Sin Management

Lesson Outline for July 24, 2025

Sin Management

How close do you want to get to the chalk line?

Goal – Introduce the topic of sin, if there are differences (categories and degrees) of sin; and as men why we should establish boundaries

• What is sin, and is all sin equal?
• What is a boundary, and what’s it used for?
• What does sin management look like?
• Why did/ does God establish boundaries?
• The depth of the relationship demonstrates the level of commitment

Hebrew and Greek Terms / Definitions

• Sin – #H2403 “chatta’ah” evil committed against another, an offence, trespass against God; #G266 “hamartia” – missing the mark, fall short, wander from path of righteousness; like #G264 “hamartano” to trespass, break God’s Divine law; (ex Rom 3:9,23; 5:12,13; 9:2-3)
• Transgression – #G3845 “parabaino” go aside, go beyond a boundary #G5233 “huperbaino “go beyond, overstep (ex Matt 15:2-3; Acts 1:25; 1 Thess 4:6)
• Iniquity – #H1100 “beliya’al” worthless, wicked, good for nothing (ex Deut 13:13); #H7451 “ra” evil, wicked in thoughts and actions – left unchecked leads to willful sin w/ no fear of God; #G458 “anomia” lawlessness, contempt for God’s Divine law (ex 2 Thess 2:3); #G93 “adiakia” steward of unrighteousness (ex Acts 8:23; Luke 13:27); #G2549 (kakia) evil, wicked (ex Acts 8:22; 1 John 5:19); #G4189 “pomeria” worthless, wieked /
• Boundary – #H1366 “gebul” border, enclosed boundary (ex Num 22:36; Ez 40:12 / #H1379 “gabal” to set bounds, border (ex Josh 19:20); #G3734 “horothesia” to fix or place a boundary;

The green is the author’s notations in the verses below. Bold text added for emphasis

 

The ways all sin are equal

Any sin; all sin separates us from God

Rom 3:9, 23 ESV – “9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, … 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…,” (all are under sin Jew and Gentile also see Psa 14:1-3; 53:1-4)

Rom 5:12 ESV – “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..,”

James 2:9-10 ESV – “9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors (law breakers). 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”

Act 8:23 ESV – “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” (Simon a sorcer/witch in Samaria)

Luke 13:27 ESV – “But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!” (#G93 stewards of unrighteousness)

• All and any sin separate us from God and requires a blood atonement
• We see varying “degrees” of sin, transgressions and wickedness

 

Is one sin greater than another

Gen 18:20 ESV – “20 Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave…,”

Num 15:30 NIV  –  ” ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD and must be cut off from the people of Israel.”

John 19:11 ESV – “Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.””

Matt 7:3 ESV – “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

• Pharisee were able to point out all the flaws of others, but not their own greater sin
• Can we see ourselves in the Pharisee – do we overlook our sin?
• We have a tendency to judge our “intentions” but other’s “actions / results”
• There is no great spiritual anointing needed to point out others sins

 

Matt 23:23-24 ESV  –  23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”

• Jewish religious leaders of the law were meticulously tithing – Jesus used the contrast of their tithe being fine herbs, while neglecting “weightier” / “heavier” matters of God’s law
• Gnat compared to camel – sin of smaller magnitude compared to greater magnitude
• In both the OT and NT we see all sin is not the same magnitude
• As men – leaders of our families – it’s our responsibility to lead well, come out of agreement with sin – it is a great responsibility and a command (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-3)
• When replying to Pilate Jesus stated there was a greater sin (not a collective amount of sin) a greater degree of sin

 

Boundaries are good for us

God’s boundaries are good for our body, soul and spirit

Gen 1 ESV – separated and bounded chaos from order, night/day, waters/expanse, seas/land,

Gen 2:16-17 ESV – “16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Acts 17:26-27 TPT – “He sets the boundaries of people and nations, determining their appointed times in history. He has done this so that every person would long for God, feel their way to him, and find him—for he is the God who is easy to discover!”

