SIN, DEFINITION OF

The story is told of two men who were trying to escape from an erupting volcano. As the fiery molten rock gushed out of its gaping crater, they fled in the only direction open to them. All went well until they came to a stream of hot, smoking lava about thirty feet across. Sizing up their situation, they realized that their only hope was to get over that wide barrier. One of the men was old; the other was healthy and young. With a running start, they each tried to leap to safety. The first man went only a few feet through the air before falling into the bubbling mass. The younger, with his greater strength and skill, catapulted himself much farther. Though he almost made it, he still missed the mark. It did not matter that he out-distanced his companion, for he, too, perished in the burning lava.

Sin is falling short of a standard, the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Though some may fall short of the standard by far more than others, all fall short nevertheless.1244

Man calls it an accident;

God calls it an abomination.

Man calls it a blunder;

God calls it blindness.

Man calls it a defect;

God calls it a disease.

Man calls it a chance;

God calls it a choice.

Man calls it an error;

God calls it an enmity.

Man calls it a fascination;

God calls it a fatality.

Man calls it an infirmity;

God calls it an iniquity.

Man calls it a luxury;

God calls it leprosy.

Man calls it a liberty;

God calls it lawlessness.

Man calls it a trifle;

God calls it tragedy.

Man calls it a mistake;

God calls it madness.

Man calls it a weakness;

God calls it willfulness.1245