Romans 3:23 reads something like this: "For each and everyone one of us, regardless of what period of history, what generation, or what culture you might have been raised in...this fact remains true... to this very day: everyone of us have sinned, perhaps even now are continuing to sin, and may well find ourselves sinning in our future.
We have this inability and are totally incapable of leading an individual life or lifestyle by our own efforts...that can remotely satisfy and give Glory to a God who so richly deserves it."
It seems this word "sin" has been in a wrestling match with mankind...for quite sometime.
In the Old Testament, in the book of the prophet Isaiah, he too writes of thoughts on sin...both in our own individual lives and how God seems to view it.
A Gleaning from Isaiah 64:1-7
" God, I have not really understood why...why You don't just come down and rip the heavens apart! I would love to see these mountains around me literally shake...because You have arrived!
And your enemies?...would they be trembling or what! It would be like tossing some wood into a hot fire, and watching a pot of water come to the boiling point...would not Your enemies be "feelin' the heat" of Your very Presence?
In the Days of Long Ago, it has been told to us that You did come down...and performed awesome acts...beyond anyone's comprehension. These stories included the very mountains did literally shake...because of Your very Presence.
What I am aware of is this: no one has even imagined, no ear has ever heard, no eye has ever seen...a God like You! God is sure to work with those...who wait and work with...Him!
It is said O God...Your heart is joyous...when we turn and obey Your Commands. And what proof do we have that Your Mighty Commands are having an effect in our lives?...It is found in our daily lifestyles...how we treat You, how we treat others, and how we treat and understand ourselves.
Yet, there is an awareness within me that says You are angry...for we have not chosen the Commands of Your Heart.
Instead, we choose to...sin. And, we do sin in prolonged fashion...constantly trying to justify our actions, and refusing to follow Your Mighty Commands.
And now...look at us. We find ourselves infected, unfit to worship You in any way. Even when we put on display our own good deeds...showing some kindness to someone or going out of our way a little to help someone...these acts we perform are no more than filthy rags ...in Your eyes.
Why? Because of our refusal to turn from the sin in our lives that we continue to be infatuated with. This sin in our lives have become like a strong wind, and when the "random acts of kindness" dry up, we are swept away by the Wind of Sin.
If we take an honest account and really inventory our personal lives, none of us seem to want to spend some time with You...seeking Your face or yielding to prayer. And when I look around, I don't hear or see anyone crying out to You in mercy, either for their own individual lives or for the lives of others. And as far as taking the study of the Sacred Scriptures as a daily nourishment...that is a thing of the past.
We have left You...turned our backs...on You, and now, You hide Your face...from our sin saturated lives."
Conclusion:
So, these two passages from the Sacred Scriptures indicate...sin can be a problem for us right? It is evident we all do it, and the effects of sin are quite various...from one person to the next.
It appears people differ greatly in nature as to the extent of sinfulness in their lives. At the same time there seems to be no difference between "good sin" and "bad sin", ignoring God and His Mighty Commands...is sin.
This question lurks in my own mind: "If we outright refuse and have no concern about living our lives in honor and glory to Him, then are we allowing our lives to be open...to His wrath?"
It also is apparent to me on how defined we are in describing all the variance in sin. I mean we have actual sin, original sin, sins of omission, sins of commission, imputed sins, mortal sin, venial sin...and the list could go on. Oh yea, the "sins of the heart"...that one has to be an important one right?
So how do I define sin and its influence in my own life? Well, here is what I term sin...sin in any of its various forms: "Sin is a deliberate and often time pre-meditated thought, a thought or series of thoughts that have been almost "religiously" attended to...until it becomes an action..a reality in our individual lives. Sin in our lives is usually accompanied with an "attitude", often defiant in nature, and supported with rationale for conducting such an action in our lives. Sin in our lives is nothing more than a willful act to reject what the Sacred Scriptures have commanded us to do, and to go against God and the lifestyle and love He has provided for us. As a result, our lives are unable to glorify Him and help others to embrace Him, giving their lives purpose and meaning."
