What sin is

In this passage, God is essentially taking his people to court, and bringing his charges against them. And in doing so, we get a clear picture of what sin is.

I live in Japan, and to many people here, they hear the word sin, and they associate it with crime.

But while crime is sin, sin itself is something much deeper: a turning away from God and the turning to something else.

You see this time and again in this passage.

What fault did your fathers find in me
that they went so far from me
followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.

They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord…”(Jeremiah 2:5-6)

Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?
(But they were not gods!)
Yet my people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols. (11)

For my people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug cisterns for themselves–cracked cisterns that cannot hold water. (13)

Have you not brought this upon yourself
by abandoning the Lord your God
while he was leading you along the way? (17)

Recognize how evil and bitter it is
for you to abandon the Lord your God
and to have no fear of me. (19)

For long ago I broke your yoke;
I tore off your chains.
You insisted, “I will not serve!” (20)

But you say, “It is hopeless;
I love strangers,
and I will continue to follow them.” (25)

For they have turned their back to me
and not their face (27)

Why do you bring a case against me?
All of you have rebelled against me. (29)

Why do my people claim,
“We will go where we want;
we will no longer come to you”?

Can a young woman forget her jewelry
or a bride her wedding sash?

Yet my people have forgotten me
for countless days. (31-32)

But in spite of all these things
you claim, “I am innocent.
His anger is sure to turn away from me.”

But I will certainly judge you
because you have said, “I have not  sinned.” (34-35)

These attitudes are the heart of sin.

Sure, murder, rape, stealing, hurting others, cheating on your husband or wife, and lying are all sins.

But it ultimately comes down to this: you turn our back on God and go your own way.

And so when we preach the gospel, that is what we need to explain to people when talking about sin.

So many, like the Israelites, can’t see their own sin because they don’t understand what it is or how bad it is.

But as we look at our lives, how often can these things be said of us?

Are we abandoning the fountain of living water and digging cracked cisterns for ourselves?

Where are we going to get the love we desire? Where are we going to find satisfaction in life?

Are we turning our face toward God? Or are we seeking other things?

Where is your heart today?