Key #2 - The Key of Defining Sin

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Have you ever wondered exactly what sin is? Many religions tell people not to sin and avoid sinful situations, yet not many religions define the term. Believers in Messiah are supposed to live a set apart life void of sin, so it would help to be able to identify exactly what sin is according to the Bible. And most people will agree that sin entered the world when Adam rebelled against the Almighty’s commands. So, what do you think sin is? Do you believe Yahshua sinned? Are we supposed to be sinless? How does the Old Testament play into this scenario of combating sinfulness?

According to the Bible in Romans 3 we know that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of Elohim.” The scriptures also state in Romans “where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Yahshua our Messiah.” Through these verses a person can understand the effects of sin. Sin has affected everyone that has lived since the beginning of time. Sin separates man from the Heavenly Father. Sin makes mankind in need of forgiveness. Without forgiveness there is no eternal life, no grace, and no righteousness. This is all because of sin. To remedy sin is one of the reasons why the Messiah came.

Sin Defined by the Bible

So what is sin? Well, the book of 1 John speaks vividly on this subject and answers this question with a profoundly simple response. The definition and the remedy for sin are both discussed in 1 John 3:4-7, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.”

And here it is in plain and simple English in verse 4 “sin is LAWLESSNESS!” To be “sin less” a person must be “law full.” So, evidently if the law remains to define sin, then the law remains.

Wait a minute! Christianity teaches that believers are not under law but under grace. Christianity says that the law has passed away and the “age of grace” has come. Christianity says the law is a bad, hindering set of confusing rules and regulations. Well, according to the above scripture “sin is lawlessness.” If a person violates Yahweh’s laws then a person is sinning. Sin is not keeping or obeying the laws or commands of the Bible. Sin is a life without the law; i.e. “lawlessness.”

The Torah or the Law

By the way, the word “law” is a Greek interpretation of the Hebrew word “Torah.” The word "torah" is Hebrew for "teaching or instruction." The “Law” that Torah is commonly translated into brings to mind a restraining order but this is simply not the case. Torah was given for the benefit of mankind, not to hinder mankind. Torah is the loving instructions and guidelines for living as Yahweh’s chosen people. The Torah is traditionally considered the first five books of the Old Testament, including the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments. Yet, the Law is not Jewish, it is Biblical.

One author has written, “Christians usually call the Torah "the Law," because most English translations of scripture translate Torah as Law. The reason this came about is because pre-Yahshua rabbis translated the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, called the Septuagint. The Septuagint translated Torah into the Greek word nomia or nomos. The term nomos was used in the Greek culture to mean an unalterable law. Following this tradition, the Greek New Testament also used nomia to signify the Torah.” Rabbi Ed Nydle has written that, “The Hebrew word “torah,” literally “teaching, doctrine,” is rendered in both the Septuagint and the New Testament by the Greek word “nomos,” which means “law.” Greek has had a more direct and pervasive influence on English and other modern languages than Hebrew has, and this is why in most languages one speaks of the “law” of Moses rather than the “teaching” of Moses.

When Torah or law is mentioned in the Bible it is most often associated with the Torah of Moses, meaning the Torah, or Teaching, which Yahweh gave to Israel in the wilderness. However, Yahweh uses the word Torah to signify His instructions throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, including the Prophets and the Psalms. Since all of His Word is His Teaching, all of it is His Torah. The scripture says, "Moshe came and told the people all the words of Yahweh and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, 'All the words that Yahweh has spoken we will do.' And Moses wrote down all the words of Yahweh," Exodus 24:3-4.

The Torah, or the first five books of the Bible, is the story of the family of Israel. How the family began with just one righteous person named Avraham, its years in slavery, the exodus, the claiming of the Promised Land, and how it set up the theocratic government is all discussed in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Rabbis of Judaism have studied the Torah for thousands of years and have comprised a list of commandments found in the Torah. There is a total of 613 mitzvot that were given to the children of Israel as they began to set up their nation. It is important to understand that this mitzvoth, or commandments, were lovingly established for the nation of Israel for instructions on how to the set apart nation that worships Yahweh. All of these commands are eternal and all of these commands are for all of Israel. “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of Yahweh remains forever,” says the Psalmist.

