What is Sin?

I was asked "What is Sin?" Over the past year I have studied extensively what sin is. I have looked into the Hebrew & Greek meanings, & I have looked at every context where the words sin, sinner, & transgression appear in the New Testament. Here is my partially off the cuff answer.

#1 In the old covenant sin was breaking the laws that God gave.
Romans 5:13 says, "Sin is not charged when there is no law" & Romans 4:15 says, "Where there is no law there is no transgression/sin." Jesus ended the law at the cross (Colossians 2:14, Ephesians 2:15). God no longer charges anyone with sin (2 Corinthians 5:19). This type of charged or imputed sin is gone. Christ took sin away, along with the law, when He died on the cross.

#2 Sin is a condition that causes unloving actions.
The condition of sin exists in the spirit for non-Christians, their spirit is dead (separated from knowing God). For Christians God has made their spirit alive and it no longer has the condition of sin. The born again spirit of a Christian does not have the sin condition (1 John 3:9,5:18). The condition of sin remains for all mankind in the flesh (physical body & mind) therefore Christians can still behave unlovingly (Romans 7:17). Christians know God and have the option to "live by the spirit" by "putting their mind on the spirit." Doing so becomes easier if you allow God to "renew your mind" with His love and His truth.

#3 Sin is an unloving action
This sin is partially dependent upon who is counting. God will never charge Christians with sin because He identifies them by the spirit and not by the flesh. Scripture uses the term sin to refer to something harmful we do to another human being, a Christian can sin against another person (only through the flesh) but cannot sin against God alone. Sinning against (harming) another Christian is considered as acting unlovingly toward Jesus (1 Corinthians 8:12, Acts 9:4).

Non-Christians aren't charged with sin by God in this life but He "stores up wrath" for them based on their actions if they ultimately reject Jesus. He releases this wrath at judgment.

You can count sins against yourself or others (James 4:12,17) but doing so doesn't cause God to count sins, it only affects how we live and treat others. Christians do not need to count their own sins or be conscious of "is this sin or is that sin?" (Hebrews 10:1-2). They also don't need to count sin against other people. God does not do this and they should follow His example for the benefit of everyone.

Summary of What Sin is Today

• For everyone sin is a condition in the body and mind which causes unloving actions.
• For non-Christians sin is a spiritual condition that prevents them from having a relationship with God. It is easily cured by trusting in Jesus.
• For the Christian sin does not exist apart from the body & mind. God never charges them with it & their spirit cannot produce it because it is born in pure holiness in the likeness of God (Ephesians 4:24).
• For everyone sin is an optional label you can put on unloving actions to hold those actions against yourself or others. Sin is an unnecessary label for actions unless:
1. You are recognizing what Jesus took for you on the cross.
2. You are pointing a non-Christian to the fact that they have the spiritual condition of sin so they will come to trust Jesus for the cure.
3. You are trying to make a Christian aware of their harmful behavior towards other people so that they will walk by the spirit and not by the flesh.

The Sins of the World Taken Away & The Wrath of God

Sins Taken Away
Behold Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29)

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 says, "God gave us the good work of reconciliation. This work is to tell people that 'God was in Christ on the cross reconciling the world to Himself and He is not charging anyone with sin because of it.' He has given us this message of reconciliation. We beg you on behalf of Christ, 'Be reconciled to God.'" The message of reconciliation is for everyone. God has reconciled all people to Himself, however this scripture makes it clear that people must be reconciled to God. Mutual reconciliation is required for salvation.

This begs the question, "Why do people need to be reconciled to God if their sins are taken away and God is not charging (imputing) them with sin?" Sin is not the primary issue of salvation, relationship is. Jesus said "eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son whom He sent" (John 17:3). Before the cross sin was a barrier to knowing God and entering into a relationship with Him. Reconciled means God repaired His relationship with mankind & that He is making relationship with Himself fully available to all. God did everything He could to make mutual reconciliation possible. Our only part is to be reconciled to Him, which is to simply trust Jesus. People do not need to "turn from sin," as is falsely taught, to be saved. Sin is taken away. There is nothing to turn from. How can God require you to turn from something that is not there?

