Expert: Marvin Howard - 1/20/2005

Question
Hello:

I am currently working on a personal project about the nature of Sin. I am the artist and co-author of a religious, contemporary graphic novel focusing heavily on Sin. I want to include more than just the Christian viewpoint, though that will be the main focus, so am contacting experts of various different religions in order to gain a better understanding of the world view of Sin. I was hoping you could give me a rundown of Sin and your understanding of it, anything you have to offer me is helpful and much appreciated, I am open to absolutely any information concerning the subject, and I thank you in advance.

Alyssa Mogil

Answer
Hi!

Alyssa, you are quite welcome. I will be more than happy to make an attempt at answering this. It is an involved subject. I will do as much as I can to simplify it, without detracting from the seriousness of it.

I would like to start by looking at the etymology of the word. By itself, the word is not ugly. It will need a context to make it so. The problem is, due to popular usage, the evil context is always added to it, having forgotten its root.

Originally, sin was an archery term, and it came from the competitive nature of the Greeks. Remember, please, Greece is the home of the Olympics. Its literal meaning was “missing the mark.” Picture, if you will, a “bull's-eye” on an archery target. That is the mark, which one would strive to hit; it is perfection. It can be missed in any direction. You can aim too high, low, or to either side. You can also “think” you aimed correctly, and not have done so. Results are what counts. Intentions mean nothing when it relates to sin. For example, you might have been told that the wind is blowing more strongly than it really is. Let's say it is supposed to be a crosswind from the right. You would aim more to the right to try compensating for it. With the wind being false, your aim would be false, and you would miss to the right. On the other hand, you may have not been told to compensate for gravity; that it doesn't make any difference. Your aim would thus be incorrect, and you would miss the mark on the low side, or sin.

I will return to the archery analogy in a moment as it relates to religion. However, there are more recent uses of the word, in other languages. You must remember, Biblically, all languages have their roots at Babel (the story is in Genesis 11:1-9). It is a safe assumption that many words have common origins within the different languages. It is even more common among the simpler words. One who does word studies will see this more easily than normal.

In English, the word “sincere” is not a compound word. In Latin, it is two words. “Sine Cere” (pronounced, “see'-nay say'-ray”) originally meant “without wax.” In the marketplace, merchants would often wax furniture to hide the imperfections.  In fact, this was the normal practice. Those with better quality did not need this. They were said to be “sine cere,” or sincere. There was nothing to hide. While this was initially applied only to the furniture, it was eventually applied to the merchants, as well. The furniture was not hidden; therefore, the people did not want to hide it. It was applied to persons, and therefore, personalities.

Let's turn to a modern language: Spanish. If I go to a Mexican restaurant, and I want no ice in my beverage, I as for it “sin hielo” (with the silent “h” it is pronounced, “seen yay'-low”), that is, without ice.

So, we see, even in modern usage, “sin” remains close to its original meaning, “without,” or outside of the mark, having missed it.

Let's now turn to Biblical references to sin. I want to look closely at its origins there, for it will explain a lot.

Genesis 1:10, “And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

The same thought is carried in the twelfth, eighteenth, and twenty-first verses.

According to the first chapter of Genesis, all life, which God created, was perfect. Why do I say this? I wish to include an excerpt from Adam Clarke's “Commentary on the Bible.” Concerning the word "good," he writes:

“Gen 1:10 - …And God saw that it was good - This is the judgment which God pronounced on his own works. They were beautiful and perfect in their kind, for such is the import of the word “tob” (pronounced, toe'-beh). They were in weight and measure perfect and entire, lacking nothing.”

All life was perfect: none of it could miss the mark on its own. With this thought in mind, look at the thirty-first verse.

Genesis 1:31, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

All of life was “good.” All of life was perfect. Yet, man was not just good/perfect, man was very good/very perfect. It is not in the nature of humanity to sin! Sin is not natural. There is really no “sin nature!” There is a false doctrine out there, promulgated by one of the popes in antiquity, carried over into protestantism by Martin Luther, and made popular by John Calvin, that sin is inherited from the father. Well, this is not using logic (logos = words in the Greek). The Greek word for “father” is “pater” (pronounced, pat-ayr'). It has no other meaning than “creator.” If sin is inherited from the father, then Adam's sin was inherited from his father/creator, God. If that is not the case, then Adam's father/creator was Satan. The doctrine was created out of whole cloth, with no basis in fact. It is a superstition used by the idolatrous religions that believe in karma. Like many, many other things, it was incorporated into what was falsely believed to be Christianity.

Remember, I said the word “sin” by itself has no ugly meaning. Religiously is where it begins to pick up a negative context. The penalty for sin is death (c.f., Genesis 42:22 - the first instance where this penalty is recorded as applying to all sin, not just murder, but is assumed to already be common knowledge).

Deuteronomy 24:16, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”

2nd Kings 14:6, “But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”

2nd Chronicles 25:4, “But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.”

This was important enough for God to record three times. Yet, all of the “popular” theologians miss it completely, saying we shall all die for the sins of our fathers.

The third chapter of Genesis records the first sin. Man had everything he needed. Only one restriction was placed upon him; do not eat of one particular tree. Man did not have the desire to eat that fruit on his own. He had to be enticed. Satan knew better than to approach the man; he used his best tactic of going to the woman. It would be easier to fool her. It worked.

