Before you leave, let me ask you to read the entire article before you jump to any conclusions.
With many churches and denominations down playing or even addressing the issue of Sin, I'm concerned.
For those who do talk about Sin, its a list of Rules and Regulations.
Also a concern.
Without addressing the Sin issue in both "Believers" AND "UnBelievers" lives, this puts people at risk of damaging their relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ.
Especially for unbelievers, it takes away the "Bad" news of which without the bad news, there can be no "Good" news.
If the Sin issue for unbelievers is negated, then there would be no threat of a person undergoing the Wrath of a Holy and Just God.
Regardless of the teaching on Sin, it does not change Scripture that says in Romans 3:23 that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and that the wages or consequences of sin is death, the eternal separation for the Holy and Loving God whose Wrath they will experience.
But let's move on to the "New" perspective on Sin.
In churches all across America and probably other places, when Sin is mentioned, it is usually a list of Rules and Regulations designed to keep you from upsetting or offending God the Father.
NOTHING could be further from the Truth.
If you look at Sin as a list of Rules and Regulations, we are no better off than when the Jews lived under "The Law" or 10 Commandments.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the Law was to show us that we were not capable of living up to it and to show us that we were indeed "law breakers" or sinners.
So what is God's perspective on Sin? God's perspective is that when we Sin, the consequences are that it will harm us in one way or another, physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
But rest assured, it will harm us, some sins have greater harmful consequences than others, but ALL have consequences none the less.
If you have a child, you tell them NOT to stick their finger in the electrical outlet, don't touch the hot stove burner, look both ways before crossing a street.
Do you tell them these things because you are a "kill joy"? Not at all, but rather because you LOVE them and you don't want to see them injured.
God is the same way, Sins are defined as things we can do that will cause us injury, not a list of Rules and Regulations to "try" and live by.
So instead of dancing along the edge seeing how close to Sin we can get without actually falling into it, we need to understand that even the smallest amount of flirting with Sin can injure us.
It would be the same as turning a burner on Medium and seeing how long we can put our hand on the burner without getting burned.
In the Book of Genesis, we see that God has created a "perfect" place for Adam and Eve to dwell in.
Also in the Garden of Eden are 2 trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
God told Adam and Eve that they could eat of ANY tree in the Garden EXCEPT the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil which was in the "middle" of the Garden.
A closer look at this term we see typically translated as "middle" is more accurately translated as "in their midst", alluding to the idea that it could move and would be with Adam and Eve no matter where they were in the Garden.
I know this is a strange concept, but we know from Scripture that the Tree of Life is our Lord Jesus Christ, so it could be possible that the tree of knowledge of good and evil might also be a living being.
If that is the case, then "in their midst" would make sense.
Why do I go to such length to make a case for a tree that could move? Because had I been God, I would have put the tree of knowledge of good and evil on the southern tip of South America, NOT in their midst, but rather where they would have had less of a chance to be deceived and Sinned.
Had I have put it in the Garden, I would have built a huge wall around it to make it harder for Adam and Eve to even get near to it.
But THAT is NOT the way God is.
He put it in their midst, giving them every chance to consciously NOT eat of its fruit and prove their faithfulness to God Almighty.
So if even God did not put a wall around the tree, how much less should we as followers of Jesus Christ NOT try to erect walls, barriers, and rules to keep people from Sin.
In Galatians 5:1 Paul wrote that it is for Freedom's sake that Christ came to set us free.
Any church, church leader, or member of the body of Jesus Christ that sets Rules and Regulations for another is in direct violation of the very thing Christ died for.
To set us free.
Those who Christ sets free are free indeed.
So at the risk of the warnings Paul gave to those at Galatia that were burdening the flock with Rules and Regulations, let's leave those that Christ sets free alone.
That's not a call to look the other way when a brother or sister is in Sin as we should obey Scripture and lovingly help to restore such a one.
It's also not a call for no accountability, especially when the accountability is voluntary when someone knows they are prone to falling again.
Instead, let's see Sin as God sees it and teach that its NOT a bunch of dos and don'ts or rules and regulations, let's start teaching it as something that will have consequences and will harm us which God the Father will feel just as a mother feels the pain when one of her children are injured.