And I still have to wonder, if we refuse and reject the ancient teachings of our Sacred Scripture, do we open the door ..to His wrath? What is wrath anyway?
We have this inability and are totally incapable of leading an individual life or lifestyle by our own efforts...that can remotely satisfy and give Glory to a God who so richly deserves it."
It seems this word "sin" has been in a wrestling match with mankind...for quite sometime.
In the Old Testament, in the book of the prophet Isaiah, he too writes of thoughts on sin...both in our own individual lives and how God seems to view it.
A Gleaning from Isaiah 64:1-7
" God, I have not really understood why...why You don't just come down and rip the heavens apart! I would love to see these mountains around me literally shake...because You have arrived!
And your enemies?...would they be trembling or what! It would be like tossing some wood into a hot fire, and watching a pot of water come to the boiling point...would not Your enemies be "feelin' the heat" of Your very Presence?
In the Days of Long Ago, it has been told to us that You did come down...and performed awesome acts...beyond anyone's comprehension. These stories included the very mountains did literally shake...because of Your very Presence.
What I am aware of is this: no one has even imagined, no ear has ever heard, no eye has ever seen...a God like You! God is sure to work with those...who wait and work with...Him!
It is said O God...Your heart is joyous...when we turn and obey Your Commands. And what proof do we have that Your Mighty Commands are having an effect in our lives?...It is found in our daily lifestyles...how we treat You, how we treat others, and how we treat and understand ourselves.
Yet, there is an awareness within me that says You are angry...for we have not chosen the Commands of Your Heart.
And now...look at us. We find ourselves infected, unfit to worship You in any way. Even when we put on display our own good deeds...showing some kindness to someone or going out of our way a little to help someone...these acts we perform are no more than filthy rags ...in Your eyes.
Why? Because of our refusal to turn from the sin in our lives that we continue to be infatuated with. This sin in our lives have become like a strong wind, and when the "random acts of kindness" dry up, we are swept away by the Wind of Sin.
If we take an honest account and really inventory our personal lives, none of us seem to want to spend some time with You...seeking Your face or yielding to prayer. And when I look around, I don't hear or see anyone crying out to You in mercy, either for their own individual lives or for the lives of others. And as far as taking the study of the Sacred Scriptures as a daily nourishment...that is a thing of the past.
We have left You...turned our backs...on You, and now, You hide Your face...from our sin saturated lives."
Conclusion:
So, these two passages from the Sacred Scriptures indicate...sin can be a problem for us right? It is evident we all do it, and the effects of sin are quite various...from one person to the next.
It appears people differ greatly in nature as to the extent of sinfulness in their lives. At the same time there seems to be no difference between "good sin" and "bad sin", ignoring God and His Mighty Commands...is sin.
This question lurks in my own mind: "If we outright refuse and have no concern about living our lives in honor and glory to Him, then are we allowing our lives to be open...to His wrath?"
It also is apparent to me on how defined we are in describing all the variance in sin. I mean we have actual sin, original sin, sins of omission, sins of commission, imputed sins, mortal sin, venial sin...and the list could go on. Oh yea, the "sins of the heart"...that one has to be an important one right?
So how do I define sin and its influence in my own life? Well, here is what I term sin...sin in any of its various forms: "Sin is a deliberate and often time pre-meditated thought, a thought or series of thoughts that have been almost "religiously" attended to...until it becomes an action..a reality in our individual lives. Sin in our lives is usually accompanied with an "attitude", often defiant in nature, and supported with rationale for conducting such an action in our lives. Sin in our lives is nothing more than a willful act to reject what the Sacred Scriptures have commanded us to do, and to go against God and the lifestyle and love He has provided for us. As a result, our lives are unable to glorify Him and help others to embrace Him, giving their lives purpose and meaning."
And I still have to wonder, if we refuse and reject the ancient teachings of our Sacred Scripture, do we open the door ..to His wrath? What is wrath anyway?
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