Personally, I see it as a lack of faith, which is a sin.
I AGREE, "SIN" is a LACK OF FAITH.
And will elaborate.
FAITH is a GIFT from God.
FAITH is a GIFT "FROM GOD"..."TO MEN", who are being "ENLIGHTENED"...hearing, learning, The Word of God, and believing what they are hearing and Learning.
Any man WHO, (just like the diciples) is BEGINNING to Hear and Learn, AND BELIEVING, is given MEASURES of FAITH...
And men (as did the diciples), MAY wonder, question, challenge, doubt, deny, SOME THINGS THEY ARE hearing and learning...
(And on those points are NOT receiving enlightenment, or receiving measures of faith and in the next instance, believe, trust, and then are being enlightened, and receiving more FAITH.)
It is the Carnal MINDS HUMAN NATURE, to doubt, deny, challenge what the Mind does NOT yet understand.
God does NOT "appeal" to a mans Carnal MIND...God appeals TO a mans "natural spirit"....WHICH IS: the mans TRUTH IN HIS HEART (not his mind).
THAT is the WHOLE INTENT of a conversion of a MAN...is for a man TO BECOME.....
"IN THE "LIKENESS" of God..."
Meaning...God IS NEVER "IN Conflict WITH HIMSELF.
Gods Counsel IS WITHIN Himself;
His MIND, His SOUL, HIS WORD, HIS SPIRIT...are ALWAYS in AGREEMENT.
Man NATURALLY...IS NOT.
Mans spirit in his heart can absolutely know his truth...and his MIND deceive lies...and his Mouth speak lies.
Conversion of a MAN, CHANGES a MAN...
BY Gods POWER...and KEEPS the CHANGE in the man...BY Gods POWER within the man.
FAITH is a GIFT from God, that is GIVEN IN MEASURES...It is the mans continued flollowing, hearing, learning, that Continues Strenghtening the mans FAITH...which leads to the man BEING PREPARED, TO: submit himself to thee Lord God and ACCEPT "His Conversion", ONCE and FOREVER.
Going back to "SIN" and "Trespass".
MY sIN AGAINSt GOD...was NEVER according to me "NOT FOLLOWING A LAW given Hebrews and the Tribes of Israel".
MY SIN AGAINST GOD, was being naturally born AND NOT: BELIEVING IN thee Lord God.
And THAT is the same for EVERY man.
It is WHEN Thee Heavenly God is revealed to a person....that the person THEN has the freewill to make his OwN CHOICE to follow, hear, learn, believe....and COMMIT their belief IN and TO God....or not.
And Further...it is WHEN Thee Lord Jesus is reveal to a person...that the person THAN has the freewill to make his OWN CHOICE to follow, hear, learn, believe....and COMMIT their belief IN and TO God and thee Lord Jesus....or not.
Babies, can not reason or comprehend what or who God is or the Lord Jesus....Babies have NO ACCOUNTABILITY for what they do not know.
Men however ARE ACCOUNTABLE for hearing, learning....and then CHOOSING....TO commit TO thee Lord God....or CHOOSING TO Reject thee Lord God.
The Tribes of ISRAEL, particularly the JEWS, KEEPING their Faithfulness TO God....were being INTRODUCED TO Thee Lord Jesus...THEIR CHRIST MESSIAH...
He (Jesus), DID NOT APPeAr TO THEM...AS they EXPECTED...BUT SOME Jews, followed and listened and heard and began understanding.....WHY Jesus did NOT appear TO THEM "as God", but rather "in the "LIKENESS", as a man, A Faithful SERVANT of God.......thus a DIVIDE among the Jews ensued. ....AND continues TO this DAY.
SOME Jews...
1) just like days of old, favor secular ways before God.
2) just like days of old, continue UNDER the Laws of Moses, and still are WAITING for their Messiah to come SAVE them.
3) Just like days of old, HAVE heard, believe, and Commited their BELIEF, IN God, and IN Jesus their Christ Messiah...
(AND BTW, they "DO NOT" call themselves "CHRISTIANS" OR "Born Again Christians"!)
I have HEARD and Learned about Thee God of the Jews, and exercised MY Freewill TO Believe IN Thee Heavenly God of the Jews...
(And I do not thus CALL myself a Jew!)
I have HEARD and Learned about Thee Christ Messiah of the Jews, and exercised MY Freewill TO Believe IN The Christ Messiah of the Jews...
(And I do not thus CALL myself a Jews!)
I exercised MY FREEWILL TO call on the Lord Jesus, and COMMIT, "by my word, and my belief IN MY natural spirit (truth) in MY HEART"...my VOW of Belief IN thee Heavenly God AND thee Lord Jesus. And I TRUST, thee Lord Jesus IS FAITHFUL, and CONVERTED ME, ONCE and FOREVER...that from that moment; BY HIS POWER....FOREVER He "KEEPS ME" in Belief and faith-FULLNESS...TO:
Thee .... Son, Father, Holy Spirt...CALLED;
............Lord God Almighty.
My brothers...in the NATURAL order of things...are Gentiles, are siblings.
My brothers...in the SPIRITUAL, ORDER of things...is ANY person "WHO" has "RECEIVED" the SEED of God.....and according to Scripture...(they are not called "christians or messianic Jews or catholics or protestants or muslims....or a whole host of other names people like to LABEL themselves and others"........THEY ARE CALLED:
................sons of God..........1 John 3:9
You may understand that...but BOL does NOT, nor can consider ANYTHING, but what "his holy father", the pope decrees.
Glory to God,
Taken