103. HOW TO OVERCOME THE POWER OF SIN IN MY LIFE AND IN MY CHURCH? – Jesus Christ is God’s answer to the problem of sin.

We finished our last meditation with Paul’s lament: “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?” (Romans 7:24*)

His answer to that question is: “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:25*)

To the church in Philippi (Greece), Paul explained how Jesus Christ became God’s answer to the problem of sin: “Though he (Jesus Christ) was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.

Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11*)

The apostle John shows that God’s love for mankind resulted in Jesus’ sacrificial death for our sins. He writes: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16*)

In Meditations 2 to 12 we pondered on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ:

-- His divinity and humanity. (Meditations 2 to 4)

-- His guilt offering for the sins of all men. (Meditation 5)

  

-- His resurrection and enthronement in heaven. (Meditation 6)

-- His position as the only mediator between God and man. (Meditations 7 and 8)

-- His divine assignment as God’s ultimate Messiah (Christ) and Saviour of the entire world.

(Meditations 9 to 12)

In Meditation 102 we identified the most important words, used in the Old and New Testaments, which portray the essence of sin. Today we want to see how these terms are linked to the death of Jesus Christ who is God’s Messiah.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

·      chata = to miss, to miss the way, to sin

This Hebrew verb and its derivations describe the act of sinning in general. One of its derived nouns is used to focus on the reason for the death of God’s Messiah. In the 8^th century B.C. the prophet Isaiah prophesies about Jesus in the past tense, saying: “... He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many...” (Isaiah 53:12**)

·      pasha = to rebel, to transgress, to revolt.

This Hebrew verb and its derivations describe the act of sinning as deliberate disobedience to God’s Word and His will. In relation to the death of the Messiah, we read about man’s rebellion against God in:

-- Isaiah 53:5**: “He was pierced for our transgressions.”

-- Isaiah 53:8**: “By oppression and judgment he was taken away. ... He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.”

·      awa = to bend, to twist, to distort, to sin, to commit a perversion or an iniquity.  

Its main derivative is the masculine noun ‘awon’ (occurring 231 times compared to the verb that is found 17 times) with the meaning: iniquity, guilt, crooked behaviour, perversity, depravity. This noun especially describes the sinful intention of man’s evil heart behind the act of sinning.

In a dramatic way, the use of this noun is linked to the Messiah’s death in:

-- Isaiah 53:5** “He was crushed for our iniquities.”

-- Isaiah 53:6** “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

  

THE NEW TESTAMENT

·      hamartanó = to miss the mark, be in error, to sin, do wrong, transgress

When the Greek New Testament speaks about sin in all its ugly ‘gradations’, it mostly uses this verb and its derivatives when it is interlinked with Jesus’ sacrificial death. His sacrifice causes all those who believe in Him to have:

§  Salvation from sin:

-- The evangelist Matthew testifies to the heart of Jesus’ mission: “She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus (meaning ‘Saviour’), because he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21**)

-- The apostle John describes the reaction of John the Baptist when he sees Jesus for the first time: “John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29*)

§  Forgiveness of sin:

-- On the evening before His death, Jesus explains that the sacrifice of His life will cause many to receive forgiveness of their sins. Matthew reports: “As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘Take it and eat it, for this is my body.’ And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, ‘Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many.” (Matthew 26:26-28*)

-- On the day of Pentecost, after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the apostle Peter addresses the listening crowd, saying: “We apostles are witnesses of all he (Jesus) did throughout Israel and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by crucifying him, but God raised him to life three days later.

Then God allowed him to appear, not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen beforehand to be his witnesses.

We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is ordained of God to be the judge of all-- the living and the dead.

He is the one all the prophets (the Old Testament) testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his Name.” (Acts 10:39-43*)

§  The light of God’s love and truth:

-- The apostle Paul testifies before king Agrippa: “I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses (the Old Testament) said would happen -- that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles." (Acts 26:22-23**)

§  God’s righteousness is more than Mosaic Law:

-- The apostle Paul reminds the Christians in Rome that “No-one will be declared righteous in his (God’s) sight by observing the (Mosaic) Law; rather, through the Law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from Law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament) testify.

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished -- he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:20-26**)

-- Paul writes to the church in Corinth: “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21*)

§  Salvation from God’s righteous anger and reconciliation with Him:

-- Writing to the church in Rome, Paul pronounces: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:6-11**)

-- The apostle John writes about Jesus as the One who reconciles us with God and represents us before Him as a true intercessor: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2**)

§  Salvation from God’s righteous judgement of sin:

-- To the Roman Christians, the apostle Paul exults, saying: “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.

The Law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful.

