Assignment: Sin
Demonstrate theological thinking about Sin.
General Instructions
In 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon titled "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" that resulted in many people turning from their previous way of living and adopting a biblical worldview.
What is the connection between sin and God?
What is sin?
What did Jesus say about it?
Is thinking theologically about sin today relevant?
A word study gives a Bible scholar an important analytical method for studying the Bible. A Bible scholar engages a word study to understand what the Bible author meant when he used a specific word. The scholar investigates passages in the Bible wherein the word is used. The scholar initially analyzes first-level religious language (i.e., the source, the sacred text) rather than second-level religious language (e.g., commentaries, Bible dictionaries, etc). The analysis results in providing Bible knowledge derived directly from the Bible. Secondary sources then can be used in a complementary manner.
Your analysis requires several actions on your part.
(1) Investigate and list passages containing the word "sin." Ignore duplicate usage.
(2) Identify key passages that give insight to the meaning(s) of the word; this action can be difficult for the first time scholar, so overcome any discouragement with a good dose of persistence. Group passages with like or similar usage.
(3) For each group of passages, derive a summary. Each summary is your interpretation of a meaning for the word "sin." Other texts then can be referenced to compare and contrast how you interpreted the meaning(s) with how others interpreted the meaning(s). Limit your analysis to the four Gospels.
Following elements need to be thoroughly addressed:
Limit the paper to the four Gospels( Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
Be sure to be comprehensive with the four.
Exclude redundancy.
The paper should consist of three sections.
The first section results from your initial investigation and lists Bible passages and the sentence containing the word "sin." Here's an example: John 16:8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment."
The second section consists of a list of the passages you identify as important for interpretation.
The third section contains your interpretation of the key passages, the summary you derived from the passages you felt were important in the analysis.
Upon completion of the third section, research Bible resources to compare with your work.
Provide at least two academic resources.