Transcript
Not too long after creation, Adam and Eve step outside of God's boundaries and sin entered the world. When David sinned against Bathsheba with act of selfishness and adultery, in his confession, he says something really important. He says, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me."
Three Things About Sin
What's really important to understand about this doctrine are these three things. First, sin is not just a matter of behavior. Sin is a matter of my nature. It's not just that I do bad things, it's that I have evil inside of me. I sin because I am a sinner and so, you'll never solve this problem by behavioral reformation because I could attempt to change some of my behavior, but I can't change the condition of my heart.
So right away, I know that I need rescue. I need a Savior. The thing that I need to be rescued from most in life is me because I'm my greatest problem. So that's the first thing sin. Sin is not just a behavior, it's a nature that causes me to do what is wrong.
But the second thing is the commands that I'm disobeying are not just an abstract set of laws. My intention is to rebel against the authority of a person. Sin is relational. That's why David says, "Against You and You only have I done this thing."
Sin Begins With Worship
Now, you see this in The Ten Commandments because The Ten Commandments begin with worship of God because if you don't keep those commands, you don't have a prayer of keeping the rest. If God is not in the appropriate place in my life, then nothing else will be in its appropriate place.
So every sin is relational. It's not just breaking abstract law, it's breaking relationship with God. That relationship of submission and worship and love. It's loving something more than I love God, so I walk away from what God has called me to.
The third thing is there are words for sin that are very helpful. First word I would talk about is "iniquity". Iniquity is moral impurity. That's the nature word. I have moral impurity inside of me, that's why I sin. It's only the evil inside of me that ever hooks me to the evil outside of me.
Transgression: Stepping Over the Line
Second word is "transgression". Transgression is [an] intentional trespass, an intentional stepping over the boundaries. A transgression is parking in the no parking zone even though I've seen the sign. It's stepping over God's boundaries.
The third word is the word "sin" and sin is not... people say it's like having a bow and arrow, and you shoot and you miss the mark. That's a bad definition of sin. Sin is doing my best to pull back the bow and shoot the arrow, and it always falls short of the target. That's me. Everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God. I can't reach God's standard because sin has rendered me unable.
So iniquity is moral impurity, transgression is rebellion, and sin is inability. Now, you know what sin is. Sin is moral impurity, sin is the instincts of rebellion inside of me, and sin is inability to reach God's standard. All of those say that I need a Savior because what is broken inside of me, I am unable to fix.