Jesus "took away the sins of THE WORLD" (John 1:29). "Jesus came to earth to take away sins" (1 John 3:5). "Jesus came in the flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). Notice that the last two talk about how Jesus came in the flesh, past tense, to take away sins and that sin was "put away" by "the sacrifice of Himself." It is obvious by those scriptures when He took away sin. He took away sin at the cross where He sacrificed Himself. Jesus taking away sin is not a future event but a past event. Any other explanation means Jesus did not "take away the sins of THE WORLD" because they still have sin now and they will have it later when they are judged. Thus sin was never at any point taken away for the world.

The world is the world. "God so loved the world" does not mean "God only loved those who would receive His love." No, He loves us all. Likewise He took away the sins of the world all at once on the cross when "God was in Christ" and Jesus "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." I'm not saying people have salvation if they don't receive it. I am saying that God does not impute sin to anyone in this life. He reconciled the world to Himself, meaning He did everything He could do on His part. That was His loving & wise choice so people can have no spiritual barrier in receiving what He offers.

Wrath Now?
Storing Up Wrath
Romans 2:4 says, "the kindness of God leads you to changing your mind (repentance)." God isn't pouring out His wrath on the lost but instead He is pouring out His kindness so that they might change their minds about Him and trust Him. It is those with hard hearts who refuse to change their minds to trust Christ who store up future wrath for themselves (Romans 2:5). People store up wrath for the day of judgement. It does not say God is bringing wrath to them currently. He wants all to come to trust Jesus and He draws them with His grace which is His loving-kindness.

1 Thessalonians 2:15-16 speaks of the Jews who "killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets," who "are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men," who "drove Paul and His co-workers out, preventing them from speaking the gospel to Gentiles." Because of these people's perpetual rejection of Jesus and their opposition to others hearing of the good news about Him the scripture says, "The wrath did come upon them for the end." The wrath is "the wrath to come" earlier spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 1:10. In other words "they stored up wrath for themselves for the day of judgment (the end)." Referring to this approaching future day of wrath Revelation 11:18 says, "The Lord's wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged."

"He who trusts in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not trust the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36). John said this before the cross when mankind was still under the law. God charged people with sin and poured out wrath while the law was in effect. On the cross God abolished the law and reconciled the world to Himself. Alternately the word "abides" is sometimes translated as "waits." Considering that most of the references of God's wrath in the New Testament speaks of "the wrath to come," it can be fair to translate this as "the wrath of God waits on him." Coupling this with what Romans 2 says we can potentially take this to mean that the wrath of God waits, is stored up, for those who reject Jesus.

God's wrath regarding mankind is past tense & future tense. He expressed wrath before the cross, He expressed wrath on the cross, and He will express wrath at the judgment. He stores up wrath for those who have yet to trust Him. In His kindness He attempts to draw people to Himself so they will be spared from the wrath to come. "The Lord is patient, not wishing for anyone to perish but for all to change their minds to trusting Him" (2 Peter 3:9).

Children of Wrath?
The term "children of wrath" in Ephesians 2:3 doesn't mean children of God's wrath. The scripture was talking about how they "indulged in the desires of the flesh and of the mind." In doing those things they produced wrath (anger, destructive & harmful behavior). Ephesians 5:6 & Colossians 3:6 say "the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience." Jesus spoke similarly in John 8:44, "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father." Likewise children of wrath/sons of disobedience do the desires of their "father," wrath. They are harmful and destructive, they have no respect for God. Romans 2:8 also talks about those who "obey wrath." His wrath is coming and will arrive at judgment for those who reject Him as Father.

