Damascus Road Church

15 men gathered together last night to study God's Word.  I always find it a bit surprising, but deeply rewarding, to sit around and discuss theology.  Last night we spoke about Sin.  It's one of the those conversations that you'll late describe as "great", meaning, it was really convicting because you realize that your perspective on God's truth is a bit off.  In this third chapter of his study, Gospel Christianity, Tim Keller asks you to consider the question, "What is wrong with us?" Specifically, he challenges our traditional view of Sin as disobedience to God (certain behaviors).  He considers three different Old Testament words, translated as INIQUITY, SIN, and TRANSGRESSION and uses them to characterize the true nature of sin so we don't confuse it with SINS.  There is a difference. 

• One word describe how SIN means to be bent out of shape, twisted, and broken. Sin is, therefore, a violation of God's original design.
  
• One word describes SIN as "missing the mark", falling short of the perfection and glory that is God.  Sin is, therefore, a violation of God's standard. 
  
• One word describes SIN as willful rebellion. Sin therfore is a violation of Gods authority.
  

We must remember these three different ideas when discussing sin or we will make the mistake of looking at ourselves, other people, and the entire world incorrectly.  We can never forget that, because of sin, we are broken.  This is not a superficial blemish, but a deep and complex root problem.  We can't just "stop sinning" or call people to "stop sinning."  Such calls for purity make light of the problem we have.

We must also remember that, because of sin, we cannot meet God's standard.  If we think we can, we are getting close to a legalistic mentality where we try to develop our own self-righteousness.  Jesus' sermon on the mount told revealed to us that just trying to avoid BAD SINS does not mean we'll ever live out the ideal God wants for us.  Just because we don't hate someone does not mean that we love them as we should. 

Finally, we can't forget that we are willfully rebellious. We are not just mindless victims.  This is both good and bad in that we are held accountable for what we do, to a person, God, but it is also possible for us to change.  Although we are broken and born with a sinful nature, we also violate God's authority by choosing to sin ourselves.  

Remember all of this should challenge us to approach the world differently.  It is broken, it is sinful, it is dirty, and so am I.  Instead of throwing down moral pronouncements on all of the "SINNERS" in the world, perhaps it would be best to build relationships so that we can identify what they are using to fill the void that only Jesus will satisfy.