Difference between revisions of "Sin"

<p> [[Viewed]] as chatha ', "coming short of our true end," the glory of [[God]] (Romans 3:23), literally, "missing the mark"; [[Greek]] hamartanoo . 'awen , "vanity," "nothingness"; after all the scheming and labour bestowed on sin nothing comes of it. "Clouds without water" (Judges 1:12; Proverbs 22:8; Jeremiah 2:5; Romans 8:20). Ρesha' "rebellion", namely, against God as our rightful king. Rasha' "wickedness," related to rash "restlessness"; out of God all must be unrest (Isaiah 57:20-21); "wandering stars" (Judges 1:13). Μaal , "shuffling violation of duty," "prevarication" (1 Chronicles 10:13). 'aashaam , "guilt," incurring punishment and needing atonement, Ra , "ill," "ruin," the same word for "badness" and "calamity" literally, breaking in pieces. Αwal , "evil," "perversity." </p> <p> Αmal , "travail"; sin is weary work (Habakkuk 2:13). Αvah , "crookedness," "wrong," a distortion of our nature, disturbing our moral balance. Shagah , "error." abar , "transgression through anger"; "sin is the transgression of the law," i.e. God's will (1 John 3:4). [[Sin]] is a degeneracy from original good, not an original existence, creation, or generation; not by the Creator's action, but by the creature's defection (Ecclesiastes 7:29). As God is love, holiness is resemblance to Him, love to Him and His creatures, and conformity to His will. [[Selfishness]] is the root of sin, it sets up self and self will instead of God and God's will. The origination of man's sin was not of himself, but from Satan's deceit; otherwise man's sin would be devilish and ineradicable. But as it is we may be delivered. This is the foundation of our redemption by Christ. (See REDEMPTION; SAVIOUR; ATONEMENT.) </p> <p> [[Original]] sin is as an hereditary disease, descending from the first transgressor downward (Psalms 51:5). National sins are punished in this world, as nations have no life beyond the grave (Proverbs 14:34). The punishment of the individual's sins are remedial, disciplinary, and deterrent in this world; and judicially retributive in the world to come. (On eternal punishment, see HELL.) The Greek aionios represents the [[Hebrew]] olam and ad; olam , "hidden", "unlimited duration"; ad , applied to God's "eternity" and "the future duration" of the good and destruction of the wicked (Psalms 9:5; Psalms 83:17; Psalms 92:7). The objections are: </p> <p> 1. That, the length of punishment is out of all proportion with the time of sin. But the duration of sin is no criterion of the duration of punishment: a fire burns in a few minutes records thereby lost for ever; a murder committed in a minute entails cutting off from life for ever; one act of rebellion entails perpetual banishment from the king. </p> <p> 2. That the sinner's eternal punishment would be Satan's eternal triumph. But [[Satan]] has had his triumph in bringing sin and death into the world; his sharing the sinner's eternal punishment will be the reverse of a triumph; the abiding punishment of the lost will be a standing witness of God's holy hatred of sin, and a preservative against any future rebellion. </p> <p> 3. That the eternity of punishment involves the eternity of sin. But this, if true, would be no more inconsistent with God's character than His permission of it for a time; but probably, as the saved will be delivered from the possibility of sinning by being raised above the sphere of evil, so the lost will be incapable of sinning any more in the sense of a moral or immoral choice by sinking below the sphere of good. </p> <p> 4. That eternal vengeance is inconsistent with God's gospel revelation of Himself as love. But the New [[Testament]] abounds in statements of judicial vengeance being exercised by God (Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30; 1 Thessalonians 4:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:8). </p>

