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What You Should Know About

Sin And Salvation

by J. W. Jepson, D,Min.

The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this book, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.

*Permission is given for publication of excerpts and condensed versions.

* * * * *

(KJV) Scripture quotations from the King James Version are public domain.

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Contents:

Introduction

Chapter 1. What Is Sin?

Chapter 2. The History And Progress Of Sin

Chapter 3. The Forms Of Sin

Chapter 4. Characteristics Of Sin

go to Chapters 5-13

Introduction

Sin and salvation. The two relate to each other like disease and cure, problem and solution, alienation and reconciliation, war and peace, death and resurrection.

Sin and salvation are usually considered as two separate subjects. In theology the doctrine of sin is called Hamartiology, after hamartia, the most common Greek word for sin. The doctrine of salvation is called Soteriology, after soteria, the Greek word for salvation.

One can investigate the subject of sin by itself. All of its destructiveness and guilt can be exposed, held up to scrutiny and carried to its ultimate punishment like a condemned man being led from his death cell to the place of execution.

That is not the case with salvation. Salvation cannot be considered apart from the thing being saved from. To be saved from drowning implies that there is water. To be saved from a burning house implies that there is fire. To be saved from guilt and punishment implies that there is sin.

So then, in order to come to a clear and intelligent understanding of sin and salvation, we are going to examine the two together. We will begin with sin and proceed to salvation. That is the logical order.

Chapter 1

What Is Sin?

What Sin Is Not.

Before we understand what sin is, we must first understand what sin is not.

Sin has to do with morality, not ontology. That is, sin is not a thing. It is not some mystical, metaphysical substance or essence. Sin is not something that was forced on us, an evil "stuff" that is part of our very being that makes us evil without our knowledge, consent, or responsibility.

Sin is not an accident, calamity, or event that happened to us. We are not sin's victims; we are sin's perpetrators. Yes, we suffer the consequences of our sins and the sins of others; however, those are the results of choices and not some impersonal force or essence. For that very reason it is misleading to refer to sin as a "disease" or in any way that gives the false impression that we are not personally responsible for sin.

What Sin Is.

As we shall see, the Bible correctly and consistently defines sin as a choice. All of the words for sin that are used in The Scriptures describe voluntary acts of the will.

In the Old Testament certain violations of ritual or legal requirements were called sins (e.g., "sins of ignorance"). These had no moral character in themselves, except as they were done in an attitude of self-will and rebellion. They would be like a person not returning to his/her car in time to avoid a parking ticket, or a driver so engrossed in thought that he/she is cited for driving 30 miles per hour in a 20 miles per hour school zone. These are known as "infractions" and do not necessarily imply "moral turpitude." In the Old Testament these laws and regulations had instructional value under the Law of Moses; therefore they had to be atoned for by sacrifices. The Law was illustrating the relationship between sin and forgiveness. Nevertheless, when the Bible speaks about real, moral sin, it consistently defines it as a deliberate and voluntary choice.

Moral Agents.

God, angels, demons (including Satan), and responsible human beings are moral agents. That is, they possess the ability to make free, conscious, responsible choices under light (value perception and recognition).

Of course, God's choices are always in accordance with His full and perfect knowledge of what is intrinsically valuable. He never deviates from what is absolutely true, right, and in the best interest of Himself and His creatures.

The good angels also choose what is right in accordance with their moral knowledge (light). By contrast, demons (including Satan) have resolutely set themselves to do evil.

That leaves human moral agents (people) as the battleground of good versus evil. All who are moral agents and therefore are capable of moral choices have sinned against God and the greater good of others and even of themselves (Romans 3:23). God has secured and is still securing the repentance, salvation, and heart-obedience of many. So the Holy Spirit continues His work of convicting sinners and bringing them to repentance and faith in Christ.

Unavoidable Choice Between Two Alternatives.

When a person becomes a moral agent through personal and mental development ("age of accountability") and the perception of the intrinsically valuable ("light"), that person must and will make a moral choice. That choice will be between two alternatives: God or self. There is no third mode of moral action. When the person perceives, however simply, that God exists and therefore is supremely valuable, and that the well-being of others is just as valuable as his/her own, the moral agent is perceiving moral reality. Reason demands that the person choose in accordance with perceived intrinsic value and moral reality--to love God with all the heart, mind, and soul, and to love others as himself/herself (Matthew 22:37-40).

For one reason and one reason only would a moral agent choose against reality and reason. That is to choose self and self-gratification supremely instead of God and in opposition to God and the true well-being of others. And so, either God rules or self rules. That is the issue that faces every moral agent. These two alternatives are mutually exclusive and hostile. "The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God" (Romans 8:7 NASB).

