradation with fewer and fewer opportunities for escape.
Sickness
It’s vital to understand the context in which this discussion of sickness and healing takes place. The pressing issues that occasioned the letter are spiritual drifting—James has called it “double-mindedness” and “spiritual adultery”—and the need to return to God in wholehearted faith. In chapter 5, James seems to identify sickness with sin, and healing with repentance:
The prayer offered . . . will make the sick person well [literally sosei, “saved”]. (5:15)
Confess your sins . . . so that you may be healed. (5:16)
Notice the results appear the “wrong way round” here: the sick person is saved, and the sinner is healed. Ordinarily, we’d expect the sick person to be healed and the sinner saved. But James is drawing a connection between the person’s sickness and sin.
Addiction
The word addiction has two basic meanings. The first definition and the one most of us are familiar with is “to cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance.” Those who are addicted or “given to much wine” (Titus 1:7; 2:3), “drunkards” (1 Timothy 3:3) or “heavy drinkers” (1 Timothy 3:8) are disqualified from teaching or holding a position of authority in the church. It’s clear that church leadership needs to be sober and self-controlled so that, by their example, they can teach others to be the same, for we know that “drunkards . . . shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10). Believers must not be dependent upon alcohol, and it stands to reason that this would also apply to addiction to any other substance, i.e. drugs, pornography, gambling, gluttony, tobacco, etc.
4. Structure of Sin
Personal
Personal sin is an “action, word or desire contrary to the eternal law." [1] Sin is a human act, since it requires the exercise of freedom, [2] and is expressed in external actions, words, or internal acts. Moreover, it is a human act that is evil. That is, it is opposed to God's eternal law, which is the first and supreme moral law, and the foundation of all other law. In a more general sense, sin can be defined as any human act opposed to the moral norm, that is, to right reason illumined by faith.
Social
The sinfulness of society into which a person is born, its premise is that modern socialization and collectivization have immersed everyone in other people's values and moral actions to an unprecedented degree.
Structural
Structural sin is subtly but crucially different (and more serious) than social sin. It is the social objectification of sin whereby it is embodied in structures and cultural entities. Such objectification is then empowered to be self-perpetuating. It is a kind of cultural domain in which sin can prosper and in which virtue is swamped. Apartheid in South Africa is an obvious example of such structural sin.
5. Degrees of Sin
Venial
Venial sin denotes either an act of a less serious matter or one which involves grave matter but is performed without full knowledge or complete consent of the will. Unlike mortal sin which involves a complete turning away from God’s love, venial sin wounds our relationship with God. The periodic confession of venial sins is also highly recommended as part of a good spiritual regimen. Actually, all sin is serious since it hurts our relationship with our Lord. Moreover, even venial sin can lead to mortal sin or become habitual if not corrected. A practice of regular confession helps the individual better form the conscience, recognize faults and weaknesses, resist temptations, and receive God’s grace to heal and strengthen the soul. St. Teresa of Avila said, “Always fear when some fault you commit does not grieve you. For in regard to sin, even venial, you know that the soul must feel great sorrow…. For the love of God, take care never to grow careless about venial sin, however small…. There is nothing small if it goes against so great a sovereign.”
Mortal
Mortal sin destroys our union with God and the presence of sanctifying grace in our souls. Because these are heinous actions in the eyes of God, for a person to knowingly and willingly commit them indicates a turning away from the love of God. Anyone conscious of a mortal sin must undergo an interior conversion and then receive forgiveness and absolution through the Sacrament of Penance. Until making a good confession and receiving sacramental absolution, anyone conscious of being in a state of mortal sin cannot receive Holy Communion, except under extraordinary circumstances, e.g. no possibility of going to confession (cf. Catechism, #1457). Moreover, an unrepentant person guilty of mortal sin objectively risks eternal damnation in hell; however, “although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of a person to the justice and mercy of God” (Catechism, #1861).
6. Gravity of sin
The Gravity of Sin: Mortal and Venial Sin
1854
Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. the distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture,129 became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience.
1855
Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows a charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.
1856
Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation:
When the will set itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the love of neighbors, such as homicide or adultery... But when the sinner's will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder but is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.
1857
For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."
1858
Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
1859
Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
1860
Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. the promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
1861
Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom, has the power to make choices forever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
1862
One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.
1863
Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes of us little by little to commit a mortal sin. However venial sin does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God; it does not break the covenant with God. With God's grace, it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness."
While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects make a great mass; a number of drops fill a river; a number of grains make a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.
1864
"Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”.
There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy
by repenting rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit.
Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-15-total-depravity-genesis-65-821
http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/15-23.htm
https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/6500/Sin-is-Transgression-of-Law.htm
http://tomstuart.org/2011/11/17/dealing-with-the-stain-of-sin/
https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/551703
https://thinkchristian.reframemedia.com/what-is-structural-sin
https://zoomtard.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/social-and-structural-sin/
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