Our Relationship with Sin
After studying how we can become progressively more intimate with God through the blood, salt, sandal, and marriage covenants, I wondered if the same could be true of our relationship with sin. Do we become increasingly attached to it in a similar way? It seems that we do. (If you haven’t read my series on covenants, you might want to read those before reading this one.)
It’s hard to talk about sin to a society that equates acceptance with love. Claiming anything is inherently wrong sounds like hate speech. Nevertheless, God uses such labels while simultaneously declaring his love for us. Assuming he’s actually right about what constitutes sin, how do we manage to get so tangled up in it?
James explains the progressive nature of sin quite simply. “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14–15 NKJV). In other words: Sin happens when we allow our evil desires to say yes to temptation. The more we yield, the more our relationship with sin grows, until it starts killing something in us.
Types of Sin
Even the three types of sin the Bible characterizes shows this progression. Khatah (חַטָּאָה), is defined as twisting and distorting what God says. It was the first technique the serpent used with Adam and Eve when he asked, “Did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1). Khatah is in the very nature of fallen man. It’s our go-to for justifying our behavior. “Nah! God doesn’t really call this sin.” While society encourages us to accept what feels natural, God warns us to fight against activities he labels as evil. “Sin (khatah) lies at the door,” he told Cain. “And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7, emphasis mine).
The second type of sin is avon (עָוֹן). It’s a bit more serious and means we didn’t quite do what God requires. We miss the mark, for example, when we look for ways to obey the letter of the law without attending to its spirit. Maybe we see our neighbor is hungry. We refrain from making him hungrier by stealing from him, but we don’t reach out to feed him when it’s in our power to do so. James explains the sin of avon like this: “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).
The third type is the most serious of all. Peshah (פֶּשַׁע) is actual, purposeful rebellion against God. We know what’s right and we consciously choose to do the exact opposite. This was another ploy of the serpent in the Garden. He directly contradicted God’s words saying, “You will not surely die. When you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God” (Genesis 3:4–5 emphasis mine). Adam and Eve deliberately defied God when they considered the possibility of gaining the power to decide good and evil for themselves.
Fortunately, God has shown he has forgiveness waiting for all three types of sin if we will turn back to him. “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity (avon) and transgression (peshah) and sin (khatah)” (Exodus 34:6–7).
Our Relationship with Sin Begins
We can see the increasing seriousness of these types of sins. But how is it we move from khatah all the way to peshah?
Evil desires start talking to us long before we have an opportunity to act them out. Then a circumstance presents itself and temptation says, “Now’s your chance!” We twist the idea around in our minds asking, “Did God really say I shouldn’t do this? He doesn’t really mean this. Not for me. Not for now. It’s an old-fashioned norm that can’t be true for today.”
Khatah calls to us, begging to be satisfied. It speaks like a tricky attorney, defending a “yes” vote as innocent. So, we drop our defenses and reach for the forbidden fruit, taking the first step in our relationship with sin–becoming its servant. We come into something like a blood covenant with it, letting it master us. Paul described this phase of our relationship. “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness” (Romans 6:16).
Our Relationship with Sin Grows
If we continue to obey those evil desires rather than resist them, our relationship with sin grows to the next level. We start hanging out with it, spending more time engaged with its activities. Before we know it, our relationship with sin matures into a salt-like covenant. We’re no longer just servants to sin, we’re its friends. We drink the Cup of Bargaining with sin–negotiating just how far we intend to go with it. We think we can draw limits around the relationship but we can’t. That’s because we aren’t bargaining with the trustworthy God of righteousness. We’re sitting down at table with a liar and a thief.
Sin isn’t done with us yet. It starts grabbing for our sandals, claiming a share in all we possess in an inheritance-like covenant. We twist God’s commandments further than ever before. Avon deludes us into thinking this isn’t what it looks like. We haven’t actually been disobedient over here because we’re still in compliance over there. Sin grabs more and more territory in our hearts and starts managing parts of our lives we used to manage ourselves. We’ve become closer than a brother to the sin that seems to so easily beset us.
At last, we give up all pretense of resistance and accept sin as our permanent companion. We become one with it, identifying it as part and parcel of our being. “This is just who I am.” Resistance is futile. We will not surely die.
What Is the Answer?
God tells us to master our evil desires, not to yield to them. But that will involve struggle, determination, and possibly pain. The more deeply we’ve established a relationship with sin, the more difficult it will be to separate from it. But if we turn to God for help, he will help us realign our loyalties. It may involve allowing him to establish us in a support network–a trustworthy community to whom we can be accountable, who will help us along the way, and support us in prayer. It may not be what we want, but it may be what we need to draw nearer and nearer to God in this area.
The battle may continue longer than we want. Paul knew about dealing with a challenge that refused to go away. He asked God to remove it and, for reasons known only to the Lord, he did not. Instead, God promised to give Paul all the grace he’d need to win his race. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
How much effort does God require us to use in resisting temptation and choosing obedience? A lot. In Mark 9:43–50, Jesus made a remarkable declaration. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell….And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell.”
Clearly, Jesus wasn’t talking about carving off body parts. He was emphasizing the importance of separating from those things that tempt us to disobey God. Even if those desires feel like the very essence of who we are.
Transferring Allegiance
The journey home means going back to making righteous covenants with God–one choice at a time. We begin to yield as nothing more than faithful servants who may not understand why he wants things this way. Each time we fail, we accept his gracious forgiveness and try again. We persevere in obedience until his ways begin to feel like old friends to us. We continue in faithfulness until we mature enough to qualify as full-grown sons, able to take the reins and manage our Father’s estate reliably. Then we keep pressing forward until servanthood and friendship and sonship all become as natural as breathing. And we identify with him so thoroughly we can say of ourselves, “This, this is who I am.”
Is this all really possible? Can we let go of our relationship with sin after going so far astray? Yes. “For thus says the Lord: ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued’” (Isaiah 49:25 ESV). Paul thought so too. After struggling against all that tormented him, he left us words awash with hope. “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17–18).
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Great post, as always!
You’re so kind, Stephanie. Thanks.