What would happen if you tried this in a group of "nice," friendly, polite people. Say "let's talk about Jesus Christ." You just committed a faux pas. The atmosphere is charged, and you did it! You are the offender. You find yourself surrounded by hostility: embarrassed silence, sharp glances, muttered groans, a flippant retort, a quick change of the subject. The hostility is not against you; it is against Him. You just happened to mention His name. You don't do that in "polite" company.

The choice to please self supremely is sin. That choice is the voluntary and determined set of the soul ("will," "heart"). The ways people put that choice into practice are called sins.

The New Testament Words For Sin.

For our present purpose it will be sufficient only to list and define the original New Testament Greek words for sin. Here they are as transliterated into English.

paraptoma--"falling away or aside when one should have stood" (trespass, offense);

asebeia--"irreligion or deliberate irreverence" (ungodliness);

anomia--(lawlessness; iniquity);

parabasis--"going beyond a boundary" (transgression);

adikia--"unrighteousness" (including injustice);

hamartia--"missing the mark" (i.e., aiming at the wrong end or goal). This is the most common word for sin in the New Testament.

It is important to keep in mind that The Scriptures always assume that sin in its true moral sense is voluntary and therefore that the person who commits it carries the responsibility and guilt for it. This fact is so established and self-evident that the Bible makes little or no attempt to prove it. Except for "offenses" against the Old Testament ceremonial laws, the Bible words for sin consistently refer to morally responsible acts of the will.

Proverbs 1:29 "They hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord" (KJV).

Isaiah 65:12 "You . . . chose that in which I did not delight" (NASB).

Isaiah 66:3 "They have chosen their own ways" (KJV).

Chapter 2

The History And Progress Of Sin

Satan.

Until Satan and the angels who followed him unreasonably and wickedly rebelled against the just and holy God, all of creation enjoyed supreme and unmixed happiness. All moral agents (angels) knew their proper place in the structure of being and lived harmoniously in it. Voluntary, total obedience to God and His universal and just moral authority resulted in the highest good to all.

Then one of the archangels selfishly chose to act against all reason and reality. He acted against the truth by attempting to exalt himself above God. He must have devised a persuasive though irrational deception, for he was able to persuade many of the angels to follow him. In 1 John 3:8 we read, "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning" (NKJV. See also John 8:44 and context).

Adam And Eve.

Not content to deceive only his spirit followers, Satan spread his cosmic rebellion to earth, targeting God's special creation, Man. First, he deceived Eve, who in turn led her husband, Adam, into disobedience. We read the account in Genesis, chapter 3. Also, in Romans 5:12 the apostle Paul writes that "by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (KJV).

The Days Of Noah.

Sin became universal. By Noah's time it had also become intolerable in human society. "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5 KJV). "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth" (verse 12 KJV).

God made a new beginning in Noah and his family. But before long sin again became universal. This was due to the fact that human beings left to their own passions and the influences of society and Satan will invariably follow their own desires.

Universal Moral Depravity.

The depraved moral condition of the pagan world is graphically described in Romans 1:18-32. As you read the divine indictment, you realize how deep, how widespread, and how persistent human moral depravity has been and continues to be. We read a similar indictment in Ephesians 4:17-19 (notice the parallel to the passage in Romans). Truly, the whole world lies in wickedness (1 John 5:19).

Universal moral depravity is just that--universal. Every moral agent except Jesus Christ has sinned and most continue to do so.

"Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" (Proverbs 20:9 KJV).

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6 NKJV).

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags . . ." (Isaiah 64:6 KJV).

"There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10 KJV, quoting from Psalm 14:3).

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 KJV).

"But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe" (Galatians 3:22 NIV).

During a time of deep repentance, the psalmist David looked back over his entire life and declared, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5 KJV). This is the strong poetic language of David's penitential psalm, expressing the fact that he had been a sinner from the inception of his moral ability and accountability, and that his mother had also been a sinner. He is confessing his generational pattern of sinning.

Despite all the denials to the contrary, all of us have sinned. It is in either our personal past or our present practice, or in both (1 John 1:8-10. The good news is in verse 9).

God has provided a way--the way--to save us from the guilt, the penalty, the power, and the practice of our sin. It is in Jesus Christ. He is our complete and total Savior!

Personal sin.

All sin is a choice, a commitment of the heart (will). The soul of the wicked desires and chooses what is evil (Proverbs 21:10). Sin is personal. Even what are called "societal sins" are the accumulated and combined sins of the individuals of that society, though not all in that society knowingly and willingly participate in the evils of the society where they live.

Jesus said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:20-23 NKJV).

Temptation.

First, we are tempted. Temptation itself is not sin; it is only the invitation to sin. Temptation comes in various ways and from various sources. 1 John 2:16 says "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (KJV). The Bible also refers to these as "the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (Ephesians 2:3 KJV).