<p> One danger of secret sin is that a man cannot commit it without being by-and-by betrayed into a public sin. If a man commit one sin, it is like the melting of the lower glacier upon the Alps, the others must follow in time. As certainly as you heap one stone upon the cairn to-day, the next day you will cast another, until the heap reared stone by stone shall become a very pyramid. See the coral insect at work, you cannot decree where it shall stay its pile. It will not build its rock as high as you please; it will not stay until an island shall be created. [[Sin]] cannot be held in with bit and bridle, it must be mortified. </p>

<p> (properly חֲטָאָה, ἁμαρτία , both originally signifying to miss) is any action, word, desire, purpose, or omission contrary to the law, of God; a voluntary violation of, or failure to comply with, the divine law (Romans 3:20; Romans 4:15; Romans 7:7; James 4:17). "Whether such a law be revealed in the holy oracles, or in the constitution of our nature, the violation constitutes the transgressor a sinner (Romans 1:19-32; Romans 2:11-15). The various words by which sin and wickedness are set forth in the Old Test. throw considerable light upon the real nature and tendency of the evil. </p> <p> 1. The proper and original idea of sin appears to be that it is a coming short of our true destiny, a "missing" the mark (חָטָא, ἁμαρτάνω ). The end of man's being is to be like unto God, to have his will in thorough harmony with the divine will, and so to glorify [[God]] and enjoy him forever. God is love; and to love him and be beloved by him is true blessedness. The whole law is summed up in love, whence sin, which is contrary to love, is a failure in the purpose of our existence. </p> <p> 2. This leads us to the second idea of sin, namely, that it is the transgression of God's law. From the [[Christian]] theistic standpoint there is no doubt as to the existence of an eternal moral order. That which, according to this rule, ought to be done is good; that which ought not to be done is sin. The law being neither advice nor prayer, but a positive demand, our only relation to it can be either that of submission or transgression. [[Whether]] we look upon God's law as moral, that is, stamped upon our nature, or positive, that is, revealed to us from without, in either case it should be considered binding upon our hearts, and should be implicitly obeyed, because it proceeds from the holy and loving [[Author]] of our being. [[Duty]] is represented in [[Scripture]] as a path along which we should walk, and to sin is to transgress or to go out of the way of God's commandments; hence the use of the word עָבִר, to pass over. </p> <p> 3. Again, every transgression is represented in the [[Bible]] as an act of rebellion ( פָּשִׁע and מָרָה ) God is the Ruler of his people, the Father of the human race. In both these capacities he demands obedience. To sin is to rebel against his paternal rule, to revolt from his allegiance. It is to act independently of him, to set up the will of the creature against the will of the Creator, to put self in the place of God, and thus to dishonor his holy name. </p> <p> 4. Further, to sin against God implies distrust of him and a willingness to deceive him, and to act treacherously towards him (עָוִל; camp. also בָּגִד and מָעִל ). To entertain a suspicion of God's goodness is to distrust him; and when once that suspicion has been planted in the heart, alienation begins, and deceit is sure to follow. </p> <p> 5. [[Another]] remarkable fact about sin is that it is perversion or distortion (עָוִה ); it is a wrong, a wrench, a twist to our nature (עָקִל ), destroying the balance of our faculties, and making us prone to evil. Man is thrown out of his center and cannot recover himself, the consequence of which is that there is a jarring of the elements of his nature. [[Sin]] is not a new faculty or a new element introduced, but it is the confusion of the existing elements which confusion the [[Son]] of God came to take away, by restoring man to his right balance, and leading him once more to a loving and self sacrificing trust in God. </p> <p> 6. Sin is also unrest (רָשָׁע ), a perpetual tossing like the waves of the sea; a constant disturbance, the flesh against the spirit, the reason against the inclination, one desire against another, the wishes of one person against the wishes of another; a love of change and