Maybe its not "New", but actually as old as Sin itself.
With many churches and denominations down playing or even addressing the issue of Sin, I'm concerned.
For those who do talk about Sin, its a list of Rules and Regulations.
Also a concern.
Without addressing the Sin issue in both "Believers" AND "UnBelievers" lives, this puts people at risk of damaging their relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ.
Especially for unbelievers, it takes away the "Bad" news of which without the bad news, there can be no "Good" news.
If the Sin issue for unbelievers is negated, then there would be no threat of a person undergoing the Wrath of a Holy and Just God.
Regardless of the teaching on Sin, it does not change Scripture that says in Romans 3:23 that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and that the wages or consequences of sin is death, the eternal separation for the Holy and Loving God whose Wrath they will experience.
But let's move on to the "New" perspective on Sin.
In churches all across America and probably other places, when Sin is mentioned, it is usually a list of Rules and Regulations designed to keep you from upsetting or offending God the Father.
NOTHING could be further from the Truth.
If you look at Sin as a list of Rules and Regulations, we are no better off than when the Jews lived under "The Law" or 10 Commandments.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the Law was to show us that we were not capable of living up to it and to show us that we were indeed "law breakers" or sinners.
So what is God's perspective on Sin? God's perspective is that when we Sin, the consequences are that it will harm us in one way or another, physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
But rest assured, it will harm us, some sins have greater harmful consequences than others, but ALL have consequences none the less.
If you have a child, you tell them NOT to stick their finger in the electrical outlet, don't touch the hot stove burner, look both ways before crossing a street.
Do you tell them these things because you are a "kill joy"? Not at all, but rather because you LOVE them and you don't want to see them injured.
God is the same way, Sins are defined as things we can do that will cause us injury, not a list of Rules and Regulations to "try" and live by.
So instead of dancing along the edge seeing how close to Sin we can get without actually falling into it, we need to understand that even the smallest amount of flirting with Sin can injure us.
It would be the same as turning a burner on Medium and seeing how long we can put our hand on the burner without getting burned.
In the Book of Genesis, we see that God has created a "perfect" place for Adam and Eve to dwell in.
Also in the Garden of Eden are 2 trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
God told Adam and Eve that they could eat of ANY tree in the Garden EXCEPT the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil which was in the "middle" of the Garden.
A closer look at this term we see typically translated as "middle" is more accurately translated as "in their midst", alluding to the idea that it could move and would be with Adam and Eve no matter where they were in the Garden.
I know this is a strange concept, but we know from Scripture that the Tree of Life is our Lord Jesus Christ, so it could be possible that the tree of knowledge of good and evil might also be a living being.
If that is the case, then "in their midst" would make sense.
Why do I go to such length to make a case for a tree that could move? Because had I been God, I would have put the tree of knowledge of good and evil on the southern tip of South America, NOT in their midst, but rather where they would have had less of a chance to be deceived and Sinned.
Had I have put it in the Garden, I would have built a huge wall around it to make it harder for Adam and Eve to even get near to it.
But THAT is NOT the way God is.
He put it in their midst, giving them every chance to consciously NOT eat of its fruit and prove their faithfulness to God Almighty.
So if even God did not put a wall around the tree, how much less should we as followers of Jesus Christ NOT try to erect walls, barriers, and rules to keep people from Sin.
In Galatians 5:1 Paul wrote that it is for Freedom's sake that Christ came to set us free.
Any church, church leader, or member of the body of Jesus Christ that sets Rules and Regulations for another is in direct violation of the very thing Christ died for.
To set us free.
Those who Christ sets free are free indeed.
So at the risk of the warnings Paul gave to those at Galatia that were burdening the flock with Rules and Regulations, let's leave those that Christ sets free alone.
That's not a call to look the other way when a brother or sister is in Sin as we should obey Scripture and lovingly help to restore such a one.
It's also not a call for no accountability, especially when the accountability is voluntary when someone knows they are prone to falling again.
Instead, let's see Sin as God sees it and teach that its NOT a bunch of dos and don'ts or rules and regulations, let's start teaching it as something that will have consequences and will harm us which God the Father will feel just as a mother feels the pain when one of her children are injured.
Maybe its not "New", but actually as old as Sin itself.