By Rabbi Dr. Esther Boucher
RIGHT AND WRONG
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For most of us, coming to faith in God involved hearing and believing
several different conversion – type verses or phrases such as: “All
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” “The wages of
sin is death…” Jesus came to save the sinners from their sin… We
who were sinners are now saved by grace. At the bare minimum, we
were presented with the reality that we had sinned against God. Sin is
a church word, rarely mentioned outside of a faith context. Even
within a faith context, however, people understand sin to mean many
different things. The original development of this word was derived
from the Hebrew word hatta. Its understood meaning “to miss the
mark” invoked a picture of an archer taking aim and firing an arrow,
only to miss his intended target. Sin is some kind of wrongdoing,
error, fault or mistake. The term became synonymous with
transgression. If sin is doing the wrong thing, then what is the right
thing? There must be a correct target or bull’s eye. If sin is so serious
that it condemns us to death, then there must be some way to know if
something we are doing is wrong (a sin) or right (not a sin). If God’s
system is truly just, there must be some clear definition of a standard
of righteous living. When a man stands before the righteous Judge and
is condemned as guilty because of his sins, there will be a very specific
standard against which he will be judged. John 5:45-47 The Bible
states quite clearly what the standard is The Apostle John writes
“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is
lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4. The Greek word for lawlessness is
ahomia. It comes from the prefix a- meaning without and nomos
meaning law. Nomos most often refers to the books of law, which
were written by Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy. These books contain teachings, stories, and
commandments including the 10 commandments. According to John,
sin is defined as disobedience of God’s law. This means that when
God condemns a person because of his sins, the person is judged
guilty on account of breaking the commandments found in the law of
God. Romans 4:15 In Paul’s words, if there were no commandments
to break, then no one could be guilty. Without a goal, there is nothing
for which to aim. But God did give commandments, and so it is
possible to miss the mark and to sin. These conscious choices cause
God’s judgment to be upon us. Most scholars agree that God’s
system of laws, instructions and regulations have been present since
creation. Paul also says “the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin
is the law” 1 Cor 15:56. We are condemned to death because of our
sins. Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly
not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the
law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had
said, “You shall not covet.” Here our sins are judged according to the
law. Similarly, if a man is convicted of a crime by an earthly judge, it
is the laws and ordinances that empower the prosecutor to accuse him,
the jury to convict him, and the judge to sentence him. That does not
mean that these laws are bad. On the contrary, they are good and
necessary, and contribute to a to a healthy society. Romans 7:12 It is
clear that Scripture defines sin as any failure to fully obey the
commandments in G-d’s law. It’s a good thing the story doesn’t end
here, because we all fail to fully obey God’s commandments. Only
Jesus Christ Himself fully obeyed every applicable commandment
found in the law. In His death he paid the penalty that was due us for
breaking the law, and by our faith in Him we receive the gift of
eternal life. Thank God our eternal status does not depend on our
ability to perform all the commandments. Before we receive His
payment our sinful lives were compared to the law and the law’s
prescribed punishment is death. Now the law’s punishment does not
apply to us, the grace of God does. We were once in bondage, but
now we are free. Yet the freedom we receive in Jesus is not freedom
from the laws God gave (God’s teaching and instruction were given to
His people for their benefit). Rather, the freedom we receive in Jesus
is the freedom from sin, which results in death. Once we are freed
from our sin through Jesus, we should not feel free to continue to
commit sins on the account that through God’s grace they are
forgiven. Romans 6:15 Now that we are new creations, we are finally
able to begin obeying God’s commandments out of love. Romans 6:
12-14 In Messiah, we are free from our bondage to sin; we no longer
have to allow our inclination to be that of sin. He has given us the
power and ability to train ourselves unto righteousness. Sin is the
direct opposite of righteousness. In Jesus, we are able to serve God as
instruments of righteousness, and through His life in us, we are able to
choose to obey His commandments. In fact, if we continue to lead a
life of habitual sin, it would appear that we are still in bondage. If we
remain in bondage to sin, then we must not be new creations. If you
are obedient to God’s commandments, then you are a slave to God.
Romans 6:16 Now that we have ventured into the Hebraic
understanding of the word sin, let us also take a look at the Hebrew
word for law. The Hebrew word is Torah, which literally means
“teaching, guidance or instruction.” The word Torah comes from the
verb root yarah which means to shoot an arrow. In Hebrew thought,
the success and failure of living a life of sin or righteousness is defined
in terms compared to archery, yet their definitions are completely
opposite each other. Sinning is missing the mark, falling short of the
target; righteous living is hitting the mark with perfect accuracy, not
falling to obtain the goal at which we are aiming. God’s righteous
standard is the commandments of the law. This is the goal at which
our lives are to aim. Scripture defines sin as any failure to obey those
commandments. The penalty for breaking the commandments is
death. But the penalty has been paid for those that put their faith in
Jesus Christ. Those who receive God’s gift of grace have a new
relationship to the law. Before, it condemned us, but now it serves as
an instrument of righteous teaching, not serving to condemn, but
serving to re remind us to obey His commandments in love.