Some cravings are unnatural and must be acquired, such as drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. On the other hand, many desires are natural and are given to us by God for our good and enjoyment. Natural desires become our tempters when they demand unreasonable and forbidden gratification; that is, when they seek to control us by urging us to obey them in opposition to reason and the word of God.

We do not have to suppose that there is some evil principle or "disease" in us that is the source of our temptation. The Bible makes it very clear that temptations arise from our own human desires. In James 1:13-15 the word of God states, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God': for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown brings forth death" (NKJV. See also James 4:1).

It has been said that our feelings have no brains! Feelings are neither right nor wrong in themselves; they just are. They are involuntary responses to persons, places, and situations. The feelings we experience when we look at a beautiful sunset are different from the feelings we experience when we look at a mud fence (no personal reference intended!). What matters is what we do with our feelings. We are not to "throw them around" or let them go wild. We are to keep them under the control of our reason and use them for their proper purposes. We are not to allow them to grow undisciplined, clamor for control, and become our dictators. They are our servants; they must not become our masters. When we give our desires control, we lose control.

The discipline of children's emotions is one of the basic responsibilities of parenting. Parents are to develop in their children a healthy set of emotions so that the maturing person will be able to control his or her own emotions. Of course, to do this parents must have learned to discipline their own emotions.

The appeal to the forbidden indulgence of natural desires was one of the ways Satan approached our first mother, Eve. She saw that the tree produced what was "good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and . . . desired to make one wise" (Genesis 3:6 KJV). These three appeals correspond to "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16), and the three temptations that Satan presented to Jesus (Matthew 4). We notice that two of the three were natural desires that Eve was tempted to indulge in violation of God's injunction. Where Eve failed, Jesus overcame.

When Jericho fell to the Israelites, a man by the name of Achan sinned by taking an "accursed thing"--something consigned to destruction. In Achan's confession we see the progression from temptation to condemnation. He said, "When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it" (Joshua 7:21 KJV). Notice, "coveted . . . took . . . hid."

Jesus said, "Every one who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:28 NASB). There is a difference between looking and lusting, and looking to lust. To look and lust is a momentary temptation; it is an involuntary stimulation that must be rejected and ignored. To look to lust is a purposeful look intended to stimulate and indulge the lust. It is yielding to the temptation; it is sin. Also, it is one thing to admire; it is another thing to desire.

Some people are tempted by the desire for riches. "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition" (1 Timothy 6:9 KJV). Remember, a person can be "flat broke" and still in his heart be a slave to the love of money.

Sin has no place in the Church. Christ rebuked the church at Pergamos because they tolerated those who held "the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication" (Revelation 2:14 KJV). He also rebuked the church at Thyatira because they allowed a woman "to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols" (Revelation 2:20 KJV).

When I was a teenager I heard a woman in the church say that the sins of the flesh do not matter because the flesh is going to be destroyed anyway. Gnosticism is still with us.

Satan is the chief tempter. Satan has had thousands of years of experience with the human race. Ever since his success with Adam and Eve, Satan has studied human beings, observing our emotional responses and behavioral patterns. He has learned what works most effectively, and he has honed his diabolical manipulative skills. Satan knows our "hot buttons," and he pushes them with devastating results.

In Acts 5:3 and 4, the apostle Peter asked Ananias, "Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit . . . . Why have you conceived this thing in your heart?" (NKJV).

Now, how did Satan "fill" Ananias's heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? Did the devil take the "lid" off and "pour" something into his heart? Of course not. Satan succeeded in filling Ananias's heart by focusing the man's attention on the object, thus generating the corresponding emotional desire and in this way persuading him to make the selfish choice to lie. The devil did not "make him do it." Persuaded, yes; made him, no. For that reason Peter asked him, "why?"--the question he never answered and that also was unanswerable.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church, "For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain" (1 Thessalonians 3:5 KJV).

We must all be aware of and on our guard against Satan's schemes, "lest Satan get an advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices [schemes]" (2 Corinthians 2:11 KJV).

The ungodly world around us is also a source of temptation, and Satan uses it to create a powerful public momentum of devastating moral rebellion and corruption (1 John 2:16).

Some are led into temptation by deceptive world-views and those who promote them. Secular education is notorious for this. "For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through licentiousness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; . . ." (2 Peter 2:18, 19 NKJV).

"My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent" (Proverbs 1:10 NKJV).

Jesus urges us, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41 NKJV).

So then, first we are tempted. If we reject the temptation, we do not sin. If we yield to the temptation, we sin. We surrender ourselves to mindless desire in opposition to the moral law (the law of reason and reason's God). Remember, our feelings have no brains.