Today the Torah is the whole counsel of Yahweh, the Bible, including the teachings of Moses. Never in the whole scriptures is the Law spoken against as bad or contrary to Yahweh’s will. In fact, in several places, especially in the Psalms, you can find peace, joy, and blessing come from keeping the Torah and meditating on it. Read Psalm 1 and Psalm 119 for a great example of how believers are to approach the Torah.

The Torah does not include the Oral Law or Talmud, the traditional Jewish teachings/interpretation of the Torah. For believers in Yahshua the Talmudic writings are available for reference but are not considered totally inspired by the Spirit. Nor should followers of the faith bank on the traditions of church fathers as doctrine. The Bible, in its entirety, is the only inspired infallible word of Yahweh.

The Torah explains exactly how a believer should eat, live, worship, treat other people, and marry. Almost all of life’s experiences are discussed in the first five books of Moshe. And according to the Bible itself, not following these commands is sinning.

What Do Others Say

According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, a Baptist publication, “sin is transgression of the law. Elohim established the law as a standard of righteousness; any violation of this standard is defined as sin. Deuteronomy 6:24-25 is a statement of this principle from the perspective that a person who keeps the law is righteous. The implication is that the person who does not keep the law is not righteous, that is, sinful.”

The Holman Dictionary continues, “The Old Testament has a rich vocabulary for sin. The Hebrew word Chata means, “to miss the mark,” as does the Greek hamartia. The word could be used to describe a person shooting a bow and arrow and missing the target with the arrow. When it is used to describe sin, it means that the person has missed the mark that Elohim has established for the person’s life.

The Hebrew word Aven describes the crooked or perverse spirit associated with sin. Sinful persons have perverted their spirits and become crooked rather than straight. It also has the connotation of the breaking out of evil. Sin is simply the opposite of righteousness or moral straightness in the Torah. The most notable advancement in the New Testament view of sin is the fact that sin is defined against the backdrop of Yahshua, the living Torah, as the standard for righteousness. His life exemplifies perfection. The exalted purity of His life creates the norm for judging what is sinful.” - sacred names added

What About the Messiah Yahshua

Yahshua the Messiah is the Torah or Law alive. “And the Word was made flesh,” John 1:4. Yahshua actually walked fully in the Torah commands and never broke the law or sinned. Or to put it plainly Yahshua kept the Torah in its entirety. And therefore to follow Yahshua man must follow the Old Testament Law. A life patterned after Yahshua, or after the Torah, will be a life absent of sin! For Yahshua never broke the law. Remember it says in 1 John 3:4 that “sin is lawlessness.” Therefore, if Yahshua kept the law or obeyed the law He never sinned.

If you believe the scriptures then you must agree that sin is “lawlessness” and that to be sinless one must obey the Law. Well that’s exactly what Yahshua did and commands also to do.

1 John 3:5, “But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.” If no sin was in Yahshua then no lawlessness was in Him. Yes, he was made unclean by touching the leper, the woman with the issue of blood, and dead people but being unclean is not a sin. Being unclean during the time of Yahshua would not permit you to enter the temple for 24 hours. That’s basically it! Being unclean is not a sin.

And yes, Yahshua would often defend the Torah saying, “You have hear it said…” and then would say “but I tell you…” These words were directed not towards the Torah but towards religious leaders who taught anti-torah wisdom. These piercing words of Yahshua found in Matthew 5 and other places were spoken to those who had perverted the Torah/law: the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes. Matthew 5:27 & 28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Here Yahshua again brings the attention to the heart motive, from which words and actions flow. Romans 7 specifically states that the Torah is “holy, righteous and good.” Part of Yahshua’s ministry was to call people back to a right interpretation and understanding of the Torah, and he would never teach against it.

Ask yourself, if the Savior is the living word would he teach others not to follow the word?