several different conversion – type verses or phrases such as: “All
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” “The wages of
sin is death…” Jesus came to save the sinners from their sin… We
who were sinners are now saved by grace. At the bare minimum, we
were presented with the reality that we had sinned against God. Sin is
a church word, rarely mentioned outside of a faith context. Even
within a faith context, however, people understand sin to mean many
different things. The original development of this word was derived
from the Hebrew word hatta. Its understood meaning “to miss the
mark” invoked a picture of an archer taking aim and firing an arrow,
only to miss his intended target. Sin is some kind of wrongdoing,
error, fault or mistake. The term became synonymous with
transgression. If sin is doing the wrong thing, then what is the right
thing? There must be a correct target or bull’s eye. If sin is so serious
that it condemns us to death, then there must be some way to know if
something we are doing is wrong (a sin) or right (not a sin). If God’s
system is truly just, there must be some clear definition of a standard
of righteous living. When a man stands before the righteous Judge and
is condemned as guilty because of his sins, there will be a very specific
standard against which he will be judged. John 5:45-47 The Bible
states quite clearly what the standard is The Apostle John writes
“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is
lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4. The Greek word for lawlessness is
ahomia. It comes from the prefix a- meaning without and nomos
meaning law. Nomos most often refers to the books of law, which
were written by Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy. These books contain teachings, stories, and
commandments including the 10 commandments. According to John,
sin is defined as disobedience of God’s law. This means that when
God condemns a person because of his sins, the person is judged
guilty on account of breaking the commandments found in the law of
God. Romans 4:15 In Paul’s words, if there were no commandments
to break, then no one could be guilty. Without a goal, there is nothing
for which to aim. But God did give commandments, and so it is
possible to miss the mark and to sin. These conscious choices cause
God’s judgment to be upon us. Most scholars agree that God’s
system of laws, instructions and regulations have been present since
creation. Paul also says “the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin
is the law” 1 Cor 15:56. We are condemned to death because of our
sins. Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly
not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the
law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had
said, “You shall not covet.” Here our sins are judged according to the
law. Similarly, if a man is convicted of a crime by an earthly judge, it
is the laws and ordinances that empower the prosecutor to accuse him,
the jury to convict him, and the judge to sentence him. That does not
mean that these laws are bad. On the contrary, they are good and
necessary, and contribute to a to a healthy society. Romans 7:12 It is
clear that Scripture defines sin as any failure to fully obey the
commandments in G-d’s law. It’s a good thing the story doesn’t end
here, because we all fail to fully obey God’s commandments. Only
Jesus Christ Himself fully obeyed every applicable commandment
found in the law. In His death he paid the penalty that was due us for
breaking the law, and by our faith in Him we receive the gift of
eternal life. Thank God our eternal status does not depend on our
ability to perform all the commandments. Before we receive His
payment our sinful lives were compared to the law and the law’s
prescribed punishment is death. Now the law’s punishment does not
apply to us, the grace of God does. We were once in bondage, but
now we are free. Yet the freedom we receive in Jesus is not freedom
from the laws God gave (God’s teaching and instruction were given to
His people for their benefit). Rather, the freedom we receive in Jesus
is the freedom from sin, which results in death. Once we are freed
from our sin through Jesus, we should not feel free to continue to
commit sins on the account that through God’s grace they are
forgiven. Romans 6:15 Now that we are new creations, we are finally
able to begin obeying God’s commandments out of love. Romans 6:
12-14 In Messiah, we are free from our bondage to sin; we no longer
have to allow our inclination to be that of sin. He has given us the
power and ability to train ourselves unto righteousness. Sin is the
direct opposite of righteousness. In Jesus, we are able to serve God as
instruments of righteousness, and through His life in us, we are able to
choose to obey His commandments. In fact, if we continue to lead a
life of habitual sin, it would appear that we are still in bondage. If we
remain in bondage to sin, then we must not be new creations. If you
are obedient to God’s commandments, then you are a slave to God.
Romans 6:16 Now that we have ventured into the Hebraic
understanding of the word sin, let us also take a look at the Hebrew
word for law. The Hebrew word is Torah, which literally means
“teaching, guidance or instruction.” The word Torah comes from the
verb root yarah which means to shoot an arrow. In Hebrew thought,
the success and failure of living a life of sin or righteousness is defined
in terms compared to archery, yet their definitions are completely
opposite each other. Sinning is missing the mark, falling short of the
target; righteous living is hitting the mark with perfect accuracy, not
falling to obtain the goal at which we are aiming. God’s righteous
standard is the commandments of the law. This is the goal at which
our lives are to aim. Scripture defines sin as any failure to obey those
commandments. The penalty for breaking the commandments is
death. But the penalty has been paid for those that put their faith in
Jesus Christ. Those who receive God’s gift of grace have a new
relationship to the law. Before, it condemned us, but now it serves as
an instrument of righteous teaching, not serving to condemn, but
serving to re remind us to obey His commandments in love.