Sin.

Now is a good place to review James 1:13-15. Temptation "conceives" the moment it gains the consent of the will. Sin is committed the moment the will surrenders to the temptation, even thought it might not "give birth" to the outward act immediately (and perhaps never have the opportunity to do so). When sin is fully developed, it gives birth to death.

Reject temptation. It is the "father" of sin and the "grandfather" of death!

The commitment of the will to pursue and be ruled by the gratification of one's desires is called the "carnal mind." It is the "minding of the flesh" described in Romans 8:5-8. "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (KJV).

The "carnal mind" is not an ontological "thing." It is a set purpose and attitude. That kind of mind, purpose, attitude cannot please God, and therefore people who are in that mind-set cannot please God. That mind-set is totally hostile to God and so are people who pursue it.

The result is spiritual death and eventually "the second death" (Revelation 20:14). Spiritual death is alienation from God because of one's sin. The sinful pursuit of one's own desires is total disobedience to God and therefore hostility to God. It shuts God out of the soul and prevents fellowship with Him. The person who lives in sin is dead in sin (verse 6). This death is not mystical; it is moral and relational.

"She who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives" (1 Timothy 5:6 NKJV. See also Ephesians 2:1-3 and Colossians 2:13). Our sins "killed" us spiritually (our relationship with God and our standing before Him).

The good news is that God has provided the "new birth" in Jesus Christ. To "come alive" in Christ we must definitely and totally renounce what "killed" us (sin), and put our faith completely in the crucified and risen Christ.

Chapter 3

The Forms Of Sin

When we consider the various forms of sin, we must keep in mind that all sin is personal. Sin is a choice, and choices are made by individuals. As was mentioned in the last chapter, even societal sins are the accumulated and combined sins of individuals.

It is easy and it eases the conscience to deflect personal moral guilt and accountability by blaming sin on a particular group or class, or on society as a whole. Yet, no matter how or how much society or the "group" reinforces and institutionalizes the evil, the ultimate responsibility comes back to each individual moral agent. The divine command to repent of national and societal sins is still a demand for personal repentance.

Sin has one basic definition--selfishness. Sin is choosing to gratify one's own desires in opposition to reason--reason that has been enlightened to an awareness of the truth. Sin is placing petty self-gratification over the real interest of God and others. It is a commitment of the soul to please one's self in spite of the consequences to God and to others, and even to himself/herself. Sin is spelled "sIn" because the big "I" is in the middle of it. The Bible labels it "unbelief."

This one basic sin expresses itself in various forms. Sin produces sins. Some sins are of the flesh; some are of the human spirit.

In at least four passages The Scriptures record the great comprehensive divine indictment against sinners. They are Isaiah 59:1-15 (to ancient Israel), Romans 1:28-31 (of the pagan world); Galatians 5:19-21 (of unbelievers in general); and 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (of the unbelieving world in the end times).

The forms of sin can be grouped into several broad categories. That is how we will consider them, keeping in mind that sin is still sin however or in whatever form it is expressed.

Sexual Sins.

Sexual sins include: fornication (immorality in general and sex between unmarried persons in particular); adultery (sex outside of marriage by a married person); bigamy and polygamy; and sexual perversions (homosexual acts and practices, pedophilia, bestiality, incest, and sexual abuse).

Sexual sins are a violation of God's created and ordained order for human sexuality and sexual relationships. They degrade our sexuality and our very humanity. They are an assault on the God-established institution of marriage and therefore on the very fabric of civilized society. For that reason they are among the most serious of all sins.

A modern tendency is to diminish people's perception of the seriousness of sexual sins by asserting that they are no worse than other sins. The Bible refutes this dangerous idea. In 2 Peter 2:9 and 10 the apostle Peter clearly states: ". . . the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority" (NKJV. Please note the word, especially).

Gluttony.

Most people eat to live; some people live to eat. Gluttony is a sin. It is an unreasonable and harmful self-indulgence. Gluttony is a form of voluntary slavery to the appetites of the body. A glutton's gut is his god (Philippians 3:19). Gluttony violates our moral obligation to do everything to the glory of God, including our eating and drinking (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Chemically Induced Indulgences.

These include alcohol, tobacco and the non-medical use of drugs and narcotics. Again, these violate our moral obligation to do everything to the glory of God, including glorifying God in our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Hostile Acts And Attitudes.

These include such things as violence, robbery, cruelty, murder. These violate the law of love, the very essence of morality. "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15 NKJV).

Sins Of The Tongue.

The sins of the tongue (mouth, lips) are among the deadliest sins of all. Our words reveal our true character because they come directly from the heart. Jesus said, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man . . . " (Matthew 15:18-20 NKJV).

