Shalom friends,
It is impossible for man to sin against his fellow man. Man can only sin against The Lawgiver. YHWH is The Lawgiver. So mankind can only sin against YHWH, and no others, period.
Here is why:
Psalms 51:44
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil from your perspective; so that you are right in accusing me and justified in passing sentence.
In this passage, King David is pleading forgiveness from YHWH for killing Uriah and adultery with his (Uriah’s) wife. It is interesting to note that David does not say “against you and Uriah have I sinned.” Uriah is not a Lawgiver. YHWH is the Lawgiver. And although man can “offend” his brother, he cannot truly sin against his brother.
You see, Scripture tells us the definition of sin.
It states as follows:
1 John 3:4
Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah - indeed, sin is violation of Torah.
So if “sin is violation of Torah”, then by "sinning" we can only violate the the one who gives the Torah.
James seems to realize this.
He says:
James 4:11-12
Brothers, stop speaking against each other! Whoever speaks against a brother or judges a brother is speaking against Torah and judging Torah. And if you judge Torah, you are not a doer of what Torah says, but a judge. There is but one Giver of Torah; he is also the Judge, with the power to deliver and to destroy. Who do you think you are, judging your fellow human being?
I think that Scripture is very straight-forward on this matter.
Now I realize that many people are going to reference Matthew 18:15
Matthew 18:15"Moreover, if your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his fault -- but privately, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.
I have enclosed the Strong’s definition of the word translated “sin” in the above Scripture:
Strongs # 264
Hamartano
-to be without a share in
-to miss the mark
-err, be mistaken
-to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong
-to wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin
My point is to say that my brother cannot sin against me. If he hurtsme , then he is violating my Father’s Law of “treat your neighbor as yourself”, not my law. So he may offend or hurt me, but he is not sinning against me. And since I am a part of my Father’s family, my Father is my vengeance. He will take care of the matter because it is His Law that is being violated.
It is no different here on earth. In your earthly family, did your father allow you to beat up your brother when your brother coveted your belongings? Or did your father allow you to “ground” or spank your brothers when they broke the house rules? No! Your father handled the matter himself, restoring family peace among each of you, for it was his house rules that were violated.
So to it is with my Heavenly father. The Laws are His Laws and anyone who violates His Laws sin against Him. So do not take vengeance on your brother when he offends you. You may feel offended, but the sin is against my Father in Heaven. Walk away and let Dad handle the situation.
Shalom to you all.
Barabba
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