The two dimensions of sin (2)

1 Sm 2 “²⁵If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.”

If a man kills, commits adultery, divorces his wife, rapes, gives false testimony, etc., he directly hurts his neighbor. God acts as judge. He also transgresses the commandment which urges him to love his
neighbor as himself: no man would like to be killed, or his wife to lie with another man, or his mother, wife, daughter or sister to be raped, or his daughter or sister to be divorced, etc. Therefore whoever commits such things disobeys God in the dimension of the flesh: this is the second dimension of sin. In contrast, if a man carves a statue which he places in front of him to bow before it and worship it so as to reject God, such a man does no evil to his neighbor, but he opens a front with God directly, and then who is there to intercede for him? This is the first dimension of sin: it is beyond all sacrifice, and all intercession.

The Son of man (prophet) said Mt 12 “³²And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” As a prophet, he is a man, one of our brothers promised in the time of Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15). And as our brother, our fellow or our neighbor, we could say anything about Him as a man of Nazareth, we could hit Him, spit on Him, insult Him, undress Him and laugh at Him, but in return He interceded for us, saying: Lc 23 “³⁴Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And the Father always hears Him (Jn 11:42). But when the Jews insulted the Father working miracles by Him, calling Him Beelzebub, the Lord said that their sin could not be forgiven, either in this world or in eternity.

He also said that anyone who does not receive His words is already judged by the same words, because he rejects the Word of God, which is God Himself. When God promised to raise up a Prophet for them from among their brethren, He also promised to put His words in his mouth so that he may tell the people all the things that God commands him. He had the same time imposed a penalty against anyone who does not listen to the prophet, he would have to do with God Himself (Dt 18:18-19) because these are not the words of their brother but of God who put them in his mouth.

Rejecting God in disregarding His Word, abusing Him by calling on other gods than Him, disobeying him by presumption and all that is alike is summed up in unbelief, rebellion, revolt against God: man rises up against the influence of God (the Spirit) on him, to yield to the influence of the flesh. No child of God can do that. This is the first meaning of sin. In this regard, the Holy Spirit says: 1Jn 3 “⁶Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. ⁷Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. ⁸He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. ¹⁰In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

The sin in question here is the nature of the devil, as we have just read. He rebelled against God and he cannot stand in the truth. No single child of God can rebel against God and oppose the truth.1Jn 5 “¹⁸We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” He who is of God keeps himself by moving after the Word of God (Ps 119 :9).

But if he sins by human weakness, as it is written:2Ch 6 « ³⁶(for there is no man which sinneth not,) » and Ec 7 “²⁰For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”  in such a case, here is Solomon’s intercession : 2Ch 6 “³⁷Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; ³⁸If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: ³⁹Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.”  And the temple is the body of Christ, the Lamb of God who has taken all our sins (John 1:36): If those who have sinned return and confess their sins with faith in the Lamb of God, God considers the sacrifice, he forgives and gives life.

David burned in his flesh in watching Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah, who was beautiful to look upon and bathing. David was not stronger than the pressure in his flesh and committed adultery (2Samuel 11). Then, in his efforts to manage the consequences of his adultery, he overlaid it with a crime of murder. David broke twice the law and the crime was in principle leading him to death. But David humbled himself before God: Ps 38 “³There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. ⁴For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. ¹⁸For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.”

The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world immediately interposed, removed the sin and took it on Him and blocked the path of death for David. Then God gave life to David who, in his eyes, was now without sin. Later on, God gave him this testimony:1R 14 “⁸And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes.” David was with no sin at all before God, after this event.

Another example, which is even more pathetic than David’s, the thief crucified with the Lord on His right. As his colleague to the left and as Barabas, this criminal had perpetrated all kinds of criminalities one can imagine: murder, robbery, rape, maybe incest, and others. His colleague to the left did not recognize the Lamb of God, but made funny of Him and his sins led him to death. But he was startled to hear his colleague utter such words towards the one who died, not for His sins, but for those of the world. Then he rebuked him: Lc 23 “⁴⁰But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.”  This criminal recognized the Lamb of God and the Lamb of God took his place, he took away his sin and blocked the path of death for him. “⁴³And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

 Two offenders, criminals, recidivists and working in the same team, but one of them is a wicked sinner prepared for judgment and the other one a lost sheep prepared to see the salvation and redemption of the Lord. The lost sheep was found, having itself recognized and found the good shepherd. After the interposition of the Lamb, God gave life to the criminal who was now with no sin at all before God. If God were to speak of him, he would proclaim him as holy as he had done about David.

Recognizing not God, His grace, His sovereignty, His salvation, His work, etc., this is more evil than exterminating an entire people or raping all women of a continent. Lucifer did not commit any kind of crime; he only rebelled against God. Cause of this, he is murderer from the beginning. He was already a murderer, adulterer, crook, liar, traitor, immoral, etc., without having committed any act of such kind. But it was already his nature since he had rebelled against God. All these acts of transgression came to be manifested not until many years later in the flesh, when he managed to seduce mankind. Further away from God, the more one yields to the bondage of the flesh.

We note indeed that societies, people - who call themselves Christians - began by ignoring God and His Word, then the flesh has transported them beyond what the common mortal can even imagine: immorality, impurity , intercourse against nature, such as incest, homosexuality, pedophilia, zoophilia, cross-dressing, effeminate, etc., sins that we cannot even find with pagans (1Co 5:1). When we say pagans, this implies people who do not have the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. But they may have a pagan knowledge of God justifying a natural fear of the Lord and hatred of evil.

God hates evil, and those who are led by His Spirit hate evil alike. He who says he received the Lord in his life and rejoices in evil demonstrates by that very fact that he has not received Him at all. But he who has the love of God in him rejoices in the truth, he keeps himself, as we read above, and the devil does not touch him.

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