What IS Sin?

[Gabrielman]

What's really amazing is that He took our death that we deserved, and our suffering that we should have had for our sins, not because He had to, but becuase He loves us! He suffered our death and then overcame it by resurrecting, so that death no longer has a hold on our souls, Christ has set us free!!!!

YES Gabriel i'm trying to actually learn here <_< so dont hurt me.............

I am not trying to hurt you, just when you came on at first you seemed to be on the offensive so I fought back. No hard feelings right?

[jlay]

The bible gives a clear concise definition of sin. I'm surprised it has escaped the thread so far.
1 john 3:4 Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness ; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God's law by transgression or neglect--being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will). From the Amplified bible.

So Death is a the punishment for Sin.

Perhaps a better way to put it, is that death is the result of sin, or a consequence of sin. The bible says, that the wages of sin is death. Sin has a far greater punishment than just mortality. Going deeper, it is not merely what it does to us physically, but what it does to us spiritually.

[RickD]

The bible gives a clear concise definition of sin. I'm surprised it has escaped the thread so far.
1 john 3:4 Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness ; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God's law by transgression or neglect--being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will). From the Amplified bible.

So Death is a the punishment for Sin.

Perhaps a better way to put it, is that death is the result of sin, or a consequence of sin. The bible says, that the wages of sin is death. Sin has a far greater punishment than just mortality. Going deeper, it is not merely what it does to us physically, but what it does to us spiritually.

Without getting into an OEC/YEC debate again, The quote"So Death is the punishment for Sin", or consequence , or wages, couldn't that be referring to spiritual death? That is what sin does spiritually.

[Imperial]

What do you think the words Jesus Christ mean?

I thought it was just a name of a person

[Canuckster1127]

What do you think the words Jesus Christ mean?

I thought it was just a name of a person

Jesus is a form of the Hebrew Name Joshua. Yeshua is how it sounds when you say it in Hebrew. In Hebrew it literally means "salvation". The form of the name Jesus makes the meaning closer to "God is salvation."

Christ is not a given name. It is a title. Christ comes from greek word, "christos" which means "annointed" or "annointed one." It is the greek word which is closest in meaning to the Hebrew word Messiah. When a Jew of Jesus' day or following heard the title "Christ" or "Messiah" they knew exactly what that meant. The Jews of that day (and some still today) were looking for a promised leader whom they believed would restore Israel to its former strength and glory under the Kingship of David.

You can't understand the meaning of the words "Christ" or "Messiah" without understanding what it meant to a jew in the context of the Old Testament. The things that attached to this included:

1. Dedicated for God's use. The use of the title "annointed one" brought back to mind when Moses and the nation of Israel were in the desert, and they received instructions to construct a tabernacle which was like a travelling tent where their worship centered. Everything connected with it had very clear instrutions by which they were to be "annointed" or set apart for God's services. The word Messiah ties to this image.

2. Selected for the Priesthood. When Moses' brother Aaron and his sons and descendants were set apart and dedicated for God's use as priests they went through a ceremony where they were annointed and consecrated to their role and for God's purpose. To understand how early Jewish followers of Jesus saw him, the New Testament book of Hebrews draws a great deal on this imagery to show that Jesus connected to all of this. Jesus is described there as a high priest.

3. In the Old Testament another act of annointing or being set apart was tied to Prophets. Prophets were specially called persons whom God used to give special messages to Israel. Often they were consecrated in a special ceremony of annointing which publically declared their calling and role.

4. Annointing as a King. Again in the Old Testament, Israel did not have a King until many years after they were formed as a nation. When Israel cried out to God, and asked for a King, God answered their cry and Saul, and later David were selected through God's hand by means of Prophets of those days. Each of them were annointed and set apart in their role of leadership and that included ceremonies that used oil to annoint their heads. The use of oil was highly symbolic and meaningful to the Jewish nation who saw the oil as a symbol of God's presence. Jesus spoke of his Kingdom in John 18:36-37.

So, your original question was if Jesus is God why isn't he just called "God." He is. Jesus or Yeshua has right within the name the meaning of God is Salvation and his title of Christ or Messiah, immediately put the Jews of his day (and Jesus was Jewish remember) in mind of all of the symbols above and more that were deeply meaningful to them.

The culmination of this in the New Testement is found in Phil 2:9-11.