WHAT IS SIN PART I

Sin? Is there such a thing as sin today? Is there a right and wrong, good or bad? What or who gives us these guidelines if any? We live in a society today where there is no such thing as wrong-if it's right for you. . . everyone has heard that one. Is this true? Is this what grace is about? No Sin! Grace Abounds! This means we won't be held accountable for anything we do, right? We either live under grace and there is no such thing as sin anymore, or we still have good and evil, or purity and sin, which is it?

1. What is sin in God's eyes?

I John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Romans 3:20
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 7:7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Galations 3:24
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

1 Timothy 1:9-10
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

I John 5:17
All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

Transgression means violation, so you can see that the Lord gave us the law so we would know what sin is so we would not violate His laws! The law was made for us to learn what pleases the Lord and what he hates. The law wasn't made to make us miserable, but to protect us, to show us the way, to give us that boundary we so need. How are we able to please the Lord if we are sinning? Would God have been a merciful God if He had told us not to sin and not tell us what sin is? And how can we know what sin is if He didn't give us the laws?

2. Where are these laws found?

Psalms 19:7
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

I John 2:3-4, 7
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

Matthew 19:17-19
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Exodus 20:3-17
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Thou salt not kill.
Thou salt not commit adultery.
Thou salt not steal.
Thou salt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou salt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou salt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Are there laws to keep? Yes, and He was very clear about the laws of God, they are perfect! We are Not! He knows this, this is where grace fits in, we cannot keep the commandments of God alone, and the commandments will not save you, they are the guidelines He gives us and yes we must keep them, to the best of our ability with the Grace and Love of God. Jehovah would not have told us to keep His laws if He didn't give them to us! All His laws He gives to us shows how to love Him and how to love our neighbors, it is all about how to love one another.