Anything that falls short of God’s glory is sin. Sin is lawlessness. God declares, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Lawlessness is defined as “a state of disorder due to a disregard of the law,” This results in evil, defiance, rebellion, unruly and unholy acts that are offensive to God.
There is absolutely no doubt that we are living in a “sin defiled” world where sin seems to be the order of the day for some “who neither feared God nor respected man” (Luke 18:2). Sin means “to miss the mark.” And man sins because he is a sinner from his birth. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). “Sin,” “transgression,” and “iniquity” are all mentioned in the Scriptures. And all three words have the basic meaning, yet with a somewhat slight variation in specific meaning.
Transgression is “presumptuous” sin. That is, choosing rather to intentionally disobey God’s law by doing what is right and proper. Iniquity on the other hand is “willfully” committing sin. In other words, a premeditated choice to sin and delight in doing so. For example, King David committed the sin of adultery with Bathsheba. This was both a presumptuous and willful act.
At the outset of his confession, David mentions transgression, iniquity, and sin. He prayerfully asked God, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:1-3). Confession is good for the soul. And it is what God requires.
The world is not striving to be a better place by any means. And according to Scripture, iniquity shall abound and “while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). This is the sad state of affairs existing our world today.
Man will also be “missing the mark” as long as he fails to realize that he does not have to continue living in sin. God has made the divine provision for his forgiveness and security in the person of Jesus Christ and His shed blood and death on the Cross. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Eternal life is a “present possession” of anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, and with the assurance of spending that life in heaven after leaving this earthly scene.
God is fully aware of the sinful state of affairs in the world today, and how it began by the disobedience of the very first man God created. The Bible tells us, “Therefore just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). “All sinned” meaning everyone has fallen short of God’s glory because of the sin question. And also, “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; No one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, no not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). Here, God makes very clear the plight of mankind without Jesus Christ as Savior.
God is love. God is also merciful, gracious, and kind toward us. And it is not His will that any of us should perish. For that reason He has provided the means whereby we can be reconciled to Him, completely forgiven and be on our way to heaven. The apostle Paul wrote reminding the Ephesian Christians, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7).
This is indeed the Christian’s hope and expectation. God says it and it is true. Wouldn’t you rather accept God’s offer mercy and grace by repenting of your sin and trusting His Son Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? May God give you the wisdom and courage to do so for Christ’s sake. Amen.