Sin Defined

Daily Bread

Daily Bread Devotions by Chuck Myer Daily Bread Archive | Sign up for our resources

Oh blessed Father, You who has looked down upon us with favor, You who has given us the new day. May You be honored and glorified in our walk. May we say with the psalmist,

“Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul keeps them” (Psalm 119:129 – NKJV)

. . . . and may we say it all day long.

Our Scripture text is, I believe, a familiar one,

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 – NASB)

Sin . . . it is a nasty word to the world, to non-believers. Even many who profess to be Christians prefer not to talk about it or read about it. In fact, I would venture to guess that the majority of people who view the title of this devotion will probably choose not to read it because they just don’t want to get into a subject matter that seems to be so very negative. But if a person is in the Word of God, it is impossible to avoid the subject of sin.

The apostle Paul says that the indictment upon man is that “all have sinned” and that they “all . . . fall short of the glory of God.” He goes on to say in Romans 6:23 that, “the wages of sin is death.” That said, it is most evident that “sin” is not something we should attempt to ignore but rather seek to understand.

Sin defined is best understood to not be so much what men do but what they fail to do . . . and such, “fall short of the glory of God,” of His perfection (Matthew 5:48), His holiness (I Peter 1:16). We know that from a human standpoint there are good people (Luke 6:33, 11:13; Acts 28:2), but sin is not an issue of what people do to each other . . . it’s not relational. You can’t say, “I’m alright because I do good to people.” Christ-rejecting people show kindness, but the standard is God’s and it is this standard we must measure up to . . . and we can’t.

Note John 16:8

“And He, when He comes, will convict the world of sin . . .”

We ask, “What sin?”

“concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:9)

The “sin” that the Holy Spirit is going to convict men of is a sin of “not” doing something, not a sin of “doing” something. Men will “not” come to Jesus. And here it is important to note that because man does not “come” to Christ, because of something he “does not” do, he then is left to answer to God for what he “does do,” which is, in a state of unbelief, commit acts of sin . . . sinful actions and practices that are the fruit of the “sin” of unbelief.

Though we manifest some human goodness the Bible is clear in that it “falls short” of God the Creator’s standard. Nobody reaches the glory of God, perfection and holiness. That can only be attained “in Christ,” when His righteousness is given to us by God. And in this, God is glorified!

Sin is certainly not a subject to be ignored or avoided, but rather to be understood in the light of God’s revelation to us. The path to salvation begins with a person knowing that they have “sinned” and that they “fall short of the glory of God.”

Have a good day brethren . . . and as you walk strive to grow in your understanding of that which separates man from God, and be of a mind that the gospel of Christ is the message of how there can be victory over sin.

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