Sin and Sins

[~candice~]

I was reading a passage in James 1 today, about sin(s)...

James 1 (NASB)

13Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

14But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.

15Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

16Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

which got me thinking about the difference between sin and sins.

Do the below definitions sound right?

...in the great majority of cases in the New Testament I think the word sin is used in its singular form to designate that element in human nature which each of us inherits by the very fact of being a descendant of fallen Adam and this predisposes each of us to rebellion against the law of God as we mature, converting us from a state of innocence to one of guilt. The situation has been epitomized by saying that in Adam, man made human nature sinful; thereafter human nature made man sinful. In short, sin is a kind of root from which arises all that is evil in human nature.

In the New Testament sins are the fruits of the root which is sin. I believe that this root, sin, is rather like a disease, an inherited disease which corrupts in due course not merely man's spiritual life but even his thinking processes. Theologians refer to the latter as the noetic effects of sin. We shall explore this further.

from http://custance.org/old/man/7ch1.html 180809.

It makes me wonder whether it is sin or sins referred to in Romans 3 and 6?

Romans 3:22-24 (NASB)

22even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

We all have sin because we are all born of man, and sin is passed down via the seed from Adam. So does this passage mean that we all have sin, or that we all commit sins? Trying to think about this and Ps 51 at the same time where David says that he sinned from birth... is this the same thing? Sin or sins?

Romans 6:23 (NASB)

23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Are we deserving of death because of sin or sins? Is it sin that seperates us from God, or sins? Jesus did not have sin since he was not born of man.

It was my understanding (limited understanding... I could be very wrong!) that lust lead to sins (plural)? Another question about the James passage... the word lust in greek means strong desire, where does this desire come from? Does it come from the sin nature, and if so, does God determine what desires are predominant in our sin nature... and if not, where do these desires come from? Surely we don't choose for ourself which sinful desires we will struggle with (or do we?) .

[PhoenixJLD]

I agree that sin is the illness passed down to every human being, and sins are the actions we commit as a result of that sinful nature, which are contrary to the will of God. When Paul says, "for all have sinned," I believe he must be referring to sin - singular. Think about babies who die as a result of abortion or miscarriage. They were never born, and how could they have committed sins? They might be an exception, but the "all" in that verse makes it pretty clear that there are no exceptions. So, while all might not commit sins, all are sinners because of the sin nature.

As for Romans 6:23, I believe the answer is both. Sin is separation from God, which leads to death. Sins result from a sinful nature.

Each of us has those specific sins that we struggle with. Our sinful desires might come from our own sin nature, or from outside temptation. Lust itself can be a sin, when you allow yourself to dwell on a sinful thought until it takes over and turns into an obsession - even if you never commit the sin you are thinking about.

[EricH]

I agree that sin is the illness passed down to every human being, and sins are the actions we commit as a result of that sinful nature, which are contrary to the will of God. When Paul says, "for all have sinned," I believe he must be referring to sin - singular. Think about babies who die as a result of abortion or miscarriage. They were never born, and how could they have committed sins? They might be an exception, but the "all" in that verse makes it pretty clear that there are no exceptions. So, while all might not commit sins, all are sinners because of the sin nature.

As for Romans 6:23, I believe the answer is both. Sin is separation from God, which leads to death. Sins result from a sinful nature.

Each of us has those specific sins that we struggle with. Our sinful desires might come from our own sin nature, or from outside temptation. Lust itself can be a sin, when you allow yourself to dwell on a sinful thought until it takes over and turns into an obsession - even if you never commit the sin you are thinking about.

I agree. It is probably not either or, it is both.

[nebula]

So does this passage mean that we all have sin, or that we all commit sins?

Since we all have sin, and since we all have committed sins - does it matter?

It was my understanding (limited understanding... I could be very wrong!) that lust lead to sins (plural)? Another question about the James passage... the word lust in greek means strong desire, where does this desire come from? Does it come from the sin nature, and if so, does God determine what desires are predominant in our sin nature... and if not, where do these desires come from?

Jesus said that the man who lusts after a woman committed adultery in his heart and therefore has sinned.

Surely we don't choose for ourself which sinful desires we will struggle with (or do we?) .

There are many factors behind our personal weaknesses - personality, upbringing, exposures, family problems, choices we make, etc.

[leoxiii]

Original Sin:

Romans 5:14 But death reigned from Adam unto Moses, even over them also who have not sinned after the similitude of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure of him who was to come.

Romans also says that sin was not imputed to men until they were aware of their sinning.

In order for a sin to be imputed to a person, that person must be aware that such action is a sin, whether they know this through their intellect, or through the natural law which is written on the heart of every person who comes into the world. Also, the action cannot be coerced.

Babies cannot commit actual sin. They are, however, under the dominion of the devil due to Original Sin.

[pokemaughan]

The literal meaning of sin is to "miss the mark". So, God has a standard- a bullseye, if you will- for His creation (be it in one activity, train of thought, word, or what have you) and sin is to miss that bullseye.

So sin is missing the mark. To sin is to miss the mark. Sexual immorality is a sin, in which you miss the mark for God's standard in sex. Gossip is a sin in which you miss the mark God's standard for love and relationships/unity. Think of it in those terms, and maybe you'll get your answer.

We're deserving of death because we don't measure up to God's standard. We aren't good enough.