Most think of sin as actions. Stealing is a sin, etc. But sin is not
the actions themselves but the tally of those actions. A sin is a record
of a negative action. Sins are scores & statistics that are kept.
Sin is defined in both Hebrew & Greek as "a missing of the mark as
in an archery contest."
2 Corinthians 5:19 says God is no longer
charging anyone with sins. That means God is no longer keeping score.
Jesus took away the sin of the world, meaning the score card, the record
book. So people can still steal & lie, etc. but those things are no
longer defined as sin because the game is over & Jesus has won for
everyone! Because He won for everyone it was just for Him to throw
away the record book. The consequence of the game was that the winner
gets life & the loser gets death. Jesus just wants people to join in
His victory party so they may live.
Do people still do bad
things? Yes. Do people still sin? Only if someone other than God is
keeping score. You do have the option to charge yourself with sin &
feel like a loser or charge others with sin & make them feel like
losers.
Adam lost the game for all mankind thus dooming their
flesh & spirit to death. Jesus took Adam's place in the rematch
& won eternal life for the spirit. One consequence for losing the
first game still stands, death in the flesh for all. Since we ourselves
didn't win & Jesus stepped in & won life for us we have to join
in His victory party to receive life for our spirits. "Anyone who comes
to God must trust that he exists and that He rewards those who seek
Him." So getting saved is saying, "Hey Jesus where's the party? Auooo!"
Remember the father threw a party for the prodigal son & angels
party when someone is saved. "The Kingdom of God is at Hand" aka "It's
Party Time!"
Game 1: Adam vs. The Serpent
Winner: The Serpent
Losers: Adam & all mankind after him
Stakes: The winner got control of the world. The loser dies physically & spiritually.
Exhibition Game: God's People, The Jews vs. The Law
Purpose: To exhibit, by keeping score, that mankind, on their own, cannot win back what Adam lost.
Winners: Those who realized the purpose of the exhibition
Losers: Those who defected to The Law's team
Notes: The only time in history score was being kept by God was while
the law was in effect. Romans 4:15 says, "Where there is no law there is
no sin." Romans 5:13 says, "Sin is not charged when there is no law."
The law was the opponent, Colossians 2:14 & Ephesians 2:15 say the
law was "against mankind" and "stood opposed to mankind."
Game 2: Jesus vs. The Serpent
Winners: Jesus & whoever wants to join in His victory party
Loser: Satan
Stakes: The winner can spiritually resurrect losers of the first game
& give them eternal life in the spirit. The winner also regains
control of the world when He desires to. The loser suffers forever.
Results for mankind of the 2 Games
Mankind can live forever in the spirit because of Jesus' victory if they join in His victory party.
Mankind still dies in the flesh because of Adam's loss.
Losers of the first game can still die spiritually in what is called "the 2nd death" if they never join in Jesus' victory party.
Clarification on what sin is.
Hebrew words tend to have one meaning but many applications. For example the word iniquity means twistedness. It can refer to
a twisted personality/heart, twisted actions, guilt because of twisted
actions, or punishment for twistedness. I presume sin is the same way.
We typically know sin as: a spiritual condition, a fleshly condition,
& sinful actions. I believe sin is also the record of those actions
(as well as the burden/guilt/shame from those actions).
Scripture
says, Christ took away the sins of the world WHEN He came in the flesh
BY the sacrifice of Himself. He has already taken them away. We know
people still perform actions that we would call sin & we know people
still carry the condition(s) of sin. So the sense of sin that Jesus
TOOK AWAY for THE WORLD is the record of sins. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says
God is no longer charging anyone with sins (recording anyone's sins)
& He has reconciled the world to Himself.
The
word forgive in the bible does not mean "to stop being mad" or "to
accept an apology." It is another word that means "take away." When you
are experientially "forgiven" as you are when you are first saved (described in 1 John 1:9) God takes away the condition of sin from your spirit &
you are given a new spirit/identity. He also removes the
burdens/guilt/shame of sin, at least in the moment before you are
tricked into believing it is still there by thinking God still charges
you with sin. I remember feeling the burdens of sin months & months
before I got saved & I remember feeling Him removed those burdens
when I got saved.
God did take away the record of sins for everyone so there is no barrier to keep mankind from approaching God. God
never takes away the actions of sin because that would mean He would
override people's freewill. But because He no longer charges people with
sin, He no longer identifies actions as sin.
God can't take away the condition of sin in the
flesh because of the fall & the flesh is destined to die, though
through the willful renewing of the mind the condition can be improved.
God
will take away the condition of sin in the spirit from those who trust
(have faith in) Him. He will separate them spiritually & in their
identity from sin & the flesh, freeing or delivering them from sin.
Thus they, in their identity, their spirit, are not able to produce
sinful actions (1 John 3:6,9).
God still deals the
people's actions. He isn't blind to helping us but He holds nothing we
do against us. He only wants to work things to people's good. God is not
keeping score. The game/war is over. God doesn't care about your
performance, He only cares about your person. He knows that your actions
can harm your person. Remember he is our "Father" & our "Wonderful Counselor."
The actions of sin point to
the condition of sin which points to God as the solution. The good news
is God is not counting your actions of sin against you & He is
willing to remove the condition from your spirit by giving you a new
everlasting spirit.