Jude 1:6 ESV – “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day”

• God set boundaries for our good; it’s not about religion
• God’s love, mercy, grace and sacrifice transform and free us
• Boundaries support / enable us accomplishing God’s assignments / plan for our lives
• Boundaries are part of staying in God’s will for our lives
• Angels broke boundaries and were chained into darkness
• As “Men of God” we must set an example of obedience to God’s boundaries
• As Men of God” we need to teach our family and set boundaries for our families
• Boundaries are for today and both effect / affect future generations
• God is merciful and warns us about sin – remember when God warned Cain in Gen 4
• God wants us to succeed – but it is our choice – love is a choice; we honor God and demonstrate our love by choosing Him before sin

 

Sin management

Life is not football – don’t get chalk on your toes

Gen 13:9-13 ESV – “9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.”

Rev 2:20-21 ESV – “20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”

• Sin management is keeping and staying in agreement with sin
• Agreeing with sin is agreeing the Satan
• Lot put his toes on the chalk line; he was a passive leader; he tolerated sin and iniquity; read Gen 19 about Lot “lingering”
• Lot must not have been a serious man, his sons-in-laws did not listen to him
• Adam, Lot and King David were passive leaders of their home; also – Aaron and Eli
• What made Adam a passive husband and leader? Impact?
• Abraham’s major consequence from his passivity? Yet, God kept His promise to Abraham and Hagar/Ishmael
• King David, was he a passive husband / father? Consequences to his family?
• Bloodline issue for King David – Solomon and future generations
• Though forgiven, there are consequences for our sin
• Men of God are not passive leaders and do not tolerate or practice sin

 

Jesus kept His Father’s boundaries and maintained boundaries too

God’s boundaries enable us to achieve our God given purpose and assignments

Mark 1:35 ESV – “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

• Men of God set time aside for God, pray for themselves, and their families
• Men of God are disciples of Jesus Christ – they enforce Jesus’s victory in their lives
• You are the “watchman” over your family and the territory God has given you – We are on GUARD DUTY 24/7
• You are a shepherd over your family – be a shepherd like David – take down lions, bears and GIANTS – David maintained a “fear of the LORD”

 

Last thoughts and considerations

• Any / all sin separates us from God. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ – don’t wait
• When you manage sin, you agree and partner with sin – you partner with a devil
• God’s boundaries are for our protection from the enemy
• God’s boundaries are for our future generations
• God’s boundaries enable us to accomplish God given purposes and assignments
• Godly men are quick to repent and turn away from sin
• Put your computer in a common area
• What are your “eye and ear gates” receiving
• Godly men set hard boundaries with the opposite sex; work, text, phone calls, etc
• Wives are a priority before children
• Parents – Don’t exasperate your children
• Parents – Set a Christ like example
• Single men – Set clear lines and expectation when dating.. stay away from the “edge”
• Godly boundaries – Write them down; decree them over you – set the example
• Who is your battle buddy and who is your spiritual mentor? Men need a male battle buddy and a Christian mentor – see the article at the link for characteristics of a battle buddy and Christian mentor – https://advancefreedomministry.com/2025/06/25/spiritual-warfare-men-you-are-in-the-battle-whether-you-believe-it-or-not/

“Sin takes you farther than you want to go; keeps you longer than you want to stay; and costs more than you thought you would pay”

Other verses for self-study

Isa 59:12 ESV – “For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressionsare with us, and we know our iniquities…”

1 John 2:1 ESV – “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Psa 32:2, 5 ESV – “2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. … 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”

Deut 5:1-2 ESV – “1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.”

1 John 3:9 ESV – “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

1 John 5:2-3 ESV – 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

John 14:15 ESV– “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

1 Sam 15:22-24 ESV – “22 And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” 24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”

Gal 6:7-9 ESV – “7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Gen 16:2-3 ESV – “2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.”

Exo 32:1-2 ESV – “1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

Gen 4:7 ESV – “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

2 Sam 12 – immediate and generational impact on David’s bloodline