The Saddest Word in the Bible
Clarence Macartney opens his book, Greatest Words in the Bible and in Modern Speech, with the following words: “What is the saddest word in the Bible and in Human Speech? Some thought that it was death; others, Hell; others, Depart; and many voted for Lost. But what is the saddest word? What is the word that is the fountain of woe, the mother of sorrows, as universal as human nature, as eternal as human history? What is the word that is the cause of all war and violence and hatred and sorrow and pain? What is the word that is man’s worst enemy? What is the word that nailed the Son of God to the Cross? That word is Sin. “Sin croucheth at the door.” – Genesis 4:7. And there, ever since, with its sorrow and its woe, sin has been crouching at humanity’s door, and will continue to crouch, until the world is redeemed.”
The superlative of sin: it is one of the shortest words, one of the saddest words and, as Finney put it, “the most expensive thing in the world.” Scottish theologian, Dr. James Orr, writes in his book, “Sin a Problem of Today,” “What we name sin is, from the religious point of view, the tragedy of God’s universe. What it is, how it came, why it is permitted to develop itself into the havoc and ruin it surely entails, what is to be the end of it, above all, how its presence and working are to be reconciled with goodness, holiness, love, in the God Who has permitted it—these are the crushing questions that press upon the spirit of everyone who thinks deeply on the subject. In its very conception sin is that which ought not to be; which ought never to have been. How, then, or why, is it here, this awful, glaring, deadly, omnipresent reality in human history and experience? For sin is here: this, conscience and universal experience attest. The evidences of its presence are not slight or intermittent. Men may belittle it, try to forget it, treat it as a superstition or disease of imagination—there are no lack of such attempts in the thinking of today (imagine what Macartney would have thought of our age!)—but the grim reality asserts itself in the dullest consciousness, and compels acknowledgement of its existence and hateful power...” The apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death…” We will be looking at the saddest word in the Bible this morning, but first, enjoy our song…
Oh, how fully Jesus sensed sin. While Jerusalem’s residents inhaled the crisp mountain air with gusto, Jesus gagged and choked on the sin that smothered him like thick smog. Jesus could see as God what others could not. Jesus knew that it was sin - not Roman soldiers, not the Jewish religious elite - but sin that pounded the nails through his hands and feet. Jesus knew that it was sin that slashed his back with razor-like precision, that it was sin that crushed the thorn crown into his skull, that it was sin that bowed his exhausted frame under the weight of heavy timber, that it was sin that thrust that spear in his side. Sin consumed the Christ. He would ultimately destroy it, but in the meanwhile, sin tortured and tormented him. No wonder Jesus talked about sin so much. Sin was His nemesis.
The singular word sin, excluding all of its synonyms, is found about fifteen hundred times in the Bible. G. Campbell Morgan says, on top of that, eleven different Hebrews words in the Old Testament and eleven different Greek words in the New Testament are used to describe sin. God is obviously trying to tell us that he wants us to know about sin, think about sin, and talk about sin. Why? So we can avoid sin, obtain and fully appreciate the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus himself used seven different words when discussing sin. Two of these words Jesus used frequently, the other five sparingly. The primary words He used give us our fundamental understanding of sin while the other five broaden this perception.
The first word poneros is translated evil or wicked. This word is used about eighty times in the New Testament and half the time it is Jesus who utters it. Sometimes the word is used to describe Satan and other times it is used of men. Consider the following brief sample:
Matthew 6:13 “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”
Matthew 7:17 “A corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”
Matthew 25:26 “Wicked and slothful servant.”
Anytime the word “sin” is used it refers to that which is hurtful – that which inflicts pain upon us and, indirectly, upon God. So, when we are engaged in that which is wrong we become the victims of self-inflicted injuries on our body, heart and soul. Never lose sight of the fact that God wants the best possible life for us. Jesus came (John 10:10) that we “might have life and that we might have it more abundantly.” Meanwhile, Satan salivates over our suffering. He is the source of all sin and suffering.
The second and most common word for sin is hamartia. Thayer defines it 1) “a sinning, whether it occurs by omission or commission (whether from doing something forbidden or failing to do something commanded), in thought and feeling or in speech and action.” 2) “That which is done wrong…an offence, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act.” This word is found over 170 times in the New Testament. The root meaning of hamartia-sin is “A failing to hit the mark.”
The original meaning of hamartia-sin was associated by the Greeks with a man flinging a spear that fails to hit the intended target. Take just about any sport and you can make the association personal. Hamartia-sin is like the quarterback who throws an interception, the pitcher who throws a pass ball, the basketball player that shoots an air ball. Morgan says, “In the mental realm, (it is used)… of the artist, also of the musician or writer who fails of the highest.” Failure. Sin is failure. Over time the word evolved among the Greeks to refer to the moral character of an individual. Jesus picked that idea prevalent in his day and time and ran with it, using it over and over again. To sin is to miss the mark morally. Thayer says it is “to wander from the path of uprightness.”