When Yahshua issued the great commandment he wasn’t telling the people not to follow the other aspects of the Law. Just like if the government issued a new law concerning driving, people would still have to obey stop signs and the other safe driving rules. Matthew 22: 34-40, “Hearing that Yahshua had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Yahshua replied: “‘Love the Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Love is to be the foundation of all Torah obedience. Here Yahshua insisted that the “Law and the Prophets” hang on man’s relationship with Yahweh and people. Yes, Israel is to love Yahweh and love people…but how does a person do that? Easy! By following the Torah!

Law or Grace

The scriptures are true; man is not under the curse of the Law but under grace or “chesed” through trusting in Yahshua as the Messiah. Galatians 3:13 & 14, “Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Yahshua HaMoshiach, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” But, the “age of grace” did not necessarily begin with Messiah. Grace, or loving kindness, began in Eden when Father Yahweh forgave man for breaking His Torah.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of Elohim—not by works, so that no one can boast,” Ephesians 2:8 & 9. This popular New Testament does not mean that the Law has been done away with. “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished,” Mathew 5:18. Everything has not been accomplished and the new heavens and new earth are not present, therefore the Law has not “disappeared.” The Torah remains to define exactly what sin is and to be the guideline for all believers to follow.

Romans 6:15 makes this point well, “What then? Shall we sin (break the Torah) because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

“Sin is lawlessness” so to live an obedient life to Elohim then man must follow the Law and not break it!

What Did Jesus Do?

It is all a matter of WWJD? Yes, the popular phrase “What Would Jesus Do” sums up how believers should live their lives. Yahshua followed the Law in perfection and commands all believers to do so also.

Understand that the Law was not some religious system that the Messiah just happened to be born into; rather it was and is Elohim’s pattern and plan for man. Yahshua kept the seventh day Sabbaths, celebrated the feasts, ate kosher, and was circumcised all according to Yahweh’s Torah. Yahshua did not come to "do away with the Torah" (Matt.5:17-20) but present to the world a perfect life that it should strive to model. All of the commands of the Bible still apply and are still valid as a life-style for all Messianics, see 1 John 3:4,7,22,24;5:2-3.

Yahshua, the living Law or living Torah, is the standard of righteousness and all Scripture remain as valid for practice if the circumstances remain available today or disobedience will lead to sin. For example, the Temple laws cannot be performed without a Temple in place. And many commands cannot simply be performed unless a person is living in the Promised Land under the rule of a Torah keeping government. Also, several of the laws given in the Torah were only for the Levites and can only be carried out by the Levitical priesthood.

However, the principles, types and shadows found in those laws remain useful to man today. The law is for the protection from sin and wickedness and will lead man in Yahweh's declared will.

What is sin? Sin is lawlessness. What is the law? It is the loving instructions and guidelines given by Yahweh in the Torah.

Deuteronomy 27:26 says, “Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this Law by carrying them out.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

Can you say “Amen” to this article?

Practical Advice

To help you live a sinless life, that is a life of obedience to Yahweh’s Law, here are a few suggestions.

1) Substitute to understand. Whenever you read the scriptures substitute lawlessness for sin and you will find your heart changing to be submissive to the law/guidelines/Torah.

2) Learn all that you can about the Torah and submit to it. As you do the Father will draw near to you in an amazing way.

3) Don’t pervert this teaching into legalism! Salvation is not through keeping the Law.

4) Receive the blessings that come through obedience. As you walk in Torah people around you will see the difference; use every chance to share you faith in the Mighty One of Israel.

5) Understand that the Torah is for today. The scriptures make it clear that out of the 613 commands given in the Old Testament Law many were relevant only for the Levitical priesthood.

6) Ask the Holy Spirit to open your mind to His word. Many teachers from the church teach the Law has passed away, but the Bible says that the Holy Spirit will lead you unto all truth.

7) Find a group that is open and support them! Don’t allow others to sow seeds of “lawlessness” into your life. Read, believe, and lead. Find someone who can disciple you on the ways of the Torah and soak it up!

*for all things spiritual go to www.emetministries.com

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