The mouth is the fountain of the heart. Like a fountain, it can produce either sweet water or bitter, but not both (James 3:11, 12). Because the mouth reveals the heart, Jesus said that we will be judged by our words (Matthew 12:34-37).

As we saw from our Lord's words recorded in Matthew 15:18-20, the tongue reveals the full range of the evils of the heart. The tongue also gives expression to those sins that are essentially verbal. These include: blasphemy, profanity, cursing, filthiness and vulgarity, lying, gossip, slander, evil speaking, backbiting.

"[T]he tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:5, 6 NIV).

Economic Sins.

Economic sins usually involve material things--money and what money can buy. In the larger sense, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Economic sins include such things as: covetousness, greed, stealing, embezzlement, fraud, cheating, dishonest gain, gambling, and economic injustice and oppression. Slavery, including sexual slavery, is driven by the love of money. In many ways sinners sell each other "over the counter" of their greed.

Sins Of The Human Spirit.

"All the ways of a man are right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits" (Proverbs 16:2 NASB).

The list of the sins of the human spirit is long; it includes: pride and arrogance, expressions of self-will and rebellion, anger and outbursts of wrath, unnatural and unlawful infatuations, contention and strife, dissension and division, hate, bitterness, grudges, partiality and racism, hypocrisy, covetousness for the non-material things of others (spouse, reputation, influence, position), lust for power, unbelief.

Broad and Inclusive Categories Of Sin.

The Bible also identifies broad and inclusive categories for sin and sins. Romans 14:23 says, "whatever is not of faith is sin." Whatever we cannot do with an honest heart and a clear conscience in the light of what we believe, is sin.

"All unrighteousness is sin" (1 John 5:17). Whatever does not "square" with the righteous requirements of the moral law is sin.

James 4:17 says, "To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (NKJV). Sometimes these are called "sins of omission." The only true "sins of omission" in the Old Testament were the "sins" of ignorance, the failure to keep the non-moral yet instructive regulations of the ceremonial part of the Mosaic jurisprudence. These regulations have been fulfilled in Christ and the New Covenant, and are now done away (Ephesians 2:14, 15).

If one's heart is right, a failure to act because of a lack of knowledge (light) is not a sin. If the lack of knowledge (light) is the result of rejecting the light and therefore willful ignorance of the light, the resulting failure is due to the sin of rejecting the light.

The sin defined in James 4:17 is not a mere oversight; it is a choice in opposition to what a person knows (light), a choice not to do what the person is morally obligated to do. Carelessness and neglect can be due to inattention or to selfishness. If they are due to selfishness, they are sin.

Ephesians 5:12 says that some sins are too shameful even to mention by name.

Again, let it be emphasized that all sin, however it expresses itself, is selfishness. It is the choice and pursuit of self-gratification in opposition to reason. It can be the set course of life, or the choice of the immediate moment, or both. It is choosing to please one's self in disregard for the well-being, the interest, the good and happiness or God and others. That is what must be totally abandoned. The act of the will in doing so is called repentance.

Repentance is not a gradual process. No one truly repents on the "installment plan." Repentance is not like having an amputation one inch at a time. It is all at once and total. Just do it!

As we shall see when we come to the subject of salvation, repentance is only one condition of salvation. Salvation is not a "do-it-yourself-project." Only Christ can save us. We come into a personal relationship with Him. We become brand new (2 Corinthians 5:17), "born-again," and that which is born of God does not "do" sin (1 John 3:9). The person who is new in Christ Jesus must leave sin alone. Period!

Believers Died To Sin.

Romans 6:1-14 is a familiar passage of Scripture that describes the believer's liberating death to sin. Verse 2 says, "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (NIV). "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace" (vs. 14 NIV).

"And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24 NKJV).

For those who desire to do an in-depth study of the Bible's commands to hate and abandon sin, see the following passages: Job 28:28; Psalm 34:14; 101:3; 119:104, 113; Proverbs 4:27; 8:7, 13; 14:16; Zechariah 7:10; Romans 12:9; 13:12-14; Galatians 2:20;5:16; Ephesians 4:22; 5:1-12; Colossians 3:3-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 10:6, 14; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:11, 22; 1 Peter 2:11, 24; 3:1; 2 Peter 3:17.

We meet Christ at the cross. When Christ comes in, sin dies. Death to sin is the death that leads to life.

Chapter 4

Characteristics Of Sin

In this chapter we will explore and expose the true nature of sin. We will focus on the reality and the seriousness of selfish disobedience to the moral law, the law of love.

Sin is Deceptive.

A fable is told about a lady who was walking down a jungle path, when suddenly she came upon a brightly colored coral snake.

"I would look beautiful as a necklace," the snake said in a smooth, appealing voice. "Please pick me up and place me over your shoulders and around your neck."