God had promised that man would die “the day” he ate it (Genesis 2:17). Did man die? Many contend the answer is no. He was only kicked out of the Garden, after all. The “second death” is being cast from the presence of God (c.f., Revelation 20:14). The simple definition of death, then, is “separation.” It is either separation of the spirit from the body (physical death), or separation of the spirit from God (spiritual death). Man needs communion with God for his spiritual well being; for the survival of his spiritual life. Adam was cast from the presence of God the very day he ate: he died spiritually. This is why we must be “born again” (John 3:3, while Juhn 3:5 tells us how to be born again in response to the question by Nicodemus).

Let's look at a related word for a moment that we may get a better handle on sin. According to Webster's “Revised Unabridged Dictionary” (1913), iniquity is defined as:

1.   “Absence of, or deviation from, just dealing; want of rectitude or uprightness; gross injustice; unrighteousness; wickedness; as, the iniquity of bribery; the iniquity of an unjust judge.”
2.   “An iniquitous act or thing; a deed of injustice or unrighteousness; a sin; a crime.”

According to Webster, an iniquity is a sin. What does it do to us?

Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

There is the proof that death is nothing more than separation, and sin is its cause. When we sin, we commit suicide, spiritually. We shed blood, spiritually. There is a penalty for this.

Genesis 9:6, “Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”

God is just, and will impose the penalty (1st Corinthians 1:9). Yet, He doesn't want to impose it (Deuteronomy 7:9). God had a plan (John 3:16 Genesis 3:15), a propitiation. He was not ready to implement it (Galatians 4:4). I will get there in just a minute. Nevertheless, to get us ready (Galatians 3:24-25), God put a stopgap, if you will allow that expression, in place. This is the “blood of bulls and goats” (Hebrews 9:13): the Old Law, Old Testament, or Old Covenant. Why do I call it a stopgap?

Hebrews 10:4, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

While “the blood of bulls and goats” (Hebrews 9:13) was used to sanctify and purify man, it didn't really do the job: it couldn't do the job. These laws were needed to teach the subject of obedience to God's people.

After eating of the tree of knowledge, we find out that man changed. He now knows right from wrong. All men do. We suffer the consequences of Adam's sin, without suffering the guilt.

Romans 3:23-26, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

The majority of the religious world, all of the denominations save one of which I am aware, misinterpret this passage. They think “freely” means “with no strings attached.” “dorean” (pronounced, do-reh-an') is the accusative case of “dorea” (pronounced do-reh-ah') as an adverb; gratuitously (literally or figuratively): and means “without a cause, freely, for naught, in vain.” It means He didn't have to do it. It means the gift isn't empty of meaning. It does not preclude any strings (actions/works on our part) required to accept the gift. The gift is Jesus; His sacrifice and His blood. Animal blood is not as important as ours; it doesn't work. Jesus' blood is purer and more valuable; it is what we need. God is imposing the penalty, just not on us if we obey. He will impose it on His Son, instead.

So, what do we have to do about the sins we have? What must we do to be saved; to get our spiritual lives born again? What must we do to contact the saving blood of the promised Messiah? I know the whole counsel of God on this subject goes against the teaching of every single denomination, without exception. However, it is taught in the Bible, and therefore the church teaches it. I am duty bound to show it.

Remember our archery analogy. If someone tells you to do too much, you miss the mark too high, or sin. If someone tells you to do too little, you miss the mark too low, or sin. If someone tells you the wrong things to do, you either miss the mark to the right or left, or sin. Since part of what God says (Luke 13:3) is that we must repent (quit sinning), committing sin, however well intentioned, while trying to be saved will not save you. Remember, you have already sinned (committed iniquities/done wrong). Two wrongs cannot make a right.

Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Will you say God will save everybody? Or, will you accept the Word of God.

John 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”

Will you say we can think Jesus was just a good person? Or, will you accept the Word of God?

Luke 13:3, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

Will you say you don't have to quit doing wrong? Or, will you accept the Word of God?

Acts 8:37, “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

Will you confess that, “God for Christ's sake has pardoned my sins?” Or, will you accept the Word of God and confess that, “Jesus Christ is the Son of God?”

1st Peter 3:20-21, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”

Will you be baptized “because you have already been saved?” Will you refuse to be baptized at all? Will you demand God give you the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which has only been given in three instances in the Bible? Or, will you accept the Word of God and be baptized in order to be saved by water (and therefore by the blood), as was Noah?

Will you not seek to walk with God? Will you not obey Him, not only in the beginning, but continually? Are you willing to accept God's terms for salvation rather than inventing your own; or accepting the inventions of another man such as Calvin, Armstrong, or any other? Will you not seek the Lord's way in everything you do, especially in matters concerning salvation? Will you obey God's Grace? Or, would you rather obey man's commands, such as “Faith only saves us. Nothing else is necessary.” My friends, I can safely tell you, if this is your choice, you will be lost for all eternity. All things are ready. Will you not come to God?

It may be that you are a Christian already, but have fallen from Grace, as Galatians 5:4 plainly teaches can happen. Whatever the need, will you come to the feast God has prepared? Today? If this has touched you, and you need help finding someone to assist you in your obedience, I would be more than happy to help you find them; just let me know.

I pray you have an edifying study on sin. I hope your book is successful, as long as it is truthful.

In His Service,
Marvin Howard
preacherman_1962@yahoo.com
preacherman@phoneco1.net
http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962