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SIN - WHAT IS IT?

DANIEL'S CONFESSION - chap 9

Satan in Chains Rev 20.jpg

4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes,and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 

9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 

10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 

16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

WHAT IS SIN?

From the above verses, Daniel is seen confessing His Sin and the Sin of Israel - vs 4, 5, 20. These were ACTS of transgression on Israel's part - note the highlighted portions of the chapter which do not require further commentary as to whether SIN is NATURE, a STATE or CONDITION or if it is the TRANSGRESSION of God's moral law, an ACTION whether outwardly manifested or confined to the thoughts and if you look up Strong's Concordance, most of them are "verbs" or doing words.

 

We believe the Scripture is very clear on the definition of sin, that it is the transgression of God's moral law (1John 3:4) but unfortunately "...there are certain men crept in unawares.." among God's people who are promoting a different definition of sin contrary to the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy and very much in harmony with the "Man of Sin". They teach that Sin IS the human NATURE  you inherited from fallen Adam, that Sin IS a STATE or CONDITION. Some even entertain a hybrid version of  sin as a third option, that it is both a STATE and an ACTION.

  1. Sin is your human nature (a state or condition) - You ARE sin. 

  2. Sin is the transgression of God's MORAL Law - An ACT.

  3. Sin is a combination of (1) & (2) 

  • The truth is, SIN IS NOT your human nature, condition or state.

  • Sin is the transgression gf God's moral Law, the Ten Commandments.

  • SIN and NATURE are two completely different things.

  • Nature is an individual  created by God whether it be an angel, man or woman.

  • Sin is the action the individual commits in rebelling against God.

  • Nature was tainted by the ACT of sin.

  • Nature PREDATED sin and by virtue of this fact alone, puts paid to the lie that NATURE IS SIN.

To understand the difference between SIN and NATURE we need to go to the very beginning when God created the very first living creatures, the angels. Speaking of Lucifer who was first of the cherubs, holy and undefiled:

 

"Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering.... Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” Ezekiel 28:12-15. DD 1.5  GC 493.3 (1911)  

 

LUCIFER'S NATURE - perfect and undefiled was threefold:

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  • 1. His PHYSICAL nature was "perfect in beauty"

  • 2. His INTELLECTUAL nature was "full of wisdom"

  • 3. His MORAL powers "wast perfect in thy ways" 

 

But despite possessing such a perfect nature, Lucifer sinned, he committed an ACT of transgression and fell.

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SIN BEGAN IN HEAVEN

God’s law existed in heaven. "Angels are governed by its principles, and in order for earth to be in harmony with heaven, man also must obey the divine statutes. To man in Eden Christ made known the precepts of the law “when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. ….…” { MB 48.1}  

 

“…God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast [them] down to hell, and delivered [them] into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;” 2Peter 2:4, Rev 12:9.  

 

THE FALL OF LUCIFER - "THOU SHALT NOT COVET" 

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He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 1John 3:8 

​And Sin is the transgression of the Law - 1John 3:4

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“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:  I will ascend above the heights of  the clouds; I will be like the most High.”  Isaiah 14:12-14

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"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.  

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Rev 12:7-9

 

Lucifer committed an ACT of Transgression through CHOICE and became a sinner despite possessing a nature which was undefiled.

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“The sinner is such by his own deliberate choice.” {ST March 9, 1882, par. 3}

  • Thus we have undefiled angelic NATURE committing an ACT of transgression called SIN

  • Neither defines the other.

  • NATURE is not SIN

  • NATURE predated SIN

  • NATURE committed SIN

  • NATURE was tainted by SIN

  • SIN is not NATURE

  • SIN is extraneous to NATURE, it is of external origin and therefore, cannot define nature

  • If an excuse could be found for SIN it would cease to be SIN, i.e. cease to EXIST but NATURE is forever.

THE CREATION OF MAN

"And God said let us make man in our image...  and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul" Genesis 1:26, 2:7

MAN'S NATURE​​

Like the angels, "The nature of man is threefold, and the training enjoined by Solomon comprehends the right development of the physical, intellectual, and moral powers. ...."  Fundamentals of Christian Education p. 57.1 

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  • 1. Man's PHYSICAL nature was made of the "dust of the ground"

  • 2. Man's INTELLECTUAL nature was imparted by "the breath of life" or spirit - Job 33:4

  • 3. Man's MORAL powers were supplied by "the breath of life" or spirit - Job 33:4

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UNDEFILED, PERFECT HUMAN NATURE SINS AGAINST GOD​​

 

Undefiled human nature succumbs to temptation and sins against against God.

"Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me." Isaiah 43:27

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"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Genesis 3:67

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  • Created human nature was perfect and undefiled.

  • Human nature became defiled by the ACT of sinning

  • Human nature is not sin - it committed the ACT of sinning by its own choice!

  • Eve DID something - an ACTION.

  • Eve LOOKED at the fruit.

  • Eve TOOK of the fruit

  • Eve ATE the fruit.

  • Eve GAVE the fruit to Adam

  • Adam TOOK the fruit.

  • Adam did EAT of the fruit.

  • Adam & Eve committed an ACT of transgression - they went against God's word - they coveted.

  • Adam & Eve became sinners.

  • Adam & Eve's human natures were tainted by their sin.

  • They now possessed fallen, sinful, carnal human natures.

  • Their physical form was mortal.

  • Adam & Eve began to die that day.

WHAT DO ADAM & EVE'S CHILDREN INHERIT?

  1. Adam & Eve's children inherit the CONSEQUENCES of Adam & Eve's sin

  2. Adam & Eve's children inherit MORTAL BODIES from their fallen parents.

  3. As a result of these mortal bodies, Adam & Eve's children inherit DEATH.

  4. Adam & Eve's children inherit their parents FALLEN HUMAN NATURE.

  5. As a result of these fallen natures, the children succumb readily to temptation and sin - Romans 3:23

WHAT ADAM & EVE'S CHILDREN DID NOT INHERIT

  1. Adam & Eve's children did NOT inherit Adam's ORIGINAL SIN, i.e. Adam's transgression.

  2. The children are NOT in a state or condition of sin at birth

  3. The children die at birth NOT because they are sinners but because they inherited mortal bodies.

NATURE & SIN ARE SEPARATE & DISTINCT ENTITIES.

  1. NATURE & SIN are separate and distinct entities, neither defines the other.

  2.  NATURE is a person, whether angelic or human, created by God.

  3. NATURE is made up of the PHYSICAL, INTELLECTUAL & MORAL powers - the makeup of the person.

  4. NATURE was originally perfect, holy and undefiled.

  5. NATURE became TAINTED by the ACT of transgression called SIN.

  6. NATURE PREDATED sin

  7. Hence NATURE IS not sin neither is SIN, nature.

HOW DOES THE BIBLE DEFINE SIN?

The Bible says that "... SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW." - 1John 3:4

Paul by the Holy Spirit stated in Romans 7:7 "What shall we say then? is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."

Hence by the knowledge of the law and the transgression of that law Paul knew what sin was.  Sin had nothing to do with Paul's inherited sinful fallen nature except for the predilection his nature had TO sin. The corollary to this of course is ".....: for where no law is, there is no transgression." Rom 4:15  And sin is the transgression of the law 1John 3:4   

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James 2:10-12

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."

Currently focusing on other parts of Daniel & Revelation hence please revisit as page incomplete - thank you

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