Love One Another

'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "And a second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." ( Matthew 22:37-40)

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." ( John 13:34-35)

"Whatever you want others to do for you, do so for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." ( Matthew 7:12)

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward in heaven will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men." ( Luke 6:35)

"Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many." ( Mark 10:43-45)

"If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you." ( John 13:14-15)

What is sin?

Sin is the breaking of God's law. If God says "Do not lie" and you lie, then you have broken His law and sinned. When you sin, you offend God because it is His law that you have broken. Also, the reason God says to not lie, not cheat, etc., is because these laws reflect the moral purity of His nature. Therefore, the Law is a reflection of the character of God. It is wrong to lie because God cannot lie. It is wrong to steal because God cannot steal, etc. The moral law is not arbitrary. It is based on God's holiness.

The law, then, is a standard of moral purity. The Old Testament contains the Law of God. It is a perfect standard because it is God's standard. When we fail to keep the law, we sin. When we sin, we offend God. This offense against God results in a judgment. Laws are laws because they have penalties. There is no law without a penalty. Therefore, breaking God's law brings judgment which is separation from God. "But your sins have made a separation between you and your God," (Isaiah 59:2). And, "the wages of sin is death..." (Rom. 6:23). So, to sin, to break God's law, results in judgment. The judgment is known as damnation which is the righteous judgment of God upon the sinner. If God did not judge the sinner, then He is not upholding His holiness and he would be allowing sinners to go unpunished.

Of course, Jesus came to take our place and die for our sins (1 Pet. 2:24). This means that Jesus bore our sin in His body on the cross and paid for them. He took the judgment upon himself. This further means that anyone who trusts in what Jesus did on the cross will have his sins removed; he will be saved from God's future judgment.

So, replying to the question "What is sin?" is best answered by saying that it is breaking God's law. All people have sinned. Therefore, all people are under God's judgment -- except for those who've trusted in God's provision to escape that judgment.

Where are you? Are you in the place of God's judgment or of salvation in Christ?

Matt Slick