God's Wrath Against The Unrighteousness of Men
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18). Notice this does not say His wrath is against the men but against that which the men produce (ungodliness and unrighteousness). God seeks to deliver the abused and the abusers from harmful actions. Acts 3:26 tells us, "God raised up Jesus and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways." Paul is a perfect example of this, he suppressed the truth but he was rescued from the wrath to come by Jesus (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

Summary
"Jesus came in the flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). Jesus put sin away for everyone. He does not count sins against anyone in this life in order to make relationship with Himself fully available to everyone. Those who trust Jesus have their sin taken away permanently and God will never be angry at them (Isaiah 54:9-10). God will never have anger or wrath towards His children. Those who reject Jesus have God's wrath "stored up for them" & their sins are taken back out at judgment. "Blessed are the people whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin" (Romans 4:8), those people are His beloved children.


Related Posts
The Truth About Sin- A brief post that summarizes what I talk about here.
Judgment In Light of Sins Taken Away- Looks specifically at the judgment scene in Revelation 20.
Psalm 5 in the Light of The Messiah- Speaks about the way God looks at the world after the cross

The Truth About Sin

If You, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand? (Psalm 130:3)

Jesus came in the flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26).

God does not count sins against anyone in the world during this age. (2 Corinthians 5:19)

Those who refuse to trust Jesus store up wrath for themselves for the day of judgement in the next age. The sins that Jesus "put away" are returned to them. (Romans 2:5)

Those who trust Jesus enter into an eternal covenant of peace with Him that He made through the blood of His cross. (Colossians 1:20, Matthew 26:28, Isaiah 54:9-10)

To those who trust Him God says, "I will never remember your sins and lawless deeds" (Hebrews 10:17, 8:12). God takes their sins away forever (Romans 11:27, Psalm 103:12), freeing them from sin (Romans 6:6,7,18,22, 8:2), cleansing and purifying them from their sins forever (Hebrews 1:3, 13:11-12, 1 John 1:7,9).

Blessed is the person whose sin the Lord will never take into account! He will never charge that person with sin! (Romans 4:8)

My post The Sins of the World Taken Away & The Wrath of God goes into more detail.

What is the correct way to speak against sin?

Disarm the shame it causes by telling of God's love and His removal of sin as an issue between God & men. That is the gospel, and as people walk with our truly loving Father they will become more loving towards others and themselves. God's kindness causes us to change our minds about the way we see things and how we live life (Romans 2:4). God incites the change and we cooperate with Him to bring about the change. Acts 3:26 tells us "God raised up Jesus and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your sinful ways."

Aside from knowing that Jesus took away sin a consciousness of sin doesn't do anyone any good. If you see people being hurt confront the person who is causing the pain (Paul did this a lot in his letters). If the person is hurting himself follow the Spirit's guidance and offer the him help, reasoning with him as to why what he is doing is harmful. Love keeps no record of wrongs. God doesn't count sin against anyone (2 Corinthians 5:19) but He still protects the people He loves. Jesus didn't run through neighborhoods screaming "Stop sinning!" That doesn't work, love works, God is love.

Three of The Most Widespread & Destructive Lies Christians Believe

• Lie:  Christians have to confess sins to God or they break fellowship with God
  
• 1 John 1 wasn't written for Christians. It was an explanation of how to be saved using inclusive language. John starts off this section of scripture saying "Now this is the message we have heard from Jesus and announce to you." The message is about God and how to be saved in verses 5b-10. (For an in-depth explanation see my post Inseparable & Unforsakable, Fellowship Never Broken, See also Forgiven and Loving)
  
• Fellowship with God cannot be broken by anything but perception. God counts sins against no one (2 Corinthians 5:19).
• Lie: The Holy Spirit Convicts Christians of Sin
  
• Nowhere does scripture say the Holy Spirit convicts Christians of sin, it says (in John 16) that He convicts those who don't trust Jesus of sin & that He convicts (convinces) saints of their righteousness. Convict and condemn are synonyms, there is no condemnation in Christ.
• Lie:  We should look at David as an example of how to live the Christian life.
• David wasn't a Christian. He wasn't born again because of the blood of Jesus. David was a man of faith who trusted God and he will be in heaven. But he didn't have a new born spirit, he didn't have the Holy Spirit living inside of Him, he didn't have the wonderful promises and realities of the new covenant of Christ. We shouldn't take his shame laden psalms and aspire to view things like he did. Christ made a HUGE difference when He died for us. (For more on this see my Psalms in the Light of The Messiah series).

