On Sin and Righteousness - Part 2

What causes us to "miss the mark" or have a dysfunctional aim in our lives? What difference does it make anyway - does sin really have consequences? The answer to these questions really flows from the previous discussion on what sin is - a faith pothole.

James says "we are tempted when we are drawn away by our own desires", which then births sin. "Drawn away" from what? What must we desire that makes us "miss the mark"? We are constatntly drawn away from trusting our well-being to God. Our flesh walks by sight and seeks temporal satisfaction. Our nature wants our skin itches to be scratched while God wants our soul itches to be scratched. Our desire to see our circumstances as the way to make sense of our identity and value is dysfunctional relative to God's perspective because it lacks our faith in the invisible and eternal provisions and privileges of Heaven.

Does a dysfunctional aim that "misses the mark" really matter? James goes on to say that "when sin is full grown, it leads to death."  We know from the story of The Fall in Genesis that death and destruction entered the world when Adam and Eve decided that becoming self-sufficient in gratifying their desires was preferred to enjoying the provisions of God's Kingdom. While Adam and Eve's physical life (bios) did not die at that moment, their spirit life (zoe) did. Sin is what separates us from the fellowship with God that He wants to have with us and made provision for us to have with Him. Righteousness is what the Bible calls this right relationship and that will come next :-)