Oswald Chambers - Abandoned to God
You will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.
Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, “Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much”?
The one and only characteristic of the Holy Ghost in a man is a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, and freedom from everything that is unlike Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s ministrations in us?
What is Sin?
- To so many sin is an abstract concept where I did not follow a concept. In reality it is simply taking what God gave me - a life of time - and misusing that time for my own glory, not devoted to his glory, honor and praise.
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- How do Christians overemphasize either grace or truth which bring a new type of bondage?
- How then are we to live?
- On one extreme is license where I do what pleases me and ignore how takes away from my worship and love of God. In our pride we ignore God.
- On the other extreme is legalism where I follow the rules defined because it makes me feel superior to others and I can earn God's love. In our pride we make ourselves equal with God.
- In the middle is love - my only ambition is to know God's character so I can love Him more and love what He loves... people. In our humility we seek only his dominion over ourselves and all mankind.
- The law was given to us to be a mirror that shows up our sin.
- From Bible.org
Dr. Charles Ryrie has given a listing of Hebrew and Greek words which describe sin. He says that in the Hebrew there are at least eight basic words: “ra, bad (Genesis 38:7); rasha, wickedness (Exodus 2:13); asham, guilt (Hosea 4:15); chata, sin (Exodus 20:20); avon, iniquity (I Samuel 3:13); shagag, err (Isaiah 28:7); taah, wander away (Ezekiel 48:11); pasha, rebel (I Kings 8:50). The usage of these words leads to certain conclusions about the doctrine of sin in the Old Testament. (1) Sin was conceived of as being fundamentally disobedience to God. (2) While disobedience involved both positive and negative ideas, the emphasis was definitely on the positive commission of wrong and not the negative omission of good. In other words, sin was not simply missing the right mark, but hitting the wrong mark. (3) Sin may take many forms, and the Israelite was aware of the particular form which his sin did take.”
“The New Testament uses twelve basic words to describe sin. They are: Kakos, bad (Romans 13:3);poneros, evil (Matthew 5:45); asebes, godless (Romans 1:18); enochos, guilt (Matthew 5:21); hamartia, sin (I Corinthians 6:18); adikia, unrighteousness (I Corinthians 6:9); anomos, lawlessness (I Timothy 1:9); parabates, transgression (Romans 5:14); agnoein, to be ignorant (Romans 1:13); planan, to go astray (I Corinthians 6:9);paraptomai, to fall away (Galatians 6:1); and hupocrites, hypocrite (I Timothy 4:2). From the uses of these words several conclusions may also be drawn. (1) There is always a clear standard against which sin is committed. (2) Ultimately all sin is a positive rebellion against God and a transgression of His standards. (3) Evil may assume a variety of forms. (4) Man’s responsibility is definite and clearly understood.”
This is a valuable listing of the words and their root meanings; however, I would like to expand one or two of the ideas.
The word that is used most frequently is hamartia, missing the mark. It is the most comprehensive term for explaining sin. Paul used the verb hamartano when he wrote, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
So Sin is my rejection of God in all of his character as my Lord, Father, King, Savior, and Peace, so that I break the fellowship He so desires we have. This can be as simple as not acknowledging Him each day for the life, health, and strength that He provides for me to rise up. It can also be in trying to do His calling of me without my calling on His spirit to do the work.