What is Sin?
Answer: Sin is, Disobedience to God.

The highest and best description of sin that we have is the description of St. Paul's:  "Whatever is not of faith is sin."  (Romans 14:23).  This means that whatever does not proceed from faith in God in the conscience is sin.  This includes all the Scriptural Commandments of the Spiritual Law as well as their fulfillment in the conscience of the believer.  In fact, even if the believer is  weak in a certain relatively unimportant area of faith, (such as eating food which he believes not to be acceptable to God) he should even then, still follow his own conscience and not eat certain foods.  Furthermore, a Christian who is stronger in faith should also, out of love and patience, accommodate the weaker brethren and not eat the offensive food, even though all food is acceptable to God.

It is a person's conscience before God that determines what significance sin has for that individual.  All men from Adam to the end of the world have a conscience before God, and depending on how well they follow their conscience, they are either saved or lost.

In an absolute sense, every sin is equally punishable before God.  If it had not been for Our Lord Jesus Christ the entire world and universe would have been cast into Perdition immediately, as Luther said.  But God in His mercy, in Jesus Christ, has given dispensations to allow for different qualities and gradients in His judgment of sin and He has decided to forgive altogether those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ.    And not only that, but also to give to those who believe, an Eternal reward and Happiness in Heaven, "an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison."  Amen.

Sin has various levels of seriousness in God's sight.  The most innocent of human beings is an infant.  And yet, an infant is born with Original Sin, and thus is subject to death, because the "Wages of sin is death."  God, in His inscrutable Judgment condemns all human beings to death on account of Original sin 

Therefore, even Infants need to be saved on account of Original Sin.  Please see a full explanation of Infant Baptism on our web-site at www.holywordofgod.org/infantbaptism.

The more consciousness of sin, the more sin.  The more rebelliousness, the more sin.  A sin that is committed obstinately, and knowingly, is Mortal Sin.

Until, finally, there is such a thing as the Sin against the Holy Spirit.  This is sin that is totally rebellious against God and His Teachings and Jesus Christ and teaches against the Word and unfortunately there is no forgiveness for this sin, it is unfortunately, the Eternal Sin from which there is no forgiveness.  

"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin."  (Mark 3:28-30)

This is sin that knowingly and obstinately teaches against what God has revealed for Salvation for Mankind in Jesus Christ.

An example of this sort of Sin:  Such a Sin is the Sin that was contained in the Movie called the "Last Temptation of Christ." In this movie, the participants knowingly and selectively assailed the True and Holy Teachings concerning Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and made our Lord and Savior into a common sinner, when even the Highest of Eternal Heaven is not worthy of Him.  Only God in His wisdom can judge, and only God knows the heart of any man, but these teachings teach against the Holy Spirit, and like the Koran, it is a good example of the Sin against the Holy Spirit.  God is infinite, but He does not have infinite patience.  There is a limit to what He will forgive.  Christians ache for these kind of people, because they are throwing away the most valuable gift they could ever receive, because they love sin more.  May God have Mercy on the souls of those who decide to teach against the Holy Spirit, but unfortunately, it is an Eternal Sin, and there is no forgiveness.

This is the highest and best definition that we have of Sin.  It is the definition of the New Testament.  However, the Old Testament has a summary of Sin that is contained in the Ten Commandments that incorporates the essential Laws of Conscience in the New Testament:  (Please see a fuller explanation in our Introduction to the Bible at our home page.)

1.  You shall have no other gods before Me.
This means that we should have no other faith, beliefs or practices except those which come from God.  This means we should put our hopes, prayers and beliefs in God alone and in no other.  Many beliefs, practices and hopes will come and go in this World, but only God alone persists, and His Son's name is Jesus Christ, in Whom we have our hope and Salvation and all the Promises of God Almighty.

2.  Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.

This means that we should not use the name of God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit in an irreverent manner.  God's Name is, quite simply, a Holy name.  As Luther said in the Small Catechism:  "We should so fear and love God as not to curse, swear, conjure, lie, or deceive, by His Name, but call upon Him in every time of need, and worship Him with prayer, praise and thanksgiving."

3.  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it Holy.

Here, there has been a lot of confusion in the Christian Church.  There is no question that God Hallowed the 7th day.  It is as old as Genesis:  "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them.  and on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it,  because on it, God rested from all his work which he had done in creation."  (Genesis 2:1-3)  God Hallowed the Seventh Day, there is no doubt about it.  And in this commandment God wished that no work should be done on this day.

Now, here is a really fascinating question: Can Gentiles, who are not bound by the Ceremonial Laws of the Old Testament, work on this Day and since the 7th Day is clearly a Holy Day, how should Christians observe it?

The New Testament clearly relieves Christians of any sort of legalistic observance of the 7th Day, as well as kosher foods, festivals and new moons (where new moons are found in the Old Testament, I don't know):  "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.  These are but a shadow of what is to come."  (Colossians 1:16-17).  So here, St. Paul clearly declares that the Sabbath is included in the "shadow" of what is to come, and he instructs Christians not to allow anyone "to pass judgment," relieving Christians from this legalistic burden of observing the 7th Day.

The Jewish people could not work on this day, because this Commandment had not been revised by the New Testament, and because of the Ceremonial Law that God imposed upon the Jews, but there is no such Ceremonial Law imposed on the Gentiles who may work of the Sabbath, even though, as we saw above it is certainly a Day that God wishes to be Holy.

Since work is not sinful in itself, and since Christians are relieved of the same observance of the Jewish Sabbath as seen in Colossians 1:16-17,  I personally believe that the 7th day should still be Hallowed by Christians, although in a different way from which it was observed by the Jews.  It seems to me, that since this Day is Hallowed by God in Genesis, it in some ways, still applies to all the People of God.  In order to Hallow something, one must be very diligent and respectful.  Therefore, in my opinion, Christians should, on the 7th Day, seek to live especially Holy and Fruitful lives, and try especially to please God, by refraining from any sin.  In this way Christians are also able to Hallow the 7th Day.

On account of the New Testament, Luther and others have interpreted this passage, since it no longer applies to the Jewish Ceremonial Law concerning the 7th day, to mean: "Keep Holy Things Holy," essentially such things as the Preaching and Teaching of the Word of God.  Whatever is of God, keep it honorable and Holy is the meaning of this Commandment.  As with all the other commandments, this Commandment has a Penumbra that extends to many other ways in which we should act and comport ourselves.

The First Three Commandments of the Ten Commandments are referred to as the First Table of the Law.  These Three Commandments summarize the way in which we should relate to God.  The final seven Commandments reveal how we should relate to other people.

4.  The Fourth Commandment:  Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Here is Luther's explanation of the Fourth Commandment:  "We should so fear and love God as not to despise nor displease our parents and superiors, but honor, serve, obey , and esteem them."

Here it is interesting that God puts the Fourth Commandment ahead of commandments such as "Thou Shalt Not Kill."  It shows how much importance God places on the honoring of parents and superiors.  This Commandment also contains a promise for those who keep this Commandment:  "That your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you."  Those who follow this Commandment are promised a long life.

5.  The Fifth Commandment:  Thou Shalt not Kill.

(TO BE CONTINUED)