Jesus never used this word sin as something that was some form of disease or something out of one’s control. Rather, the word sin, missing the mark, indicated personal responsibility. Jesus, unlike the Pharisees, did not come to ridicule us, “Air-ball, air ball.” No, Jesus did not come to heckle or condemn, but neither did He come to excuse or condone. When Jesus spoke of sin he spoke of the bane of humanity, the cancer of character, the disease He came as the Great Physician, both to diagnose and to cure. A disease we bring upon ourselves. Sin is the parasite; man is the host. As we sometimes sing, “The Great Physician now is near, the sympathizing Jesus.” The only question is: do we want the cure; do we want to be whole; will we imbibe the elixir; will we take our medicine?
I remember from childhood hearing my father tell a story about an incredible marksman – an archer who was so skilled that every arrow that ever left its quiver found the bull’s eye. One man was particularly impressed. He was determine to seek out the marksman that he might learn of his great secret accuracy. When he finally found him, he expressed his awe and amazement at the man’s incomparable gift. “There’s no denying that you are the finest marksman in the land,” the admirer exclaimed, “but there must be, in addition to your great talent some sort of preparation or training to aid you with such remarkable accuracy.” “Oh yes,” said the marksman, “it’s really quite simple. I shoot first and draw the target afterwards.”
When you think about it, the bible itself is a book of bull’s eyes. It’s no wonder is it, that we have trouble hitting the target if we never look at it? The Holy Spirit sets up the target in His word and we do our utmost to strike it. There is a target of honesty and purity, doctrine and love, words and thoughts. Salvation is one target; worship is another. Every missed target amounts to a sin. We gotta get this point folks: all the targets are found in God’s word NOT in our own head.
One of the most common deceptions in the world today is that they have their own arrangement worked out separate and apart from God. Sometimes, sadly, I hear this even among professing Christians. They may not realize it, but they are saying, in effect, that they have chucked the Word of God out the proverbial window and written their OWN testament, their own covenant with God. They act as if they are exempt from obeying the word of God. They talk of a separate understanding that they have made with God. The prophet wrote in Jeremiah 10:23, “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”
It’s critical that we understand that are DO NOT have the luxury of doing what the marksman of our story did. Brothers, sisters and friends, we can’t draw our own targets. We don’t get to decide what’s right and wrong. We don’t get to pick and choose HOW we will honor God by obedience to our own dictates. The wise man writes in that great classic of scripture, Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” He writes again in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death." We cannot rely on our instincts; we cannot let our own imagination be our guide. If we want to hit the target, we must look to God and His word.
Let’s move now to some of the less commonly used words to describe sin. Jesus used the word paraptoma, or trespass to describe “falling where one ought to have stood.” Thayer adds that this word is used twenty-three times in the New Testament and refers to “a lapse or deviation from truth and uprightness.” Jesus uses this word in Matthew 6:14 when He says, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” The idea here seems to involve a slip or error made because one became too casual; perhaps their approach to the Christian life was too nonchalant; the wrong may have been inadvertent, but this is sin as well.
This next word, anomia, is extremely important in our world. Christians (and I use the word loosely) seem to have lost this word somewhere along the way. I suppose some have intentionally kicked it to the curb, but I think many are just unaware of the idea inherent in the word. In the King James Version, you may remember it being translated “iniquity.” Probably the most prominent example is found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES THE WILL of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” G. Campbell Morgan hits it dead on, “It does not describe the condition of a man who has never had the law, but rather the attitude of the man who refuses to obey the law. Sin is disobedience. Here Jesus teaches that some will simply not be willing to submit to the word and will of God.”
Listen to what Jesus is saying. Jesus is the one who gets to decide what the test of true love for him will be and it’s not the warm fuzzies! He says flatly in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” The Holy Spirit adds in Acts 5:32, “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him." The beloved disciple accentuates this truth in I John 5:3, the attitude of heart that should accompany our obedience, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” Our spirit in obeying God should not be one of reluctance, frustration or irritation. This is similar to the way a man shows love to his wife. He does not think, “Well, I guess I have to pay the bills again or I hate to get flowers, but I reckon I better.” Our love for God should be so full that we are anxious to honor Him with our obedience.
Kakia is another word that gives us another shade of meaning and carries the idea of malice or ill-will. This includes the more common idea of negative emotions, but the word fundamentally means bad. Morgan says it is “the principle of evil which results in suffering.” Jesus used it only once in Matthew 6:34, “Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.”
Adikia is translated unrighteousness and means “out of the straight.” The idea is that sin is the opposite of righteousness. I think of what Moses said in Deuteronomy 5:32, “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”
Jesus only used the word phaulos twice, but each use was quite significant. John 3:20 - “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” John 5:29 – “And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” The meaning of this word is “worthless, of no account” according to Thayer. Morgan defines the word as “good for nothing” referring to the effect on those who abide in sin.
Years ago a startling story came out in The Orange County Register. It seems that two Orange County women went shopping in Tijuana, Mexico. As they were returning to their car with their packages one of them heard a whining, whimpering sound. She looked around her and saw a Chihuahua lying in the gutter. It was breathing heavy and looked rather swollen. She knew it would die if she left it so her friend got a towel from the car, came back, wrapped it in the towel and took it to her car. Afraid they wouldn’t get it across the border; they hid it in the trunk.