What sins are not even talked about anymore in society but are clearly defined as sin by God? What ones would you add?
What is Sin?
1 John 3:4b “Sin is the transgression of the Law.”
Sin is what breaks God’s Law; the Ten Commandments. Now, no one can keep the Law and that is why Jesus lived a sinless life. He was able to keep the Law, we are not. We can never be saved by the Law. The Law shows us why we need the Savior. Strong’s Dictionary: H6588 (Transgression): a revolt (national, moral or religious); rebellion. Transgressing something means that it is repeated or where sin becomes outright rebellion “which is as the sin of witchcraft” (1Samuel 15:23). “An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenge will be sent against him” (Prov. 17:11).
Adultery
Most of the world speaks out against robbery, murder, and child abuse or sexual abuse but adultery is no longer a headline in the local newspaper. A hundred years or more ago it was big news. Today, it isn’t even mentioned except by the local gossips of it it’s a big celebrity. It’s now accepted as the new normal. The Seventh Commandment is routinely being broken today and no one blinks an eye even though it is destroying marriages. According to Peggy Vaughan, author of “The Monogamy Myth,” first published in 1989 by New market Press (third edition published 2003) statistics estimate that “60 percent of men and 40 percent of women will have an extramarital affair.” That number is conservative and now, 25 years after that report, estimates are as high as 80% of men and 70% of women commit adultery at least once. American women, who trail men when it comes to making money, leading companies and accumulating wealth, are closing the gap on those but also on at least one other area: cheating on their spouses. Scarlet Fu reports on Bloomberg Television’s “Market Makers.” (Source: Bloomberg, July 2, 2010). Divorce rates are skyrocketing as 20% of all divorces now occur as a result of adultery, which is breaking the Seventh Commandment.
Honoring Parents
This was the first commandment (the 5th) relating to other humans. The first four Commandments were vertical (toward God) while the last six were horizontal (man relating to man). The commandment to honor parents was so serious and important that a child could be stoned for breaking this commandment (part of the old Mosaic Law). God’s seeing it as of first importance to mankind was the fact that it was the first commandment given for mankind relating to mankind because the backbone or strength of any society is the family and when children dishonor their parents, society can easily disintegrate. Honoring your parents is not just for children though, it is for the grown children too. I knew of a man who lived with his mother and he treated her with contempt and controlled everything she did. We can also dishonor our parents by badmouthing them in front of others, blaming them and the way they were brought up for their own mistakes (including crimes). Parents don’t have to be alive to still have this commandment broken. Honoring your father and your mother has no time or age limit on it, yet society thinks little about speaking ill of their parents and speaking to them in a condescending manner, even if they’re dead! This is sin as far as God is concerned.
Lying or Cheating
Lying is one of the most frequent sins today but most people say that it’s okay. Lying is also breaking one of the Commandments (Ninth Commandment). A September 6, 2011 study by Psychology Today revealed that only 1% of college students in a full week did not tell a lie. That means that 99% of the rest of the college students did! I wondered if the 1% was actually telling the truth about this. Lying is sometimes justified for the following reasons; they didn’t want to hurt the person’s feelings, they didn’t want to get in trouble for breaking a promise, they knew they were wrong so just lied about it, they forgot what they said that they would do…and number one was “it was only a white lie so I didn’t see it as wrong.” To God, lying is a serious sin. I heard one theologian say it was like committing cosmic treason against God because we are made in the image of God. Lying is such a common practice that only a small percentage of people think it is wrong and almost everyone in the study didn’t think it was a sin or listed as one of the commandments. Lying has become so acceptable that no one thinks twice if they hear someone is lied to or lied about but that changes dramatically if that “someone” is the person that told them the lie. That’s interesting because no one sees lying as a problem until they are the one lied to. I sense a little bit of duplicity there.
Stealing
The Eighth Commandment is also not talked about much by anyone unless of course someone steals something from them! Stealing comes in many forms. Clocking out early at work or not working for a full 8 hours or a shift which is stealing from their employer. The fact that everyone does it seems to justify their doing it. Stealing work supplies for personal use is also one of the greatest reasons that businesses don’t make a profit or go out of business. I went to a fellow co-worker’s home once and I saw that there were business supplies all over the house. There was a stapler, envelopes, copy paper, pens, and assorted other supplies from our employer. The man didn’t care that I noticed and probably thought nothing of it since “everyone else does it.”
Taking God’s Name in Vain
This is one of the most common of sins that no one talks about and it is using God’s name as a cuss word, a swear word, or using His name in a vain way. The Third Commandment is sometimes broken even by little children, probably because they have heard it at home or on the street so much. When I worked as a teacher in an elementary school, I remember a 3rd Grader use “damn” as God’s last name more than once. After a parent-teacher conference with the boy’s parents, I soon discovered where he picked it up. Sometimes euphemisms are used in place of God’s name like “Gosh darn it.” “Jeez” (for Jesus), and the most frequent thing you will hear today and no one thinks anything of it is “Oh my God” even though by definition, it is using God’s name in a vain way. The word “vain” means in a common, useless manner but the fact is that God’s name is so holy that the ancient Israelites never even said it for fear of mispronouncing it and the fear of being killed by God for it (or stoned as the Mosaic Law required).
Conclusion
First, let me give you the bad news; we are all sinners (Rom 3:23). We have all broken God’s laws. There is not even one of us that are righteous (Rom 3:10). We have all fallen short of God’s glory and for this, our wages have earned us eternal death (Rom 6:23). Now, here’s the good news. Second Corinthians 5:21 says “He hath made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Without the Savior to pay for your sins, you will have to pay for them yourself…and that will be very bad because that will take all eternity (Rev 20:11-15) because of God’s wrath will be on you (John 3:36) but if you repent today and put your trust in Christ, you can be saved from His wrath today and have peace with God (Rom 5:1). That is my prayer for you.
Related reading: Bible Verses About Sin
Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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