Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and mishpachah. One more we are postponing resumption of our study of Acts because of the crises arupting all around us and the need to urgently address a number of topics that have been surfacing. Today's message, which is also being recorded on the website, is a response to a question I really should have systematically addressed a long ago but for various reasons did not, and that is to answer the very important question - especially when witnessing - as to what SIN actually is. You see, if we don't exactly know what sin is, we canät adequately preach the gospel, let alone call people to repentance for there is no point in calling people to forsake an abstract concept and expecting any meaningful changes to take place in their lives so I am going to answer that question in one sentence and then extrapolate from there: Sin is transgression of the Law, Instruction and Teaching Torah of our Heavenly Father, Yahweh-Elohim.

The Torah (Heb. chet, 'Instruction', 'Teaching' or 'Law') is, in the first instance, the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, and, in the second instance - by extension of the first - every other mitzvah (commandment) given by Yahweh our Heavenly Father through the nevi'im (prophets), His Son Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and His apostles. Ine scripture beautifully sums it up in the New Testament, 1 John 3:4, which I am going to read to you in a small selection of versions - Protestant, Messianic and Catholic as they are all essentially the same:

• 1. "Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah - indeed, SIN IS VIOLATION OF TORAH" (JNT/CJB - messianic).
• 2. "Anyone who commits sin violates Torah, FOR SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE TORAH" (RSTNE2004 - messianic).
• 3. "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness (Torahlessness), and sin is lawlessness (Torahlessness)" (NKJV - protestant).
• 4. "Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness (Torahlessness): SIN IS LAWLESSNESS (TORAHLESSNESS)" (NRSV - protestant).
• 5. "Everyone who sins breaks the Law (Torah); in fact, sin is lawlessness (Torahlessness)" (NIV - protestant).
• 6. "Everyone practicing chet (sin) aldo does averah (transgression, disobedience to the commandment), and chet (sin) is averah al HaTorah (transgression, disobedience to the Torah" (OJB - messianic).
• 7. "Anyone who sins at all breaks the Law (Torah), because to sin is to break the Law (Torah)" (JB - catholic)

The only way to know what a sin absolutely and finally is, is to locate a mitzvah (commandment) in Scripture and its penalty. Every mitzvah (commandment) has a penalty or punishment.

To be clear, then, sin is primarily defined as a transgression of Yahweh's law and will, leading to a broken relationship with Elohim (God). It encompasses not only specific actions but also an attitude of rebellion and disobedience against Him, leading inevitably to idolatry. The Bible uses various Hebrew and Greek terms to describe different aspects of sin, including missing the mark, perverseness, rebellion, lawlessness, and unrighteousness.

There are two things in regard to His Torah or Law that Father hates:

• 1. When man adds his own laws and punishments; and
• 2. When man subtracts Yahweh's laws and claims (for instance) that they are no longer binding.

An example of the first is what Christ calls the "tradition of the elders". This refers to the oral interpretations of the Mosaic Law that were held as authoritative by the Pharisees and Scribes (Torah-teachers) in the time of Yah'shua (Jesus). These extra-biblical traditions, which often involved specific rituals like handwashing before meals, were seen as a way to uphold and apply the written law but, according to Yah'shua (Jesus), overshadowed or even contradicted the original intent of Yahweh's mitzvot (commandments) (Mt.15:2; Mk.7:3ff.).

The "tradition of the elders" was not part of Father's written Torah instructions (the first five books of the Bible) but was rather an oral tradition passed down through generations of Jewish teachers and scholars. To the Pharisees and Scribes (Torah-teachers) the oral law (that evolved into what became the Talmud) was just as binding as the written law, and they emphasised its importance in their interpretation and application of Jewish law. When Paul refers to "the works of the law" (Rom.9:3; Gal.2:16; 3:2,5,10) it is this man-made rabbinical hybrid of Scripture-plus-Oral-'Law' that he is addressing (see Just What are the 'Works of the Law'?).

One prominent example of this tradition in the New Testament is the practice of ritual handwashing before meals. Yah'shua (Jesus) criticises this practice in the Gospels, arguing that it is not what truly defiles a person; rather, it is the thoughts and intentions of the heart that matter to Elohim (God). (This incident has nothing to do with the Torah kashrut or dietary laws). The Saviour criticises the elders for using their traditions to effectively nullify or undermine certain duvine mitzvot (commandments) of Father Yahweh, such as the obligation to honour one's parents. He points out that true defilement comes from within - from evil thoughts and actions - rather than from external practices like washing hands.