excitement and stir; and withal no satisfaction. Man was never intended to find rest except in God; and practically when God is not his center he is like a wandering star, uncertain and erratic, like a cloud without water, and like seething foam. </p> <p> 7. Connected with this is the idea which identifies sin with toil (עָמָל ), [[Wickedness]] is wearisome work; it is, labor without profit; it is painful, sorrowful travail; it is grief and trouble. And after all the labor expended on sin, nothing comes of it. The works of darkness are unfruitful; sin is vanity, hollowness, nothingness (אָוֶן ); the ungodly are like the chaff which the wind scatters away; they can show no results from all their toil. </p> <p> 8. Sin is also ruin, or a breaking in pieces (רִע ). Adversity, calamity, distress, misery, trouble, are represented by the same words as wickedness, mischief, harm, evil, and ill doing. </p> <p> [[Gathering]] together the foregoing observations, they bring us to this result, that sin is wilful disobedience of God's commands, proceeding from distrust, and leading to confusion and trouble. Sin lies not so much in the act as in the nature of the agent whose heart and life have been perverted. We are taught by the [[Scriptures]] that man was led into sin originally by the [[Evil]] One, who insinuated suspicions of God's goodness; and was thus misled, deceived, ruined, and dominated over by Satan. </p> <p> See Burroughs, Sinfulness of Sin; Dwight, Theology; Fletcher, [[Appeal]] to [[Matter]] of Fact; Fuller, Works; Gill, [[Body]] of Divinity, art. "Sin;" Goodwin, Aggravations of Sin; Hagenbach, Hist. of Doctrines; Howe, Living Temple; King and Jenyn, [[Origin]] of Evil; Muller, Christian [[Doctrine]] of Sin; Orme, [[Blasphemy]] against the [[Holy]] Ghost; Owen, Indwelling Sin; Payson, Sermons; Williams, [[Answer]] to Belsham; Watts, [[Ruin]] and a Recovery. </p>

<p> ''''' sin ''''' ( סין , <i> ''''' ṣı̄n ''''' </i> , "clay or mud"; Συήνη , <i> ''''' Suḗnē ''''' </i> , [[Codex]] Alexandrinus Τάνις , <i> ''''' Tánis ''''' </i> ): A city of [[Egypt]] mentioned only in Ezekiel 30:15 , Ezekiel 30:16 . This seems to be a pure Semitic name. The ancient [[Egyptian]] name, if the place ever had one such, is unknown. [[Pelusium]] (Greek Πελούσιον , <i> '''''Peloúsion''''' </i> ) also meant "the clayey or muddy town." The Pelusiac mouth of the [[Nile]] was "the muddy mouth," and the modern Arabic name of this mouth has the same significance. These facts make it practically certain that the [[Vulgate]] (Jerome's [[Latin]] Bible, 390-405 A.D.) is correct in identifying [[Sin]] with Pelusium. But although Pelusium appears very frequently in ancient history, its exact location is still not entirely certain. The list of cities mentioned in Ezek in connection with Sin furnishes no clue to its location. From other historical notices it seems to have been a frontier city. [[Rameses]] Ii built a wall from Sin to Heliopolis, probably by the aid of [[Hebrew]] slaves (Diodorus Siculus; compare Budge, <i> History of Egypt </i> , V, 90), to protect the eastern frontier. Sin was a meeting-place of Egypt with her enemies who came to attack her, many great battles being fought at or near this place. [[Sennacherib]] and [[Cambyses]] both fought Egypt near Pelusium ( <i> [[Herodotus]] </i> ii. 141; iii. 10-13). [[Antiochus]] [[Iv]] defeated the [[Egyptians]] here (Budge, VIII, 25), and the Romans under [[Gabinius]] defeated the Egyptians in the same neighborhood. Pelusium was also accessible from the sea, or was very near a seaport, for Pompey after the disaster at [[Pharsalia]] fled into Egypt, sailing for Pelusium. These historical notices of Pelusium make its usual identification with the ruins near <i> '''''el''''' </i> - <i> '''''Kantara''''' </i> , a station on the [[Suez]] Canal 29 miles South of [[Port]] Said, most probable. "Sin, the stronghold of Egypt," in the words of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 30:15 ), would thus refer to its inaccessibility because of swamps which served as impassable moats. The wall on the South and the sea on the North also protected it on either flank. </p>