We Must First Know about
Our Sins to Be Redeemed
by
PAUL C. JONG
< Mark 7:8-9 >
“‘For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of
pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.’ And He said to them, ‘All too well you
reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.’”
< Mark 7:20-23 >
“And He said, ‘What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.’”
First, I would like to define what sin is. There are sins defined by God and there are sins defined by man. The word sin, ‘hamartia’ in ancient Greek, means to ‘miss the mark.’ In other words, it is to do something wrong. It is a sin to disobey God’s orders. Let’s initially observe the human viewpoint of sin.
We recognize sin according through our consciences. However, the human standard of it
varies according to one’s social background, mental state, given circumstances and conscience.
Thus, the definition of sin varies among different individuals. The same action may or may not be considered sinful depending on each person’s own standards. That is why God has given us 613 articles of the Law to be used as the absolute standard of sin. We should never set the standards of sin upon our own consciences based on social norms. The sins of our consciences are not in accord with what God has defined as sin. Therefore, we should not listen to our consciences, but rather base the standards of sin on God’s commandments. Each of us has our own idea of what sin is. Some consider it to be their shortcomings while others deem it to be based on distorted behavior.
For example
In Korea, people cover their parents’ graves with grass and take it upon themselves to care for them until they die. But in one of the primitive tribes in Papua New Guinea, they honor their dead parents by feasting on the body with family members. (I’m not sure if they cook the carcass before eating it.) I believe they want to prevent the body from being eaten by worms. These customs illustrate that the human concept of sin widely varies.
barbaric in another society. However, the Bible tells A virtuous deed in one society may be considered us that it is a sin to disobey God’s orders. “‘For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.’ And He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition’” (Mark 7:8-9). Our physical appearances are of no importance to God because He looks into the core of our hearts
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