What Is A Sinner?

So lets dig right into the subject of what Jesus called a "sinner!"  It isn’t all that hard to decide who is a sinner; because we are all sinners.  There are very few people, who walk the earth, who are not sinners.  And yet we hear that term thrown around freely these days.  People are more than willing to call someone else a sinner, or name sin.  

You may be interested to know that there is no uniform, or self-contained, concept of sin in the Old Testament.  There are four Hebrew roots for the term sin which carry a since of negligence, rebellion, guilt or error.  Generally sin is a legal and theological term for what is against the norm.(p.44)

The Gospels are not any more helpful.  Jesus does not name sin, but acts in awareness of it….(p49).

The Greek word for sinner carries the meaning of: To stumble, to fall, to suffer a reverse, to err, or to slip.

So what is to be said about Jesus’ use of the term sinner in passage below?  How do we understand what that mean?  

Well, we are not told directly!  And I am thinking that that silence on the subject is important. How many of us don’t “slip,” “stumble” or “err” from time to time?  How many of us miss the mark when it comes to living as Jesus asks?

To clarify, here is what Jesus asks:

35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. …36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you.

So a sinner is one who does the opposite of what Jesus asks.  When we don’t love, or do good and lend with no thought of return. Or, when we judge and don’t forgive. We are being naughty!

All those everyday little slips that we do inadvertently, or on purpose.  Make us all sinners!  No human escapes the title! 

The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

The Good news is, that Jesus knows us in the depths of our heart.  He knows that we want to do good and be helpful.  

He also knows that we are not perfect like he is.  And!  He is very forgiving!

31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”…..45 The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. (Luke 6)