Faith and Allegiance (5) Sin

Sin means “falling short”… The Greek word for sin is “harmartia”. It means missing the mark. The Hebrew word is “chata”. It means “falling short” or “missing a goal”.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were not committing idolatry, as many claim. It was not doing bad things, the more popular understanding of sin. Rather, they broke their allegiance to God. He had created them, so he deserved their loyalty. Up until then, they were on God’s side. They had been with him all the way.

By listening to the serpent, they were choosing to be free agents. They would give casual allegiance to the one who offered the best deal. Unfortunately, in a spiritual world, it is impossible to be a free agent. By making a decision to withdraw their allegiance to God, they submitted themselves to the Satan.

If sin is withdrawing allegiance from God, then falling short or missing a goal is a good way to describe it. Adam and Eve did not go all the way with God. They fell short, by withdrawing their allegiance to God and listening to the serpent.

Therefore, when God offers to restore us back to the position we lost, switching allegiance is the appropriate thing to do. Just believing that Jesus died and rose again is not enough (although it is important). Humans withdrew from allegiance to God, so they need to switch allegiance back to God to regain what they lost.