"Oh, no!" the lady replied. You would bite me and I would die!"

With its serpentine cunning the coral snake replied, "Oh, I would never do that to you. I just want people to see how pretty you will look." The coral snake's voice seemed so soothing, so sincere, so reassuring. "Please. I won't harm you. I just want to make you happy. You enjoy pretty things, don't you? Wouldn't you be proud to show me to your friends? Think how many compliments you will receive. Please pick me up. Please? Please!"

The lady paused and thought about it for a moment. The coral snake had such gorgeous colors. It would be a real attention-getter. It seemed so sincere in its promises. Its voice was kind and gentle.

So stooping down, she picked up the pretty coral snake and put it around her neck.

Instantly the snake bit her!

"You promised me you wouldn't bite me!" she screamed.

The snake hissed, "You knew what I was when you picked me up."

Billy Sunday used to say, "One reason sin flourishes is that it is treated like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake."

Sin is deceptive because it is unreasonable. Sin is always committed in opposition to the reason. The inner conflict is between the reason and the choice of the will to please self in opposition to reason, no matter how the choice to please self supremely expresses itself. The Pharisees were highly regarded religious people, but they did all their works "to be seen of men" (Matthew 23:5). The motive was wrong; therefore all was wrong. It was all for self.

The constant remonstrance of reason and the Holy Spirit in the sinner's conscience makes him/her uncomfortable. The discomfort can range from a nagging sense that things are not right on the inside, to the sharp sting of an intense awareness of personal guilt. The sinner tries to suppress this discomfort. The defense mechanism is self-justification through rationalization. Because sin is totally unreasonable, reason is twisted into rationalization.

"I can't help it." "It's a sickness." "I was born that way." "It's my glands." "The devil made me do it." "It's my parents' fault." "People made me the way I am." "It's society's fault." "It's God's fault." "I'm just human." "We're all sinners." "I'm O.K." "I'm a good person." "I do a lot for others; it makes me feel good." "I'm a church member in good standing." "I'm better than . . . ." "All my friends do it." "Who said it's wrong?" "It's now socially acceptable." "It's just an outmoded religious taboo." "Don't impose your morality on me!"

Rationalization ad nauseam.

The person who persists in sin does so in chronic hostility to his or her own intelligence. This results in self-deception, a deepening inner disconnect between reason and moral reality. The person literally becomes alienated from himself/herself.

Satan reinforces it with a full arsenal of conscience-salving rationalizations. He started with Adam and Eve. Since then he has had thousands of years to practice and perfect his art on human beings. No wonder he is so successful.

When God confronted Adam about his sin, Adam blamed Eve and at the same time indirectly blamed God Himself. "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate" (Genesis 3:12 NKJV). Eve in turn blamed the serpent.

When Moses confronted Aaron about the golden calf, this was Aaron's lame excuse: "So I told them, 'Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.' Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!" (Exodus 32:24 NIV).

Oh, sure!

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20 NKJV).

"We have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves" (Isaiah 28:15 KJV).

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? "I the LORD search the heart . . ." (Jeremiah 17:9, 10 KJV).

See also 1 Samuel 13:12; 15:21; Proverbs 17:15; 24:24; Romans 1:32.

"If it feels good, do it" is a prescription for disaster. So is "if it feels right, it can't be wrong." And here is a popular one: "just follow your heart." (If our heart is not right with God, it will lead us astray.)

Sin has been called moral insanity. This has nothing to do with one's I.Q., education, or skill in choosing effective means to secure what one is living for. Mental insanity is not generally the fault of the person. Moral insanity always is. It is self-incurred and self-perpetuated. It is using one's intelligence to devise and carry out means to achieve a totally unreasonable supreme end--self-gratification. It is making self the supreme being in one's self-created world, the center around which everything and everybody else revolves. This is irrational. No one can logically defend the proposition that the gratification of self is more important than the well-being of God and of others; yet that is how every sinner lives.

If the end is contrary to reason, all the mental and other resources used to achieve that end are also used contrary to reason. That is why the Bible says, "madness is in their heart while they live" (Ecclesiastes 9:3 KJV). Notice, the insanity is in the heart, not the intelligence. Sinners live as though they have lost their mind. They are "crazy in the heart." They are fully responsible for their selfishness.

Concerning Balaam, the "soothsayer" (see Numbers 22 - 24), the apostle Peter writes: "he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet" (2 Peter 2:16 NKJV).

In Hebrews 3:13 believers are urged not to be "hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."

Jesus said that if the light that is in us is darkness, "how great is that darkness" (Matthew 6:23). Light suppressed grows dim. Light rejected becomes darkness--great darkness! It has been said that no eyes are so blind as those that refuse to see.

