guess one needs to define ' a sinner "
Original Word: ἁμαρτία, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: hamartia
Phonetic Spelling: (ham-ar-tee'-ah)
Short Definition: sin
Definition: prop: missing the mark; hence: (a) guilt, sin, (b) a fault, failure
266 hamartía (a feminine noun derived from 1 /A "not" and 3313 /méros, "a part, share of") – properly, no-share ("no part of"); loss (forfeiture) because not hitting the target; sin (missing the mark).
A sinner is one with sin. "Sin" (hamartia) = "to miss the mark" "to fall short of the mark."
It's literally what the word means (same with the Hebrew word "sin" in the OT).
When an archery athlete in the ancient Olympic games missed the target, it was said he "sinned" - he missed the mark. A sinner thus is one who misses the mark. The use of the term in the Bible complies with the meaning of the word chosen for it; one who misses the mark.
We thus need to note the mark. And honestly ask if we have hit it - 24/7. Or have we fallen short of it, missed it? Bullseye or miss?
Matthew 5:48, "You must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."
1 Peter 1:16, "You must be holy even as God in heaven is holy."
John 15:12, "Love all people just as I (Jesus) first loved you."
Ephesians 4:32, "forgiving one another, just as God in Christ first forgave you."
First John 2:6, "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."
Philippians 2:5, "You must have the same attitude that Christ did."
Here's what the Bible says about our missing or hitting the mark...
Romans 3:23, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard."
First John 1:10, "If we claim we have no sin, we make God a liar and His word is not in us."
1 Timothy 1:15, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - and I am the worst sinner of them all." ("AM" - present tense; SAINT Paul write this as a Christian near the end of his life)
"Sin" = "miss the mark." One sins if one misses the mark, falls short of what the Law demands. So, you "miss the mark" and thus are a sinner if you do not constantly/always have the same attitude that Christ did, if you are not constantly/always perfect to the same extent and degree that God Himself is, if you are not constantly/always as holy as God Himself is, if you are not constantly/always loving exactly as Christ is.
Thank you.
Pax Christi
- Josiah
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