LRC, Houston - the weekends-free church in Houston, Texas

In order to properly grasp the truthfulness of the “sin concept“, it would help if we first sorted out the objective-subjective aspects of life. In our Western, American, Aristotelian, and Greco-Roman mindset (did you follow all of that?), we seem to like building boxes (mental grids), and living within them: pointing fingers at those who are not in “our box“, but another one less worthy of course. We need labels, laws, and licenses! God forbid that someone did something just by the Spirit! So it is that SIN is thus “specific laws” (many of them) or “moral codes” (ours of course) that we break. Thus we sin! Ah, but what about the heart?

While we need some concrete in our life, we also need some of that “touchy-feely” stuff that men find so difficult to comprehend. God is LOVE and love is not subjective. Sure, it has objective manifestations, but it originates as a subjective force first.

If there is anything to be learned from the Old Testament it should be that we can’t keep the LAW!

No way!

Thank God for His love, His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness! And it is precisely those things that should draw us closer to Him (can you say relationship?). Love is the key to right living. The more one knows and gets closer to God, the less one sees the law. But, the more you place the law before people, demanding that they keep it, the more frustrated they become and the greater they ultimately fail. As one of my early spiritual teachers told me, “The more laws there are, the more death you can smell“.

My simple definition of sin is……….Separation From God!

For me, the “original sin” wasn’t breaking a command of God (though that was real- are you sure it was an apple?), is was estrangement from God, thinking man could go it alone, do it himself, and be the MAN (or was it the woman?).

Other ways of defining sin would be:

1-Not accomplishing the will of God for our life
2-Abandoning His purpose and intent for the planet.
3-Establishing our kingdom and not His
4-Blame-shifting and not taking responsibility for our spiritual growth.
5-Forgetting to seek God throughout each and every day!

Now, we’re talking SIN. But, that’s not what the church is concerned and obsessing about: far from it. Unfortunately the church and denominations place the emphasis on who is regularly attending church services, helping out in the nursery, following church house rules, reading the right books, adhering to proper doctrine, not differing with the pastor, not smoking or drinking, absence of any tattoos or piercings, skirt lengths, hair styles, and tithing, tithing, and tithing.

You know it’s true!