I used to believe all three of these lies. I learned the heart of God & studied the scriptures and found these things to all be false and horribly devaluing of the blood of Christ & of us. We've been sold a pile of lies that empower sin, devalue us, and put conditions on God's love.

Why I Will Never Surrender to God

I just don't like it when people use the term "surrender" when talking about God but I keep running into people using it.

The word "surrender" is not used once in the New Testament. I've never heard it used positively in the secular world unless evil surrenders to good in a battle. We Christians are not evil! We are the loved, righteous, holy, perfected children of God! The first definition of surrender on Google is "Cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority." We are not at war with God! He is our friend, not our enemy!

Some use the word "surrender" instead of the word "submit" but that still doesn't sit right with me. Look how this phrase changes. "Wives submit to your husbands" turns into "Wives surrender to your husbands." Sounds sick and violent to me. Side note:  The word "submit" in the bible is best translated as cooperate. It does not mean "utterly obey," as so often taught. If it did then "Submit to one another" would be senseless.

The great myth of performance based religion is that we are supposed to give our lives to God but the fact of grace is that God gives His life to us. We live by Him & with Him, not for Him. We always have His power and presence.

I hate that religion turns our loving Father into a competing force who blasts us until we give up. It teaches that God's bullets are conviction. Convict is a synonym for condemn and there is no condemnation in Christ! Scripture never says God will convict His children of sin. It only says He will convince them of righteousness. God will never guilt trip you. Don't feel righteous? It is ungodly for a Christian to feel unrighteous. God never causes you to feel that way. Empathy and compassion are godly, conviction is not.

We are in Christ. In Christ there is no sin (1 John 3:5). Stop identifying yourself by the flesh. Christ didn't bear the guilt of your sin just to have a reason to get revenge on you and make your life miserable by guilt tripping you every day. He took your sin away forever. He won't charge you with it. He doesn't even remember it. You aren't a bag of bones. You are God's everlasting & ever-loved spirit child! God is your Father not your foe. I will never surrender to God because I am on His side & Christ has already won the war.

See Also:  Surrender or Submission? Defeat or Victory?

Holy

God is Holy
Holy means pure, unmixed, or set apart. When speaking of God it refers to His purity, that there is no evil found in Him. It also means God is set apart, not in the physical sense but that He is special & unique, there is no one like Him. God is special, wonderful and to be highly favored. Sometimes holy refers to God's trustworthiness, that He is unmixed with falsehood & deceit. God's "holy name" refers to the pure goodness and trustworthiness of His character. In these meanings we can see how calling God "holy" is a form of praise.

“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?" (Exodus 15:11)

God Called Things Holy
Many times holy means special to God, something He holds dear or as important. In the old covenant there were many inanimate objects, animals, gatherings, and places that were holy (set apart, special, purified for use). What God considers special is important because He is wise and kind. God set apart certain things and practices as holy in the old covenant because they are symbols of the holy man Jesus the Messiah, His beloved Son.

Jesus is Holy
Holy and Messiah (Christ) are actually similar terms. The Father, David, Peter, Paul, John, & even demons called Jesus "The Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24, Acts 2:27, 1 John 2:20). Messiah literally means "The Anointed One" which is "The Chosen One." He is The Chosen King, The Chosen Priest, The Chosen Spokesman, The Chosen Mediator between God and mankind. Jesus is special & unique. Jesus the Messiah is, in regards to living beings, the "Holy of Holies," "The Most Holy Being."

The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is The Unique Spirit of God, The Pure Spirit of God. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God but He is also the first born among many children, God has many sons and daughters. Likewise The Holy Spirit is the Unique Spirit of God even though all of God's children have holy spirits themselves. We are united with God and one with Him yet, like a married couple, He is still uniquely God and we are still uniquely us.

Saints are The Holy People of God

God calls His children "saints" which simply means "holy people." 2 Thessalonians 1:10 tells us that "God's holy people" are all those who have trusted Him. We are holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12) & He calls us His holy temple (1 Corinthians 3:17). We are God's spiritual children, born by His spirit when we trust Jesus. Our spirit is born holy. We are "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24).

