1) The sin that you can just stop doing anytime. Sin that is simple disobedience and rebellion. You know the way of God, but you choose other ways. I developed a catechism for children and this is what it says about sin:
Q. What is sin?
A. Sin is choosing our way instead of God's way.
Q. How do we do that?
A. By either doing what He forbids or not doing what He commands.
Is this not what sin is? And the cure for this is forgiveness and reformation of life, or repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
2) The sin that becomes a habit and we have to learn a new habit to stop. As in - “My life is: I work all week and go to the bars and clubs on the weekend” or “That’s just the kind of movies that I watch” etc. To this the Gospel says, If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away . . . I have to learn and develop new habits, and the Church is very helpful in this, as I start hanging out with a different kind of people, people who help and encourage me in my new life.
3) There is also a deeper kind of sin, a more pernicious kind of sin, one that has a hook or a barb. It grabs something in you, it hides and thrives on this inner and sometimes secret lust or hurt and then shows up in your life. This kind of sin is very difficult to stop. The root is me. I want to stop, I try to stop, but I am sucked into it again and again. Of course, all of sin works this way, but this shows the evilness of sin, working death in me. Does this excuse me from any responsibility? Not at all, because the problem is really me. I have to confess that this power, this force, sin, only has this power over me because of something in me that it has latched onto and is feeding on… in me. How do you get free from this? This requires deliverance. By this I mean, a work of God in me to set me free. Repentance, forgiveness through the blood, but also the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has to kill that in me that brought me to this and then form Christ in me to keep me free.
4) The sin that comes with, is the result of, or results in some sort of spiritual oppression. There are times when the consequence of sin is oppression with an unclean spirit. I know, in our “enlightened culture” this is sneered at: “Unclean spirits. Whatever. That is so superstitious.” The truth is, this is so real. This kind of sin definitely requires deliverance - finding the grounds upon which the unclean spirit has captivated the sinner, a renouncing of the spirit on the part of the sinner, and a binding of the spirit to set the captive free. This is “confession of faith” that I used for all our baptisms, to help new believers right at the start of their new life:
Q. Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
A. I renounce them.
Q. Do you renounce the evil ways of this world, which are contrary to God?
A. I renounce them.
Q. Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you away from the love of
God?
A. I renounce them.
Q. Do you now turn to Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Lord and Savior?
A. I do.
Q. Do you put your whole trust in His grace and love?
A. I do.
Q. Do you promise to follow Him and obey Him as your Lord?
A. I do.
Q. Will you continue in the apostle's teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayer?
A. I will, with God's help.
Q. Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
A. I will, with God's help.
Amen!
Do you agree there are these four "categories" of sin? I don't think every sinner is involved in all four kinds of sin. And I agree, all sin is deadly. And, of course, the solution for all sin is: the Cross (the blood to forgive and cleanse), the Resurrection (the life of Jesus in us), the Holy Spirit (to give us a new heart, form Christ in us, and power to live). And this grace is always appropriated by repentance and faith. I'm not suggesting anything new. It's just that some things I have read and heard in the past week got me to thinking along these lines.
Am I obsessed with sin? No. It’s just that sin is not really talked about much anymore in Christian circles and every part of the gospel deals with some aspect of sin. Think about it: forgiveness, justification, new heart, new spirit, sanctification, second coming, the resurrection, even heaven itself. All are in relation to some aspect of sin. The bottom line is: Sin is a reality, it is stronger than me and I am no match for it. But Jesus . . . thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Isn't that the Gospel? As we used to sing (you knew this was coming didn't you?),
Once I was a sinner, but Jesus set me free (3x)
singing Glory, Hallelujah! Jesus set me free.
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