The Greek word for sin actually means to miss the mark. John 3:4 says, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." Therefore, when we do anything that transgresses God’s law, we sin against Him.
The Bible
tells us that we all have sinned; "If we say that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1
John 1:8). When we sin, we are separated from God; "But your iniquities
have separated between you and your God, an your sins have hid his face from
you, that he will not hear." (Isaiah
59:2).
First notice this passage; "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth for sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:13-15).
The first thing that we can do to avoid sin is to understand from whence it comes. How many times have you heard people blame God when bad things happen? This passage tells us that God never causes anyone to sin.
We sin when we give in to our temptations. These temptations come from Satan. He started in the garden and has never stopped. "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning..." (1 John 3:8).
"Love not the world, neither the tings that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (1 John 2:15-16).
When Eve was tempted, she was tempted in all three of these ways. Genesis 3 :6 says that she saw that is was good for food (lust of the flesh), and that it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and that it was to be desired to make one wise (the pride of life).
Knowing how we will be tempted can help us to resist that temptation. We must decide how we are going to react to temptation before we are ever exposed to it.
The only individual who never sinned was the Son of God. But, by some mental preparation, we can greatly increase our chances of resisting temptation. Study God’s Word, to make yourself wise unto salvation (2 Timothy 3:15).
-- Ralph Price – June, 2000 --
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