God Alone is Holy?
Revelation 15:4 says, "God alone is holy" but the bible calls other people holy, including all of God's children. How is this possible? One simple word, "in." God's people are "in God" they are "in Christ." Colossians 3:3 says we are "hidden with Christ in God." Jesus' prayer recorded in John 17 came true, we are "one in the Father and the Son," "He is in us and we are in Him." Christ is a body, Jesus is the head of that body, those who trust Him are the rest of that body. Just as my hand is me and a part of me so too are we parts of the body of Christ and we are Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). We are "one body and one Spirit" with God (Ephesians 4:4).

The Holy Bible
The scriptures are called holy in Romans 1:2. This indicates that they are special, unique, and pure.

God's Holiness and Anger
So many people speak of God's holiness as if it were His reason for offense, anger, and wrath. I've even heard people contrast His holiness with His love! God is love. His holiness is not separate from His love. Holy does not mean 'quick to anger' or 'easily offended' as so many teach.

God is not an immature religious nut who considers himself so "pure" that He gets angry at the sight of something just because He doesn't like it. God is love. Scripture defines love as selfless (1 Corinthians 13:5). God is not irrationally bias towards things. He has reasons. He sees and knows if there is something ultimately harmful in something. He opposes things that will drive people away from Him or make them feel farther from Him than they are. God's holiness does not get offended but His compassion burns to protect those He loves like any good father's would.

Offend means "to cause anger in." While there are times where God gets angry and severe in scripture nowhere does scripture say "God was offended" or that God's holiness was offended. Scripture never uses the word "offended" to describe God at all. It only says that we are the ones who get offended at Him! (See Matthew 13:57 & Mark 6:3) Jesus said, "Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me” (Matthew 11:6, Luke 7:23).

God seeks to protect His holy name (reputation of His purely good character) because anything said against His good character would cause people to not trust Him. Those who don't trust Him cannot experience His love or be aware of His goodness. He seeks to protect His name for our sake. He is "jealous for His holy name" (Ezekiel 39:25) because He is the only true God. Knowing Him is the best thing for everyone. Serving fake gods or living without Him is of no benefit and is in fact the worst thing for anyone.

God, as love, does not take into account wrongs suffered (1 Corinthians 13:5). God does not count sins against anyone (2 Corinthians 5:19). One amazing thing about God's love is that He seeks to save the abused and the abusers. He protects His friends and loves His enemies into friendships. Paul is a perfect example of this. He went from being a murderer of God's people to a lover and helper of God's people. God said in Hosea 11:9, perhaps foreshadowing Jesus who said He did not come to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17),  "I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath."

"Jesus came in the flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). Jesus put sin away for everyone. He does not count sins against anyone in this life in order to make relationship with Himself fully available to everyone. Those who trust Jesus have their sin taken away permanently and God will never be angry at them (Isaiah 54:9-10). God will never have anger or wrath towards His children. Those who reject Jesus have God's wrath "stored up for them" & their sins are taken back out at judgment. "Blessed are the people whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin" (Romans 4:8), those people are His children, His holy children.

God is so holy that He passes His holiness onto His children. He takes those who were ordinary & filthy and makes them pure & perfect forever (Hebrews 10:14).


Scriptures Showing the Various Meanings of Holy

• Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy (special/pure) ground” (Exodus 3:5).
  • God's manifested presence is what makes the ground holy.
• Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (pure, specially set apart). (Exodus 20:8)
• “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘ Holy (specially set apart) to the Lord.’ (Exodus 28:36)
• The Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.’” (Leviticus 10:3)
  • God is special, wonderful and to be highly favored.
• “You shall not profane (pollute) My holy (pure) name, but I will be sanctified (spoken of as pure) among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you (sets you apart and purifies) (Leviticus 22:32)
• Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “ Because you have not trusted Me, to treat Me as holy (special/pure/trustworthy- unmixed with falsehood & deceit) in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” (Numbers 20:11-12)
• For you are a holy (special/set apart) people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6)
• There is no one holy (unique) like the Lord (1 Samuel 2:2)
• For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name (trustworthy character). (Psalm 33:21)

Mistranslation of Words in The Bible

Many words are poorly translated in the Bible because of the lens the translators look through. Pretty well all of them look through an institutional or authoritative lens (concerning men). I think it is fine to say, "This word was translated wrong. It does not mean what the authors intended." Just because we see a word in the Bible does not mean it is the right word, a good word, or a word to defend. I don't think Christianeze is helpful especially when the original words in the text were common words of the times and not special, exclusive, religious, or spiritual words.

