Yet we are aware that the Son of God is arriving, and has given us a comprehension, that we know the True One, in His Son, Jesus Christ. This One is the true God and life eonian.
First Epistle of John 5: 20, Concordant New Testament
I've sat through far too many sermons dealing with the subject of sin. I've struggled more times than I can count to avoid the sinful thoughts I was taught to beware of. Bottom line, we're told that sin is the difference between good and evil. To be righteous is to have thoughts of good, while sin belongs to those thoughts of the evil one. This is what I was taught to believe about sin. Not only that, but that God has a special place chosen for those who continue to live in their sin. That those who have not had their sin forgiven are destined to suffer forever in torment. Keep in mind, this continues to be the teaching of the mainstream church. My first clue that I might have been wrong about the nature of sin came from the scripture we find in John 3:16-17. The iconic scripture most evangelists use to persuade those who have never known Jesus to come to Him. God has indeed loved His creation enough to dispatch His Son. This I understand. But it's the following passage that peaked my interest. That Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but that ALL may be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:17}. That all would be saved? What about those who sin? Obviously, I was missing something here. Maybe sin isn't about right and wrong after all, but something else. Where is it that we're told that sin first entered into the world? This was in the garden of Eden, where the deceiver managed to convince Adam and Eve to act against God. If we want to understand the real nature of sin, we need to start here. As a result of Satan's deception, the popular belief is that man was somehow separated from God. THAT is the true nature of sin. Our belief that we are somehow separate from God who created us. Despite being created and given life by the Father, I was deceived into believing that there was a separation between us. This deception permeated all mankind from its inception in the garden. God has never spoken that man is separate from Him. So, the question remains, why would we believe it?
Now, it is Eonian life that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Him Whom Thou dost commission, Jesus Christ.
Johns Account 17: 3, Concordant New Testament
Sit through any church sermon and you're bound to hear the pulpit pounder speak on the virtues of living righteous and the consequences of doing wrong and living in sin. It is the church which has convinced us into believing that sin is about right and wrong. It is Christ Jesus Who has come to remind us of the truth of the Father {Johns Account 17:3}. The truth of the Father is that we live in union with Him {Johns Account 14:20}. We have been created in His likeness {Genesis 1:27}. God has never NOT been an intimate part of who we are. Yet the church will spend countless hours convincing us that to sin is to separate ourselves from God. No, sin is the FALSE BELIEF that we are separate from the Father. It is Christ Jesus Who has come to erase this belief and to show us the truth of the Father. How is it that we can sin if we are in the Father {First Epistle of John 3:6}? I will not proclaim that there is not good and evil in this world, because there is indeed. What I will testify to is that it has never been about good and evil in regards to the sin issue. It is Jesus who took the sin of not knowing the truth of the Father with Him to the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}. What remains is the truth which has been revealed to us by Christ Jesus. That He is in us, and we are in him.
"Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky watching everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time! But he loves you. He loves you, and he needs money. He always needs money. He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow he just can't handle money"
~George Carlin~
~Scott~