God destroyed sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the requirement of the (Mosaic) Law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4*)

§  Salvation from our sinful world:

-- Paul writes to the churches in Galatia (a region in modern Turkey): “May grace and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.” (Galatians 1:3-4*)

§  Salvation from Satan’s power:

-- Paul reminds the followers of Jesus in Colosse (Greece): “He (God) has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. God has purchased our freedom with his (Jesus’) blood and has forgiven all our sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14*)

How could we ever thank our triune God enough for His greatest love gift to our lost world: Jesus Christ! Let us close this Meditation by joining in Paul’s marvellous acclamation: “Thank God for his Son-- a gift too wonderful for words!” (2 Corinthians 9:15*)

Translations: * New Living Translation; ** New International Version; *** New King James Version.

102. HOW TO OVERCOME THE POWER OF SIN IN MY LIFE AND IN MY CHURCH – What is sin?

Before we ask ourselves questions like “How will I overcome the power of sin in my life?” and “How will my church overcome the power of sin in our midst?” we need to identify the words used for ‘sin’ in the Old and New Testaments. That might help us better grasp the significance of sin and the effect it has on our relationship with God and our fellow man.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Old Testament uses various words to portray the essence of sin. The most important ones are:

1. chata = to miss, to miss the way, to sin.

This verb and its derivations are used to generally describe the act of sinning as being:

§  breaking God’s Covenant: “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep.” (Joshua 7:11**)

§  disobeying God’s Law: “You warned them to return to your Law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen.” (Nehemiah 9:29**)

§  doing what God hates: “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.” (Psalm 51:4**)

§  being unfaithful to God: “Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, ‘We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.’” (Judges 10:10**)

§  doing wrong: “We have sinned and done wrong.” (Daniel 9:5**)

God had warned Cain before he killed his brother Abel, saying: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7**)

The book of Proverbs declares that “haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin.” (Proverbs 21:4*)

2. pasha = to rebel, to transgress, to revolt.

This verb and its derivatives describe the act of sinning as being the act of deliberate disobedience to God’s Word and His will:

-- In the 7^th century B.C., God commanded His prophet Hosea to explain to His people why the Assyrians would invade the Northern country of Israel and take them into exile: “Sound the alarm! The enemy descends like an eagle on the people of the LORD, for they have broken my Covenant and revolted against my Law.” (Hosea 8:1*)

-- In Psalms 32 and 51, king David (11^th century B.C.) recounts his horrendous sin of adultery with the wife of Uriah (2 Samuel 11 and 12). In Psalm 32:5* he admits his deliberate disobedience to God’s Word and His will: “Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” (Psalm 32:5*)

3. shagag = to go astray, to err, to commit sin or error.

This verb and its derivatives describe the act of sinning caused by ignorance or negligence of God’s Word and His will.

According to the Mosaic Covenant, God required a sin offering for the person who sinned accidentally: “If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the LORD has spoken to Moses …all that the LORD has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations... the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.” (Numbers 15:22.23.28***)

In Psalm 119:67**, the psalmist confesses to God: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your Word.” It seems that this man disobeyed God’s Word, not because of wilful non-observance, but rather because of ignorance or negligence. However, in God’s sight sin remains sin even if it is committed unintentionally.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

 

The New Testament also uses various words to portray the essence of sin. Besides, the New Testament Greek clothes itself often with the meaning of the Hebrew terminology used in the Old Testament. The most important ones are:

1. hamartanó = to miss the mark, be in error, sin, do wrong, transgress.

This verb and its derivatives are used to generally describe sinning as:

§  lacking God’s image and likeness, and therefore falling short of His glorious standard (manifested in the Mosaic Law): “All [men] have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23**)

§  tracing the footsteps of Adam in disobedience to God: ^“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned...” (Romans 5:12**)

§  disobeying God’s Law: “As many as have sinned without Law (non-Jews) will also perish without Law, and as many as have sinned in the Law (Jews) will be judged by the Law.” (Romans 2:12***)

     -- “Those who sin are opposed to the Law of God, for all sin opposes the Law of God.” (1 John 3:4*)

§  dealing unrighteously with man means dealing unrighteously with God: “His son [the prodigal son]said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’” (Luke 15:21*; See also Psalm 51:4* “Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.”)

§  not believing in God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah: “The world's sin is unbelief in me.” (John 16:8*)

§  being under the power and control of the evil one (Satan, the Devil): “We know that... the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.” (^NLT 1 John 5:19*)

     -- “When people keep on sinning, it shows they belong to the Devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. (1 John 3:8*)

§  acting in revolt against God: “He [God] will bring the people of the world to judgment. He will convict the ungodly of all the evil things they have done in rebellion and of all the insults that godless sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 1:15*)

2. paraptóma = a departure from living God’s way; a false step, a sin, a transgression as a serious offence against God.

This noun describes the act of sinning as being:

§  an offence against God: “For if by the one man's [Adam’s] offense many died [all men], much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.

For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's (Jesus’) righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” (Romans 5:15-18***)

3. skandalizó = a. to cause to stumble, to lead into sin, b. to stumble, to fall away, to take offence.