Most words that you'd only hear in church are translated wrong and are common words and should be translated as such. The Spirit will teach truth but the Bible warns so much about false teaching because lies told as truth blind you to the real truth. That is a fact and millions have been deceived. I never intend to fight about words but to expose the truth. Improper word usage can leave you confused (usually unknowingly) and even lead to poor choices and beliefs.

The King James Version translators had a rule from King James and Anglican Archbishop Richard Bancroft to "use The Old Ecclesiastical Words," that "the Word Church is not to be translated Congregation etc." They wanted the words used by the organized church to be used in the translation to validate themselves to the people who will now have the Bible available to read. Before this "authorized version" came about several people who translated scripture into English were murdered for doing so. Interesting that one of them, William Tyndale, used "congregation" instead of "church" in his translation.

Most translations follow the KJV in one degree or another and because institutional churches still stand today we get the same ecclesiastical words in our new translations. Protestants retranslated the words "bishop" and "presbytery" which are found in the KJV because those words don't apply to protestantism, they aren't protestant "positions of authority" so there was no need for them to use these words to back themselves up for having those positions. Of course they still retained the words pastor & deacon in their scriptures because their lens supports their non-biblical hierarchical authority system that displaces Christ.

Most words in scripture, are regular words defined by context. English translators took these common, neutral words and chose to translate them into special words that existed in the church systems of their era. Some mistranslations are intentional or started out that way and some remain because of ignorance. Be assured that the translators do know the real meanings of these words but their bias or lens keeps them from translating them properly.

Preach
One outrageous example of translators bias is how the Greek word behind "preach" means "proclaim" or "announce." It has been translated as the special word "preach" when referring to Jesus or the apostles but when "common men" who were healed by Jesus "preach" the translators chose to use the word "proclaim." They should use proclaim or announce in every case but they decided, because of their authoritative lens, to only use the word "preach" when referring to the "special" men and not with the "common" men. There is no justification for this distinction. It is simply the biased lens they look through. From what I've seen intentional or unintentional lies make it much much harder to trust God because they hide His trustworthiness.

Doctrine
A doctrine is "a teaching." I wouldn't need a doctrine about my wife because I just have a relationship with her. Since God is invisible and relates to many people teachings about Him are useful. Doctor is an old religious word for "teacher" so doctrine is a religious word for "teaching." I'd rather not use the word "doctrine" because it conjures up the idea of overly intellectual academic facts or beliefs that don't really affect how we live (even if they should) that are meant to be argued about. Some view the word "doctrine" as spiritual, official, established, and true but it only means "a teaching," one that can be true, false, or mixed.

Ministers
The only flip-flop translation I can think of is minister. Today we think of minister as a leader but the Greek word it was translated from simply means "servant" which is the opposite! Someone grows up in a church & hears the word minister being used only for leaders so when they go to read the Bible and see the word minister they think of the leader guy at the church building and not a servant. I don't think God is the author of such confusion.

