8/31/2024 Word Count – 1,024 Reading Time – 4.5 minutes

Ecclesiastes 12;13 -Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Romans 13:9 – For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Leviticus 5:17 – And if a soul sin and commit any of these things which are forbidden to e done by the commandments of the Lord; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.

Matthew 19;18b – 19 – Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not ear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself

For the Christian the concept of sin has to do with disobeying God’s laws. It’s important to know that the sole resource from which the Christian learns of the law is the Bible. Although various sects of the Christian religious body may use other resources, I believe the Bible to be the most reliable and universal source of God’s word. Also, the laws explained in the Old Testament section of the Bible are largely taken from the Jewish Torah, written by Moses.  

To fully grasp the concept of sin there are a few other concepts that must first be considered. Initially we must think about authority. Where do the laws being disobeyed come from and how does the law maker have authority to impose and enforce those laws? Additionally, to whom do those laws apply?

According to the Bible God created everything, including all humanity. When we humans create things we rely on existing materials, the artist needs a canvas and paint, the writer needs pen and ink. And regardless of whether you’re a musician creating a song, a painter creating a landscape, an architect creating a structure or an entrepreneur creating a business plan the act of creation is built upon experience and information. In the case of God creating the universe, nothing was in existence. Everything that we understand to exist in any form was created by God for His own purpose, with no input, previous models, or influence outside of His own character and knowledge. One aspect of His authority stems from the fact that as His creation, we essentially belong to Him. Perhaps, though, an even greater rational for all authority belonging to God is that there was no authority outside of God in the beginning. That need for authority created a vacuum that only God could fill because there was nothing else present to fill it. It’s also helpful to realize that since God was present before human thought or reason His methods and decision regarding how justice is dispensed may not follow man’s reasoning. Additionally, the position of authority flows naturally from knowledge. It is logical that whoever possess the greatest knowledge should be in the highest position of authority. As the creator of the universe God’s knowledge of our universe and all things in it is unmatched. He created the laws that make the universe work, so it stands to reason that He is in the best position to create the laws that govern the creatures in His universe.

The next question is why do we need authority and laws? This brings us to the concept of right and wrong.

God created humans with free will as an important part of our make-up.  I would guess that God made us with free will because it is a component we require to accomplish the purpose God created us to fulfill. It seems to be important to God that we not only fulfill our purpose, but that we choose to fulfill that purpose. It also appears that fulfilling our purpose requires large quantities of human beings. Large quantities of human beings, all with free will and individual personalities leaning toward unique personal goals, tend to be a chaotic and havoc-wreaking bunch in the absence of some form of governance. This is especially troublesome if this large group of human beings is actually supposed to work together toward the fulfillment of a specific purpose.

I think it’s brilliant that God was able to create a set of laws that pertain to any situation and apply to any human yet are organized into 2 basic concepts, right and wrong in combination with 10 laws, the 10 commandments. So simple yet so elegant. Twelve principles that established the foundation for laws governing social and spiritual behavior for thousands of years.

Because there was nothing before God then it is not surprising that the character of God sets the standard for morality.  God, through the Bible, tells that He is unchanging and perfect. Thus, the morals and ethics reflected in the laws He created are based on the best standards possible and are immutable and irrefutable. Since God in His perfection preceded thought and reasoning, we could conclude that all rational thinking would find its way back to His standards.  

Basically, right is what God says it is and that which is not right is wrong. To me, right and wrong are not synonymous with good and evil. Right and wrong do not necessarily rely on any application of morality. You can do something that is right in terms of God’s laws, without considering the morality of ethics of it. On the surface this may seem like nit-picking but at the same time I believe our intentions can be impactful spiritually. The old religious adage, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” notwithstanding, I believe the same can be said of the road to heaven.

So, adding the concept of moral intent causes us to look at thoughts and actions in terms of good or evil in addition to right and wrong. God desires us to do the right thing for the right reasons.

Now that we’ve delved into some of the fundamental concepts we can proceed with our look at sin.