Having seen how serious sin is, we begin now to build ourselves a better understanding of sin, that we might avoid the confusion of legalistic thinking. In this lesson we note four categories of sin: attitude, action,
In our last lesson, I gave you the following scripture chain, in which you will find lists of things which God views as sin. You might like to review
Note: Each of the following references is linked to the World English Bible
Sins of attitude include false pride, unjust anger, bitter envy, malicious hatred, and
The legalist makes a picnic of confusing various normal and perfectly justified feelings with these
For example you might dislike somebody, or wish you were in someone else's shoes, or feel indignation at something someone said, or want people to notice and compliment you on something
None of those things are "sins". It may, of course, be possible that some of those feelings could sooner or later develop into sins of attitude if you got too carried away. But you should never confuse those feelings with
Sins of action are simply things we might do to displease God, such as getting drunk, committing adultery, stealing, blaspheming.
The legalist will stretch words like "drunkard" or "fornicator" beyond the sensible
For example a man might touch a woman friend tenderly when he greets her, or a girl might wear a dress that does not entirely cover her pretty legs. A man might have a glass of beer with his mates, or say "Blast it!" when
The legalist will link these acts with fornication, drunkeness, and blasphemy. But
The examples above are not "sins". They are normal behaviour. They may not be the best behaviour, and one may prefer not to do them. One may not recommend or approve of such things. They might conceivably even lead to sin if one were careless. One might refrain from them so as not to set a misleading example to weaker persons in one's company, or so as not to offend people who have scruples about such things. But it is abhorrent to characterise such things as "sins" or matters for guilt. It is legalism to add prohibitions of such things to God's law. (It is not legalism, of course, but perfectly right and often very sensible and necessary to make a
Sins of neglect consist of failure to do things we know God has commanded us to do
The legalist will confuse such sins with the ordinary oversights, inadequacies, and choices that are part of our
There will be days when we are too tired or preoccupied to pray. There will be moments when we forget our manners. There will be days when we choose to prune our roses, not carry them to the
Omissions of that sort are not "sins". We must necessarily forgo a great many opportunities to do good, if we are to lead a balanced and bearable life. God is happy and willing for you to do many things, but God's will is not that you should
The legalist will labour amongst the things you leave undone, and find "sins of neglect" to spoil your satisfaction in the good you chose to do.
A sin of intent is simply a sin committed in wish but not in reality. For example the adultery committed in a man's heart which Jesus described in
By distorting this principle, the legalist conjures some dark
Staying with our example, we all know that men, when they are not half asleep, or in a hurry, or on their death bed, will occasionally feel, shall we say "charmed", by the voice, hair, eyes, legs, smile, smell, or other attribute of
Here the legalist has the makings of a guilt trap. Simply lead a man to think that his normal and harmless feeling is fornication in heart. Never mind that the poor devil never entertains the slightest wish for even a brief flirtation, let alone an affair. Just convince him that his feeling is
Sin is a serious matter. Let's take it very seriously indeed. But let us never confuse real sin with the imagined sins manufactured out of normal
You aren't taking sin seriously when you turn the wholesome doctrine of overcoming sin into something ridiculous or cultish. You are replacing sanctity with insanity, and love of
1. What are the four kinds of sin and what is
2. As precisely as possible, define what we mean by
3. Give some examples of how the legalist confuses normal behaviour with "sin" and thus engenders
4. The legalist may claim to take sin more seriously than we do, but what is the real result of legalism?