Common Mistranslations, etc.
Faith - Trust
Believe - To Trust
Forgive - Remove A Burden, Take Away, Set Free
Forgiveness - Freedom, Removal
Grace - Favor, Loving Favorable Opinion
Gospel - Good News
Fear - Revere, Respect, Worship
Confess (in 1 Jn 1:9) - Agree, Say the Same Thing As Another
Repent - Change your mind
Repentance - Change of mind
Convict - Convince
Righteous - Right With Relationally, Guiltless
Justified - Made Right With, Made Blameless

Minister - Servant (not an authoritative position)
Pastor - Shepherd (not an authoritative position)
Elder - Older Person (not an authoritative position)
Deacon - Servant (not an authoritative position)
Bishop - Overseer, Guardian (not an authoritative position)
Evangelist - One who proclaims good news
Apostle - Delegate, One Sent on Behalf of another
Prophet - Spokesman
Ministry - Service
Church - Assembly
Ordain - Recognize
Doctrine - A Teaching
Preach - Proclaim or Announce
Sanctuary, Altar - Not Found in the New Testament
Sermon, Pulpit, Surrender, Revival, Rededicate - Do not Appear in the Bible

Devil - Adversary
Angel - Messenger
Prophecy - Message from God
Prophesy - Speak from God
Baptize - Immerse
Believer - One who Trusts
Faithful - Trustworthy
Hypocrite - Actor, Pretender
Heresy - Sect
Scripture - A Writing
Holy - Pure
Saint - Holy person, Pure person
Sanctify - Purify
Sanctification - Purification

Related Posts
The Problem with Mistranslations
How "Preach" is Used with Bias in Translating the Bible
All Posts on Mistranslations

The Meaning of the Word 'Religion' in the Bible

The Greek word translated "religion," as found in the letter of James, means "worship or adherence that is outwardly evident."

James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." Visiting people is an outward thing. A stain is something someone can see. To be unstained means people don't see "the world's" stains on you.

The same Greek word is also used in Acts 26:5, "I lived as a Pharisee, the strictest sect of our religion."

The word religion, as used in the Bible, is an outward identification. You look and act like a Jew if you are Jewish. You act like a Christian, love others and exhibit good character, if you are a Christian. That very thing of showing others that you belong to Jesus is what James writes about in his letter when talking about faith and works.

So in the first century "religion" was something you showed not something you told. Jews looked and dressed a certain way. They could be seen observing Old Testament ceremonies and rituals. James was saying Christians are identified by love, compassion, and character; the real meat of life rather than the lifeless soggy bread of rituals.

Jesus said, "All men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)

Religion is a neutral word both in the Bible and in today's English. It, like most words in scripture, is a regular word defined by context.

Psalm 6 in the Light of The Messiah

O Lord, do not correct me in Your anger, Nor discipline me in Your wrath. (v1)
The blood of Christ spilt on the cross allows us to enter into a covenant of permanent peace with God (Matthew 26:28, Colossians 1:20). In this covenant God swears to never be angry with His children (Isaiah 54:9-10). He will never have wrath for them. His kindness is what leads us to change our minds for the better (Romans 2:4).

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak; Heal me, O Lord, because I am terrified (v2-3)
You never need to beg God for His favor, graciousness, grace, or healing. Because of Jesus God has given you everything you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) & has already blessed you with every spiritual blessing that exists (Ephesians 1:3). As we grow to understand all the things He has provided for us through our loving Lord & Savior Jesus Christ His perfect love will deliver us from all our fears (1 John 4:18). We will also see the power of His love compensate for and counteract our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).

“O Lord, you will not correct me in your anger, nor will you discipline me in Your wrath.

You have been gracious to me, O Lord, your strength fills in the holes of my weaknesses and builds strong towers upon them.
You are here Lord. You heal me and deliver me from my fears. You have rescued me and saved me because of your lovingkindness.
I will make mention of your death and give thanks to you so others may live because of you.

I rest in you and you comfort me in my tears no matter how plentiful they become.
Your truth brings youthful life to my eyes so that I may see the elaborate niceties of your love.

You hear my prayers, you keep me safe, and you offer grace even to those who desire to harm me.
You seek to deliver them from their shame and to turn them from their hurtful ways.”

Part 5 in a Series

Our True Identity & True Victory

As a Christian God does not identify you by your behavior but by the fact that you have a reborn spirit, that you are His child. God's children have been "perfected for all time" (Hebrews 10:14). You are perfect in God's eyes and God's eyes are the ones that count not our human eyes that judge everything based on behavior.