Mental insanity is excusable; moral insanity is not. It is deliberate, willful opposition to one's own intelligence. Concerning the pagan world Paul wrote, "When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:21 KJV). He goes on in chapter 2 to include the sinning Jews who judged the Gentiles for their sins while committing the same sins themselves. Jesus said, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloke for their sin" (John 15:22 KJV).

The greater one's moral knowledge (light), the greater is one's responsibility; therefore the greater is one's guilt in going against the light. Guilt increases in proportion to the amount of moral knowledge (light) one acts against.

The sinner's first truly intelligent act is to repent--to turn to God from sin. The pursuit of the selfish ultimate end must be immediately and totally abandoned. That is done only by choosing the right ultimate end--supreme love for God and equal love for others. Until that happens the sinner is merely "rearranging his sins"--changing means to the same selfish ultimate end, making "trade-offs" merely for "enlightened self-interest."

The prodigal son "came to himself" (Luke 15:17). He admitted the truth, ended the war of his heart (will) against his reason, reconciled his will to his reason, and acted accordingly. The result was reconciliation with his father. When we end our "moral schizophrenia," our self-alienation, by reconciling ourselves to our own reason, and get reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), reconciliation with others usually follows.

Sin Is Progressive.

In modern psychology it is asserted that if a person gives in to a strong emotion, especially one that has been "repressed," and allows it to express itself without inhibition, the emotion is thereby "released." It is also asserted that a behavior that is repeated is "reinforced." Now, it should be self-evident that both cannot be true. A desire that is indulged is gratified and therefore pacified for the moment; however, it is certainly not "released." Like a lion cub that is fed red meat, a desire that is fed will grow stronger. Desires, like babies, grow by being "nursed." Desires are developed by indulgence. If desires are given control, they will become increasingly demanding, despotic, and enslaving.

Pleasures become commonplace and boring. A bigger "charge" is required to achieve the desired effect. It takes more fuel to feed the fires of passion. It has been said that if we put pleasure at "home plate," the cost becomes greater each time we "go around the bases."

"Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes" (Isaiah 5:18 NIV). The person who hauls around a load of sin is harnessed to a wagon that becomes heavier and heavier to pull; yet, his passions drive him on in spite of the sting of their lash. He is like a "beast of burden," a willing, even willful, slave to the desires he has chosen to serve.

In the words of A. W. Tozer, "The greater the folly, the greater the fool."

Sin is progressive. Excuses are fabricated. The conscience becomes dulled. Restraints are thrown off. Selfishness rules. This is the way of all sin, from self-righteous pride to open perversion and violence.

Looking at the spiritual condition of the people of his time, Ezra the scribe cried out, "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens" (Ezra 9:6 KJV).

Alluding to the words of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9, 10), Jesus said of His generation, "Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them" (Matthew 13:14, 15 NKJV).

Just before he was martyred, the apostle Paul prophesied that in the last days "evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13 NKJV). Earlier Paul had written, "Let no one deceive you with empty words" (Ephesians 5:6). We are living in a time of "empty words." Someone has said that we trade reality for words, and then we talk about the words. "Wordcrafters" are flourishing, because whoever controls the language controls the culture and the people, for good or for ill.

"Connotation words" are words that mean one thing to the speaker or writer and are chosen with the intent to deceive by associating the words with another meaning in the hearers and readers. For example, some will say, "I believe in the literal resurrection of Jesus." But when you pin them down, they will admit that to them "literal resurrection" has nothing to do with a body coming out of a tomb! They are merely using empty words.

Just before his death, the apostle Peter penned this scathing indictment of those who turn from the faith and also those who lead them astray: "When they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through licentiousness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage" (2 Peter 2:18, 19 NKJV).

Sin is progressively enslaving and degrading. "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay."

"The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast" (Proverbs 5:22 NIV).

The prophet Elijah said to Ahab, the wicked king of northern Israel, "You have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord" (1 Kings 21:20 NKJV).

Later, in B.C. 722 the Assyrians captured Samaria, the capital of northern Israel, and deported the population. This brought the kingdom to an end. The spiritual depravity that brought about this divinely-permitted judgment at the hand of the Assyrians is detailed in 2 Kings, chapter 17. The charges are not the subjectively motivated opinion of some partisan "Yahwist"; they are rooted in the factual history of the northern kingdom and describe the very moral conditions that of themselves led to decay, decline, and downfall. Verse 17 says that they had "sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger."

Later, the prophet Isaiah leveled a similar charge against the southern kingdom of Judah, saying that they had sold themselves for their iniquities (Isaiah 50:1). In 52:3 Isaiah promised them future deliverance from captivity: "You have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money" (NKJV).