Let us be very clear, then: Sin is the transgression of Yahweh's Law, Torah, Commandments, Teachings and Instructions. Sin is a violation of Father Yahweh's commandments (mitzvot) and standards of righteousness, as revealed in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The Hebrew word hattah (like chet, often translated as sin) literally means to 'miss the mark' (as in an arrow missing the target), 'fail', or 'deviate from a right path'. Sin is also understood as a state of rebellion against Yahweh's authority, will, and commandments. Sin disrupts the harmonious relationship between Elohim (God) and humanity, leading to alienation and separation. But it is more than that: sin is not just about individual actions but also about the underlying attitudes, motives, and intentions that drive those actions.

Ldet's take a well-known example. The Saviour taught, adultery is not just the act but also the initial conception in the heart:

"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a [married] woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28, RSV).

How can we know what adultery is? By going to the Torah and checking to see what sexual sins exactly ARE - Leviticus 18 and 20 are key chapters outlining these prohibitions, which include incest, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, and sacrificing children to Molech. These chapters emphasise the importance of sexual purity and holiness in the eyes of Yahweh. New Testament verses like 1 Corinthians 6:18, Hebrews 13:4, and 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 highlight the importance of avoiding the sexual immorality described in the Torah and maintaining a pure body and mind. Christ never repudiated or altered these sexual laws given by His Father. Additionally, Paul makes it clear in 1 Timothy 4:3 that forbidding Torah-defined marriage is not only a sin but a "doctrine of demons". Obviously getting this right is extremely important so that we do not false accuse or excuse others of sin. We do not have the right to either add to, or subtract from, Yahweh's sexual laws, or to minimise the consequences of devaluing or even ignoring them. Thus the Roman Catholic Church's teaching forbidding its clergy or anyone else from marrying, or commanding (for example) an African convert with more than one wife to divorce all but the first one [1] (likewise a teaching of Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism), is a doctrine of demons and indeed historically has led to all sorts of perversions and heartbreak.

For a Law of Yahweh to be altered it must first be temporary or lacking in some way. In every case where apparently Yah'shua (Jesus) did this, doing so with His Father's authority, it was either because the need for that law or set of laws was fulfilled and no longer necessary (like the Levitical sacrificial system) or was incomplete on account of the hardness of the hearts of the original Israelites to whom it was given by Moses as a temporary stop-gap. Technically speaking, then, NO law of Yahweh has ever needed to be 'altered' which implies it was defective in some way, which to say so is a slur on His character!

There is only one instance where Yah'shua (Jesus) tightens up the lax law on divorce which was not Yahweh's law but Moses' instruction to meet an immediate need, similar to the instruction made by Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 not to marry and start a family because of existing circumstances, i.e. imperial persecution. He even went out of his way to state that this was his opinion, expressing his views on being single for the sake of evangelism, but felt the Ruach (Spirit) was leading him to make this suggestion because of the evil times. But he never forbade anyone from marrying.

The Saviour taught that marriage is a permanent union intended by Elohim (God), and divorce should only occur in cases of sexual immorality (Mt.5:31-32, 19:3-9; Mk.10:2-12). He made it clear that divorce and remarriage, except in the case of porneia (sexual immorality), constitutes adultery. He also highlighted that Moses' allowance for divorce on virtually any pretext was a concession due to the hardness of people's hearts, and not Yahweh's original intention for marriage. This is the ONLY concession made by Moses and the ONLY incidence where Christ tightened up the the rules. Had He wished to make further modifications, He has plenty of opportunity to do so.

Sin, therefore, is rebellion against Yahweh (Deuteronomy 9:7). Sin had its beginning with Heylel (Lucifer), probably the most beautiful and powerful of the malakim (angels). Not content with his position, he desired to be higher than Yahweh, and that was his downfall, the beginning of sin (Is.14:12-15). Given the title, Satan (haSatan = the satan, the adversary), he brought sin to the human race in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Adam and Eve with the same enticement, "you shall be like Elohim (God)." Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve’s rebellion against Yahweh and against His mitzvah (commandment) not to touch the Tree of Death (the Knowledge of Good and Evil). Since that time, the desire to sin has been passed down through all the generations of mankind and we, Adam’s descendants, have inherited the tendency or disposition to sin from him. Romans 5:12 tells us that through Adam sin entered the world, and so death was passed on to all men because "the wages of sin is death" (Rom.6:23).

