GROUP DISCUSSION

Charles Finney defined sin as:

“the breaking of religious law or
moral principle, especially through
willful act. Sin is evidenced through
some willful thought, word, or act,
involving free moral choice in which
self is made, or considered, to be
more important than God or
fellowman…
…All acts of sin are acts of
selfishness, and all selfish acts after
the age of accountability are sinful.
The foundation of sin is the selfish
motive, or reason behind the act.
Sins of commission: acts committed
for selfish reasons. Sins of omission:
without right acts for selfish reasons.
Sins of ignorance: choosing to be
ignorant of doing what one should or
should not do for a selfish reason.”
Sin is:
•a choice (Hos. 4:8),
an unintelligent choice (Ecc 9:3, Matt 7:26)
to rebel against the reigning of God (Luke
19:14),
• an attempt to dethrone God and
establish yourself as the center of the
universe (Isaiah 14:13-14);
• it is a violation of known Law (James
4:17),
it is transgression of the Law of God (1John
3:4).
•Sin is a selfish motive of the
will (Matt 23:5), a state of the
inner heart (Matt 5:28, Matt
15:18:19), which manifests
itself into outward action and
conduct. (Matt 12:33, Matt
12:35)
This inward sin, the inward
motive of the heart, is
completely voluntary (Job 11:14,
Matt 23:26, Romans 6:12). A man
determines the condition of his
own heart (1Ki 8:61; Zec 7:10; Eze
18:31; Ps 119:112)
Sin is whatever the Divine Intelligence
of God deems as harmful or hurtful to
the highest well-being of all. (Deut
10:12-13, Luke 6:9)
All sin is either against the person of God
(Exodus 10:16, Exodus 20:3-11Deut 1:41, Deut 9:16, Josh 7:20,
Judges 10:10, 2Kings 17:7, Jer 3:25, Jer 8:14, Luke 10:27)
against the person of your neighbor (Exodus
10:16, Exodus 20:12-17, 2Chron 6:22, Luke 10:27), or
against the person of yourself (1Cor 6:18). But
all sin is rebellion against the law or
government of God (Lev 4:22, Dan 9:11, 1John 3:4).
 CONSIDER:
1. Sin is transgression of the law. (1John 3:4)
2. The law is the law of love. (Deut 6:5, Matt
22:37-40, Mark 12:30-31, Luke 10:27)
3. Love is a voluntary choice, a commitment of
the will to the well-being of another, not an
involuntary emotion or feeling. (John 13:15)
God commands us to love and
only voluntary choices can be
commanded. Involuntary
emotion cannot be commanded,
especially at the threat of eternal
hell, since a man has no control
over them. A man can be rightly
commanded to do only what he
has the power or ability to do.
•The love required by the
law is to love God
supremely and neighbor
equally, to promote the
highest well-being of all
according to their intrinsic
value.
•Sin then, as transgression of
the law, is a voluntary
choice to love self
supremely, when your
intelligence (or conscience)
dictates that we love God
supremely and neighbor
equally.
Scriptural Expressions for Sin
Many different words and expressions
are used in the Bible to describe sin. The
following are some of the most popularly
used ones:
1. Missing of a mark or aim - Romans
3:23; 5:12, this is the expression most
used in both the Old and New
Testaments.
2. Overpassing or trespassing of a line - to
transgress, I Timothy 2:14.
3. Disobedience to a voice – Hebrews
2:2,3.
4. Falling where one should have stood
upright - Galatians 6:1, variously
translated.
5. Ignorance of what one ought to have known
- Hebrews 9:7.
6. Diminishing of that which should have been
rendered in full measure - I Corinthians 6:7;
i.e., Annanias and Saphira, Acts 5:2.
7. Non-observance of a law - sins of omission,
James 4:17.
8. Lawlessness or anarchy - utter disregard
for the Law - 1 John 3:4, where
“transgression” should be translated
“lawlessness.”
9. Debt - a failure in duty, a not meeting
one’s obligations to God - Matthew 6:12.
10. Other single words: iniquity, Lv. 26:40;
godlessness, 1 Pt. 4:8; wickedness, Prov.
11:31; unbelief, Rom. 11:20;
unrighteousness, I Jn. 1:9; unjustness, Dt.
25:16; unholiness, 1 Ti. 1:9.
Important Considerations
Regarding Sin
1. Sins of Omission
Failure to do what God's Law requires is as much
sin as to do contrarily to the requirements of the
Law. Sins of omission are not doing what we
should do. There are sins of omission as well as of
commission.
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do
and doesn't do it, sins. (James 4:17)
2. Sin of Commission
Sins of Commission, doing what we should not do.
The Law of Moses was recorded in the Old
Testament, and its basic moral principles are
repeated in the New Testament.

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is

lawlessness. 1 John 3:4
3. Sins of Ignorance
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The Levitical
law gave specific instructions concerning the type
of offering a man should bring to the priest if he
was guilty of a sin through ignorance:
And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a
she goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest
shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth
ignorantly. . . ." (Nm. 15:27,28).
4. One Sin Makes One Guilty of All
Galatians 3:10
All who rely on observing the law are under a
curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who
does not continue to do everything written in
the Book of the Law."
James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law and
yet stumbles at just one point is guilty
of breaking all of it.
Seven Detestable Sins
Proverbs 6:16-19
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are
detestable to him: [1] haughty eyes, [2] a lying tongue,
[3] hands that shed innocent blood, [4] a heart that
devises wicked schemes, [5] feet that are quick to rush
into evil, [6] a false witness who pours out lie and [7] a
man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
Simply stated, these are pride,
deceit, murder, plotting evil,
quickness to do wrong, false
testimony, and troublemaking.