This reminds us of the words of Peter in 2 Peter 2:19. When people "sell out" to sin, they become the slaves of their chosen indulgences. Look at people who have grown old in sin. Imprisoned by their own passions and pride, held by the shackles of their habitual sinning, they have sunk down into the pit of their unbelief and corruption. They have hardened their character and fitted themselves for a horrific eternal destiny. Such reprobates are no suitable models for children and young people. On the contrary, they should serve as a solemn warning to all who are tempted to follow the path of sin.

"Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards his soul will be far from them" (Proverbs 22:5 NKJV).

"By transgression an evil man is snared, but the righteous sings and rejoices" (Proverbs 29:6 NKJV).

Jesus said, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin" (John 8:34 NIV).

Paul said to Simon the sorcerer, "you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity" (Acts 8:23 NKJV).

In Romans, Chapter 7 Paul described his moral and spiritual condition before his conversion. In verse 14 he describes himself as being "sold under sin." He had been a highly-regarded, self-righteous religious person, and yet all that time he was "sold under sin." In Galatians 5:1 Paul urges believers who are tempted to go back into the same legalism that had left him in bondage to sin: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage" (NKJV).

In Romans 6:16 Paul echoes the words of our Lord. "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (NIV).

It is important to understand clearly that this enslavement to sin is a willing, even willful, enslavement. Notice in the passage in Romans 6:16 that the slave has "offered himself" to obey as a slave. He cannot free himself from his enslavement to sin as long as he chooses to be a slave to it.

We are told that one of the ways people in some parts of the world catch monkeys is to cut a hole in a gourd just big enough for the monkey to reach in. They hollow out the gourd and put something inside that the monkey wants. Then they tie the gourd to a tree or other object. The monkey reaches in and grasps the "goodie," but the hole is too small to pull it out. When they come to pick up the monkey, it screams, jumps up and down, and tries to pull away from the gourd. But the monkey will not let go! It is trapped. So they come and scoop it up.

Just prior to his death Paul wrote to Timothy, instructing him to correct in humility those who are in opposition, "if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:25, 26 NKJV).

When people honestly and with their whole heart turn to God from sin and place their whole trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior, only then will they be set free from bondage to their sin.

Sin Is Destructive.

In his book, The Invisible War, Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote: "Let the universe see once and for all that there is no joy, no peace, no happiness except in obedience to God."

Sin is not natural. If sin were compatible with our nature, it would suit us; it would be beneficial; it would promote our health, well-being and happiness; it would result in the greatest good to us and the highest glory to God.

This we know is not the case. In fact, reason, revelation, and universal experience clearly testify to the exact opposite. Think of all the human suffering and misery that is due to man's selfish violation of the universal moral realities that are rooted in our very being and revealed in The Scriptures. They are massive proof that sin is always and invariably destructive.

To put self as "number one" is to subordinate everything and everyone else, including God Himself, to self--self-interest and self-gratification. This is true whether the ruling passion is pride or plunder, religion or revelry, family or fornication. Self sits on the throne at the center and all other interests revolve around it. If the destructiveness of selfishness is held in check by the modifying and restraining influences of contradictory and competing selfish desires, it is not evidence of any merit in the sinner. If the heart (ultimate motive) is wrong, all is wrong. Sinners always obey their strongest desires. Their strongest desires are what motivate them in both "good" behavior and "bad" behavior. They do "good" things out of "good" feelings, and "bad" things out of "bad" feelings. In either case they are merely obeying the strongest feelings of the moment. Even if a person gives all of his/her goods to feed the poor and even dies as a "martyr" for some cause, and does not do it out of genuine love for God and for others, it has no moral merit. The person is merely obeying his/her strongest passion (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

The good works done with a self-driven motive directly benefit the recipient(s), of course; however, the selfishness of the motive is still destructive. It is hypocritical because it produces "good" works and behaviors from fickle feelings instead of from genuine, steadfast love. We all know of examples of "good" people who suddenly turn on spouse, children, and others. It is destructive because it tends to confirm the sinner in his/her delusion of personal goodness and righteousness, when in fact all such "righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). It is destructive also because it creates a phony "morality" that usually omits God and/or any real love for Him. This does great harm to one's self and to others by instilling in the mind a false view of morality. Morality is separated from religion, and that nullifies both. People who do not love God cannot truly love others; the selfishness that rejects God will also reject others if and when necessary to achieve its chosen gratification. For example, look at those "good" parents who do not love and obey God! If their children follow their example, it will lead them down to hell!

"One sinner destroys much good" (Ecclesiastes 9:18).

"As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death" (Proverbs 11:19).

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13, 14 NKJV).

What You Should Know About Sin And Salvation, chapters 5-6