"Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You." Psalm 119:11.
Sin is anything that does not express or conform to the goodness of God. It can be a thought, Matthew 5:27-28 ... a deed committed, John 8:34 ... or a deed omitted, James 4:17. The words for sin in the Bible mean missing the mark, transgressing the Law, rebelling, defiance, disobedience, wickedness, evil, and unrighteousness. Sin can be against others or against ourselves, 1 Corinthians 6:18. Ultimately all sins are against God, Genesis 39:9, Psalm 41:4 and 51:4, and Romans 8:7. Three categories of sin are described in the Bible. The first category is imputed sin described in Romans 5:12-21. It is guilt by association with the human race ... in Adam all sinned. The second is our inherited sin nature referred to in Ephesians 2:3 and Psalm 51:5. This is our natural tendency to sin. That natural tendency brings us unavoidably to the third category, personal sin. Personal sins are those that we commit in thought or deed ... in attitude or action.
I see to commonly the church accepting and viewing the same ideals and sins as the world. We don't look to the word as our final guide to be the lamp and light of life, we just assume what our oldselves and the world viewed as right and wrong is probably what is truly right and wrong, so it must be so for the church. We look at smoking, drinking, gambling, adultery, cursing, sexual immorality etc... and we begin to create a list of things in our mind of what we shouldn't do. This kind of thinking and adoption hinders the church from truly being set apart, it really begins to make the church to be kind of white washed tombs, because in turn we still accept and stay quiet on things like pride/self-esteem, covetousness, love of self, love of the world, knowing and teaching the bible, making disciples, witnessing, indulgence, etc... We begin to strain out gnats and swollow camels.
I have decided to put together a study of the not so mentioned sins, and sometimes even accepted sins within the american church mentality, that we don't draw much attention too, to awaken the shortsidedness of the fleshy mind. So below are some sins of thought, deed commited, and deed ommitted, their greek definitions and some extra explaination. Proceed with caution.
Sins of thought
Adultery - Looking at a person with lust
Murder - Anger towards your brother
Set your mind on things above, not things on the earth - To direct ones mind toward a thing, to strive towards, to seek, to seek ones interest or advantage. Do you set your mind and devotion to the eternal things or temporal things?
Do not be anxious - To be troubled by cares
Do not worry about food, drink, clothes - to seek to promote ones interest, caring or providing for.
Deeds Commited
Do not store up treasure - reserve, amass, lay up, heap up, accumulate riches. God commanded Isreal not to multiply horses, wives, silver, and gold (Duet 17:16-17), because he knew their hearts would become proud and they would trust in them and not in him (Duet 8:11-14), and Solomon was punished because he didn't obey God (1 Kings 11:11).
Eagerly seek food, drink, clothes - to enquire, search, seek diligently, to wish for, crave. Do you seek God as eagerly as online shopping, fantasy football, or video games?
Conform to this world - to fashion oneself alike. Do you look more like the world and the american dream or Jesus and His promised Kingdom?
Friendship with the world - fondness
Immorality - pornea, a word to encompass anything sexually immoral
Impurity - uncleanness phyiscal and lustful, luxurious, profligate living
Sensuality - unbridled lust, excess, outrageousness, shamelessness
Idolatry - the worship of false gods. Worship is realted to our image or identity in God. Is your identity in Jesus, or occupation, family, things, entertainment, etc...?
Sorcery - the use of drugs, poisoning, deceptions and seductions of Idolatry
Emnity - hostility, hatred
Strife - quarrel, wrangling, contention,
Jealousy - zeal, excitement of mind, zeal for a person or thing, eagerness. Is your jealousy for knowing God or wanting more of what the world has to offer?
Anger - wrath, indignation, fierceness
Disputes - strife, contention toward electioneering or intriguing for office
Dissensions - division, sedition, disunion
Envy - for envy, prompted by envy
Drunkeness - Intoxication
Carousing - drinking parties, indulgence, revel
Coveteousness - greedy desire to have more, avarice
Wickedness - evil purposes and desires
Lasciviousness - wastefullness, excess, sudden change of mind, a desire to indulge one's physical self, not interested in spirtual things. Does your heart and mind continually change from one thing to the next to provide satisfaction, hope, and joy?
Pride/Self Esteem - arrogance, huaghtiness. Do you think rightly of yourself as one humbly and honorable created, or as the world promotes to you, trying to build up the power of the human spirit, the idea that you are special and a unique?