This verb and its derivatives are used to generally describe the act of sinning as:

§  being offended because of Jesus: “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Matthew 11:6***)

§  leading others into sin: “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.” (Mark 9:42**)

4. adikeó = a. to do wrong, to act wickedly, to act unjustly in violating God’s Law.

§  acting unjustly (toward others): “You yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your own Christian brothers and sisters. (1 Corinthians 6:8*)

     -- “If you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites who can get away with evil.” (Colossians 3:25*)

4. anomia = lawlessness, iniquity, disobedience, sin.  

The noun anomia is derived from the adjective anomos (without law, lawless, i.e. having an utter disregard for God’s Law). These words are used to generally describe the act of sinning as:

§  having a heart filled with utter disregard for God’s Law: “You (Pharisees and Jewish teachers of God’s Law) try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:28*)

§  breaking God’s Law: “Everyone who sins breaks the Law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4**)

§  joining in acts and/or a lifestyle opposed to God’s Law: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14***; See also Psalm 1:1)

           

§  being addicted to a lifestyle opposed to God’s Law:“I speak this way, using the illustration of slaves and masters, because it is easy to understand. Before, you let yourselves be slaves of impurity and lawlessness. Now you must choose to be slaves of righteousness so that you will become holy.” (Romans 6:19*)

     -- “Then I [Jesus] will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:23***)

We see in these biblical examples that ‘sin’ in all its manifestations is always a violation of God’s eternal Law which He revealed to His people Israel after their liberation from bondage in Egypt (circa 15^th century B.C.).

Jesus summarises this divine Law with the words: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets [i.e. the entire Old Testament] hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40*)

These two commandments bring to light the abysmal wickedness of our human heart.

-- King David (10^th century B.C.) acknowledges: “I was born a sinner-- yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5*)

-- The prophet Jeremiah (7^th century B.C.) laments: “The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9*)

-- Jesus declares: “From within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” (Mark 7:21**)

-- The apostle Paul confesses: “I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.” (Romans 7:18-19*)

Then the apostle cries out in desperation: “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?” (Romans 7:24*)

In the next meditation, we will see how God’s Word (the Bible) shines its light through the darkness of our tormented souls. 

  

Translations: * New Living Translation; ** New International Version; *** New King James Version.

101. HOW TO OVERCOME THE POWER OF SIN IN MY LIFE AND IN MY CHURCH ? – An Introduction.

We started this blog in Meditation 1 with the words: How exciting to know that God wants to change us in such a way that we become ever more like his one and only Son Jesus Christ! That is what we read in the biblical text of 2 Corinthians 3:18* “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him (Jesus Christ) and reflect his glory even more.”

For becoming ever more like Jesus Christ, we need to know who Jesus Christ is? The apostle Paul declares to the church in Colosse that “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:15*).

Paul’s declaration takes us straight back to the first book of the Bible which recounts the  remarkable story of the creation of man. It says that man’s origin started with God’s proclamation: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...” (Genesis 1:26**). The One God expresses himself here in the plural! That means that man originally was created in the image of God the Father, God the Son [who is Jesus the Messiah or Jesus Christ], and God the Holy Spirit. (See Meditation 18)

Today we start with a new series of meditations. As the Spirit of God wants to transform us more and more into the likeness of Jesus (who is the image of God), we need to ask ourselves a serious question: if we are created in the image and likeness of God the Son, Jesus Christ, why don’t we live such a perfect ‘life of love’ as Jesus did? (See Meditation 18)

A second urgent question is: if God’s Spirit wants to restore the image and likeness of Jesus Christ in us and in our churches, why is His task seemingly unattainable? Have you ever met an impeccable person? Have you ever visited a perfect church?

God explains in His Word (the Bible) that the answer to these two questions has everything to do with the human problem of ‘sin’. In Meditations 19 to 27, we reflected on the origin of sin and our desperate need for reconciliation with God.

In these meditations we realized that ‘sin’ finds it origin in human pride, rebellion against God and disobedience to His Word (See Genesis 3).

Its consequence is the destruction of God’s image and likeness in us. Therefore, salvation has to do with restoring that image. Sin destroys our relationship with God and our fellowman. Salvation heals those relationships.

We finished Meditation 100 by saying that God’s Word, as well as our personal and our church’s experiences, tells us that our major enemy in the process towards Christlike maturity is the power of sin.

In the forthcoming meditations we will not go back into questions on how to be how to be reconciled with God and saved from God’s righteous anger; we did that in the meditations 24 to 27.

As I said before, the theme of the upcoming meditations will focus on questions like: now that I am saved and reconciled with God by the blood of Jesus Christ, how will I overcome the power of sin in my life? How will my church overcome the power of sin in our midst? It is clear that only then God’s Spirit will progress in the transformation process towards Christlike maturity.

I think that we need to start with identifying the words used for ‘sin’ in the Old and New Testament. Once we know ‘our enemy’, we can develop a battle plan!      

  

  

Translations: * New Living Translation; ** New International Version.