Romans 10:4 tells us, "Jesus Christ is the end of the law for everyone who trusts Him." 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." We still do harmful things but Jesus took sin away, He nailed it to the cross with the law.

"Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. Everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. We know that no one who is born of God sins; but Jesus who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him." (1 John 3:5-6,9; 5:18)

That is talking about you Christians, your spirit (the only part of you that is born of God) is perfect and sinless. That is what it means to be a child of God. The bible says to not regard anyone, including yourself, according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16). While my flesh still produces harmful actions I am perfect. I am sinless. Just like Jesus prayed for me to be in John 17:11 I am one with God. If you are a child of God you are too. 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, "Because Jesus rose from the dead we are not in our sins!!" We are IN CHRIST.

Your victory is Christ's victory. He has already won. You just need to grow in understanding of His love so you can join in His victory party. Your mind doesn't have to be fully straight & your heart doesn't have to be strong. He won for the harassed and helpless. Join me & celebrate in Jesus's victory party!


Related Posts:
God's Old Target, Our Own Targets, Jesus's Victory Party
Sin? Forgetaboutit!

Freedom from Struggling with Sin

The actual struggle most have is not with sin but with their perception of what sin is and how God feels about their behavior.

If you think you have to repent, say you're really sorry and promise not to do something again, and ask God to forgive you then you don't understand what Christ bought for you on the cross.

God does not count people's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19). No matter what you do He doesn't get angry with you, He doesn't break fellowship with you, He doesn't love you any less.

So many fail because they think it is their job to succeed. Jesus already won the victory over sin. You only defeat it when you take part in Christ's victory party. The bible says many times that we are free from sin. You only live that freedom if you believe it is there. I live it and my spiritual life is indescribably wonderful because I don't try to improve myself, I just bask in The Father's love for me and my behavior is transformed as a side-effect.

Freedom doesn't come from perfect behavior but from properly placed trust. Christian your freedom is a fact. You experience freedom by trusting in God's love for you. His love is unconditional. His love for you is not dependent on your behavior, if you ask for forgiveness, if you ever read your bible. His loves passes all understanding because we think we have to earn love. Jesus fulfilled every condition for you. Believe it and live it. If you don't you will always fall & always fail.

While my flesh still causes me to behave in harmful ways I am indeed free from sin. My identity is in my spirit, not in my flesh. When you understand & believe this you can be free from sin while in this body. The experience of that freedom doesn't come from perfect behavior but from trust in God & what He has done for you.

Letting God Love You First

Good News Flash:  Life isn't about you loving God. Life is about God loving you.

Don't base your life, your personal value, & your faith upon your behavior. If you do you will try to come to a point where you feel like you deserve God's love. You don't have to earn His love. His love is unconditionally & freely given. God never departs from His children & God always loves you more than you know.

You can't force yourself to love Jesus but you don't have to. Stop trying. If you are God's child and feel condemned reading the bible then there is something you don't understand about His love. We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). That means if you don't understand how He loves you first then you will not love back & you have no reason to. Loving God is not an obligation to fulfill. He knows you fully and He loves you fully.

Your thoughts & feelings lie to you if they tell you anything that makes you think or feel that you are less loved by Him. God wants you to know that how you feel is not a measuring stick for how much He loves you or how much He approves of you. If we could feel how much God really loves us we would explode! God loves us that much! Everyone always underestimates God's love. The bible literally says that His love is too wonderfully huge for us to fully understand (Ephesians 3:19).

Don't compare yourself to others and certainly don't think that all the commands in the bible apply directly to you right now. Stop thinking that you need to be doing something more. Stop putting expectations on yourself. God doesn't value you based on your works but by the fact that you are His child. You stand in God's way of renewing your mind when you try to fight. "It is God who works in you to desire and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13).

God does not count anything you do against you (2 Corinthians 5:19). You can't fail God anymore than a newborn can fail his or her parents. Don't base how you feel about your life on your behavior. Trust Jesus's truly unconditional love for you. He will help you discover more of it. He loves you as much as the Father loves Jesus & as much as Jesus loves the Father (John 15:9, 17:23).