Through Adam, the inherent inclination to sin entered the human race, and human beings became sinners by default nature. When Adam sinned, his inner nature was transformed by his sin of rebellion, bringing to him spiritual death and depravity that would be passed on to all who came after him. We are sinners because we sin and we sin because we are sinners. This passed-on depravity is known by some as 'inherited sin' but better clarified as 'the inherited tendency to sin'. Just as we inherit physical characteristics from our parents, we inherit our carnal, fleshy, sin-natures from Adam. King David lamented this condition of fallen human nature:

"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Ps.51:5).

Another type of sin is known as imputed sin. Imputed sin is the result of our having been credited with the guilt of Adam’s sin (Rom.5:18). To impute is 'to take something that belongs to someone and credit it to another’s account,' and imputed sin is Adam’s guilt attributed to or credited to us. All human beings are counted as having sinned in Adam and thus deserving the same punishment for sin as Adam. After Adam's sin, everyone was subject to death, even before the Mosaic Law was given, because of imputed sin, which affects our standing before Elohim (God).

Yahweh used the principle of imputation to benefit mankind when He imputed the sin of believers to the account of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), who paid the penalty for that sin—death—on the cross [2]. Imputing our sin to Yah'shua (Jesus), Yahweh treated Him as if He were a sinner, though He was not, and had Him die for the sins of the entire world (1 Jn.2:2). It is important to understand that sin was imputed to Him, but He did not inherit it from Adam by choosing to sin, because He never violated His Father's Torah once. He was perfectly obedient, even unto death. He bore the penalty for sin, but He never became a sinner by sinning. He was treated as though He were guilty of all the sins ever committed by the human race, even though He committed none. Yahweh then imputed the righteousness of Christ to believers and credited our accounts with His righteousness, just as He had credited our sins to Christ’s account (2 Cor.5:21). This truth is spoken of in the opening passage I gave at the beginning:

P> "Everyone who sins breaks the law (Torah); in fact, sin is lawlessness (Torahlessness). But You know that He (Christ) appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him there is no sin. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning (breaking the Torah). No one who continues to [willfully] sin gas either seen Him or known Him" (1 Jn.3:4-6, NIV).

A third type of sin may be said to be 'personal' sin, that which is committed every day by every human being when we fail to yield to the promptings of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) to carry our specific tasks, for instance. Because we have inherited a sin nature from Adam, we commit individual, personal sins by blocking out Yahweh's presence in our lives and so wander aimlessly guessing at what He might have us do. Those who have not fully placed their faith in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) must pay the penalty both for these personal sins, as well as the sins of willful Torah-disobedience, inherited and imputed sin. This, of course, is impossible and were it not for the Cosmic Jubillee they would remain in hell forever.

However, regenerated believers who remain in Christ have been freed from the eternal penalty of sin—hell and spiritual death. We now also have the power to resist sinning of all categories. Now we can choose whether or not to obey the Torah or commit personal sins because we have the power of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) who dwells within us. When we do sin, the Ruach (Spirit) convicts us (Romans 8:9-11). Once we confess our personal sins to Yahweh and ask forgiveness for violating His Torah and not listening to His instructions, we are restored to perfect fellowship and communion with Him:

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn.1:9).

We are four times condemned due to Torah-disobedience, inherited sin, imputed sin, and personal sin. The only just penalty for this sin is death (Rom.6:23), not just physical death but spiritual death (Rev.20:11-15). Thankfully, the sin of Torah-disobedience, inherited sin, imputed sin, and personal sin have all been crucified on the cross of Yah'shua (Jesus), and now by faith in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) as the Saviour "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7) provided. The only condition is that we repent and cease sinning, as Yah'shua (Jesus) warned the woman caught in adultery after she had been forgiven:

"Go your way, and from now on do not sin (break the Torah mitzvah/commandment concerning adultery) again" (Jn.8:11b, NRSV).