Foolishness - senselessness, thoughtlessness, egotism
Lovers of Self - fond, selfish, too intent on one's interests
Lovers of Money - immoderate desire for wealth, fondness of mammon
Boastful - empty pretender, braggar. one who lies about himself, brags about his achievements, or brings wrong-doing upon others
Arrogant - proud, showing one's self above others, attracting attention above others
Reviler - speaking evil, slanderous, abusive
Ungrateful - ungracious, unthankful, unpleasing
Unloving - without natural affection
Without self control - powerless, unrestrained, not moderate, excessive
Brutal - savage, fierce, not tame
Haters of Good - opposed to good, hostile to virtue
Treacherous - surrender, traitor, betrayer. Is your obligation towards Christ, or do you surrender to the enticements of the enemies, satan, the flesh, and the world?
Reckless - rash, acting quickly w/o thought
Conceited - puffed up with pride or haughtiness, high minded
Lovers of Pleasure, rather than lovers of God - to love to please one's self rather than love God. To love God is to keep his commandmants (obedience)
Do not love the world nor the things of the world
-lust of the flesh and the eyes - desire, craving, longing
-boastful pride of life - an empty assurance, trusting in own power and sources, trusting in earthly things
Do not put your hope in wealth - to expect or confide, impede the hope and joy of salvation
Do not entagle yourself in affairs of the life - enweave in the business of this life/world
Deeds Ommitted
Being content with what you have - to be strong, suffice, to be enough, to be satisfied with what you already have. Desire what you need, not what the world says you should want or have.
Do not be suprised if the world hates you - marvel at the worlds detest and pursuit against you. Sanctification will bring about anger and hatred towards you, does the world love or hate you, Jesus said the world loves its own.
To make disciples - to teach, instruct the commandments of jesus
To be generous and share - inclined to share and impart, free in giving, liberal
To be his witness - spectator, martyr, of uncertain affinity
To abide in and know his word - to continue, remain. to learn, percieve, feel, understand
To study his word apporved - a pleasing workman
To bear much fruit - to bring forth a work, act, deed. i.e fruit of the spirit, financial, new believer, disciple.
To be devoted - to adhere, to be steadfast attention, to unremitting care to, to continue, to persevere, to show courageous, to wait for, to be in constant readiness
To abound in his work - to be over, excel, abundance, exceed
Double tongued - saying two things, decietful, hypocritical. i.e white lies
Dressing modestly - shame, honor, modestly, reverence, regard for others, respect, sober, self-control
There is probably many more commandments and instructions that I could have listed, but these are what my study and thoughts came across in the word of God. If you want verse references to these commandments I encourage you to get a bible program, a dictionary, a commentary, or something to help your study of the word. Please don't leave it up to me or your pastor on Sunday, be like the nobel bereans and study the word for yourself.
When everything is examined there are three things that stand out: to be moderate-not excessive, make sure your life doesn't conform to what the rest of the world is doing, thinking and pursuing, and be about the Fathers business. There are three things that the Bible teaches are eternal, God, His word, and people. If you spend more of your mind, heart, time, treasure, affections and talents on any one thing other than these three eternal things you are in sin. When it comes to those gray area things it boils down to three things that Paul taught, does it break your conscience, is it profitable, and is it edifying? As americans we have so many resources to be able to pursue and devote ourselves to God, His Word, and people, but yet I believe if we truly examine things we spend most of our time worshipping as the world does, at resturants, at malls, online, infront of the TV, at sporting events, at etertainment places, at our banks, at our jobs, with our family etc... and the only thing that sets us apart is that we have perfect attendence on Sunday. I don't think God will judge us on attendence, I think he will judge us on what we did with our mind, heart, time, treasure, affection, and talents towards worship of Him. Is your savior Jesus? Is he your only hope, life, joy, truth, security, affection, devotion, etc...? Or do you find that you set up functional saviors in your life to fufill these things, like marriage, family, kids, work, money, house, cars, toys, 401K, insurances, etc...? Is your final hope eternal or temporal? God lovingly cursed work, marriage, and family so we would not find live and wisdom in them but that we would find it solely in Him. That He would be our God and the rest of life would be our responsibility and labor in Him.
"But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." 1 Thes 5:21-22
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