Sin - What is it?
As I’ve picked up with blogging on Geocreationism again, I will eventually arrive at the place where Adam and Eve commit the first sin… what Adam is credited with as “Original Sin”. I figured I would get a leg up on what scripture has to say about it.
The first verse in the Bible that uses the word “sin” is actually after the first sin has been committed. The verse is Genesis 4:7, and the passage reads as follows:
1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
It does not actually define what sin is however. That’s disappointing. When I started my study on righteousness, I was blown away to see that the first 2 verses in the Bible on righteousness actually defined it for man. In fact the definition held for the entirety of scripture, with other passages only enhancing my understanding of what those first 2 verses on righteousness meant. Not so for “sin”.
Looking at my Strong’s Concordance, I am immediately struck by the numerous words in scripture that have been translated as “sin”. In the Old Testament:
- 819 ashmah. Guiltiness, a fault, the presentation of a sin-offering
- 2398 chata. To miss; hence, to “sin”; by inference, to foreti, lack, expiate, repent, lead astray, condemn:–> bear the blame, cleanse, commit[sin], by fault, harm he hath done, loss, miss (make)offend, offer for sin, purge, purify (sefl), make reconciliation, (cause, make) sin (-ful, -ness), trespass.
- 2399 chatta: derived from chata. a crime or its penalty:– fault, to grievously, offence, (punishment of) sin
- 2401 chataah: feminine of chatta (2399). An offence, or a sacrifice for it.
- 2403 chattaah or chattath: derived from chata (2398). an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiation (i.e., atonement)
- 5771 avon or avown. Perversity, i.e., evil. Fault, iniquity, mischief, punishment (of iniquity), sin.
- 6588 pesha. a revolt (national, moral, religious). rebellion, sin, transgression, trespass.
- 7686 shagah. To stray, usually to mistake, especially to transgress, to reel, to be enraptured. To cause to go astray, deceive, err, be ravished, sin through ignorance,let or make to wander.
The immediate thing I notice is that nearly all Hebrew words for sin have three general meanings: 1) Doing something bad, 2) The penalty for it, 3) The atonement for it.
Interestingly, there are three words that don’t mean atonement. They are avon, pesha, and shagaha. Of these three, Avon refers to a wrong-doing and punishment for it. Pesha and shagaha only mean wrong-doing. All three appear to be used only once.
- 5771 avon: 1 Kings 17:18
- 6588 pesha: Proverbs 10:19
- 7686 shagah: Lev. 4:13
This means that in the majority of cases in the Old Testament, the word sin is the same word for wrong-doing as for punishment and atonement. Theologically, it suggests that most sin can be forgiven through punishment or atonement, through some only through punishment, and some cannot be forgiven at all.
avon
In 1 Kings 17:18, the word avon is used by the widow who took in Elijah. He told her that if she fed him of the last remaining flour and oil that she had, then her flour and oil would not be used up until God made it rain. She did as he said, but in a few days her son died. 1 Kings 17:18 picks up there.
So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
Elijah prayed over the boy, stretching himself over the boy 3 times, pleading with God for his life. God then returned the boy’s life to him, and his mother realized that Elijah was indeed a man sent by God.
We see therefore that avon is being used here as it is defined: a wrong-doing for which the woman could not atone, but for which she thought she was being punished. There is nothing theological here, because the statement is her’s to Elijah, and after making it, God showed mercy. He showed her that whatever her sin may be, He still loved her, suggesting her sin could be atoned for after all. In fact, I propose it was, through the death of her innocent son… perhaps a temporary covering of her sin until Christ would come later to die once for all.
So as far as our study is concerned, we can ignor avon.
pesha
pesha refers to wrong-doing, but does not refer to punishment or atonement, suggesting unforgivable sin. Here is the entire passage:
16 The labor of the righteous leads to life,
The wages of the wicked to sin.
17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,
But he who refuses correction goes astray.
18 Whoever hides hatred has lying lips,
And whoever spreads slander is a fool.
19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
The heart of the wicked is worth little.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
But fools die for lack of wisdom.
The word sin in verse 16 refers to forgivable sin, while the word sin in verse 19 refers to unforgivable sin. There appears to be a double message here about the wages of the wicked. On the one hand, based on context in verse 17, a wicked man’s wages leads to punishment, but potentially atonement. But when someone fails to use restraint in their speech, there is no lack of sin that cannot be punished or atoned for… in other words, it leads to wrong-doing that cannot be undone.
This makes sense. When does a man need restraint on his lips? One answer is when he is angry! Another is when he speaking, but not in understanding. Another can simply be hatred or mere dislike. In all of these cases, words said in foolishness, insecurity, anger, or hatred can injure, and they injure badly, leading the person subject to your words toward toward temptation: for rebellion, sin, transgression, and trespass. Their actions are still up to them, and they may or may not give in, but you are the one who put them in the position of being tempted in the first place. The best parallel that I can offer is Satan tempting Jesus in the desert. I propose that Satan put Jesus into a state of pesha… pesha was “not lacking”, and Jesus felt the strong and jarring urge to do as Satan’s words suggested. Yet, we know Jesus never gave in.
In short, like avon, pesha is not referring to “the unforgivable sin”. Pesha, in the context of verse 18 above, refers to ones damaged state, caused by another’s words, independent of whether it leads to sinful action or not.
It is important to point out that one can remain pure in heart and action, yet still be in a state of pesha. How do I know? Because Jesus’ temptations were real temptations! Otherwise, there would have been no test for Jesus to pass (or fail). It means Jesus felt tempted to be accept the world to rule without dying on the cross. He felt tempted to have the Angels just catch Him should He jump. He felt tempted to create His own food during His fast… but He didn’t do it. He was in a state of pesha, but He never sinned.
shagah
In Leviticus 4:13, the word shagah refers to an unintentional sin. But here is the entire passage, which is quite interesting for the context of this study:
13 ‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins (shagah) unintentionally, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which should not be done, and are guilty; 14 when the sin (chattaah) which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin (chattaah), and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting.
Clearly, in context, shagah is not referring to an unforgivable sin.
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To conclude, throughout the Old Testament, the same word used for a wrong-doing is the same word that is used for the punishment or atonement for that wrong-doing.