John the Baptist made an amazing statement to his followers as he saw Jesus approaching,

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

This may seem to be a strange statement to us, but his Jewish audience would have made the connection of a lamb being sacrificed to remove the guilt of sin. What do you think is meant by the word sin in this verse? Many people respond that sin is wrong actions, and that is a common meaning:

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4)

This may be referred to as a sin of commission, we are doing something we shouldn’t be doing. We may also commit a sin of omission, which is not doing that which we are supposed to do:

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. (James 4:17)

The Book of Common Prayer teaches, “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.”  Although we desire that God to take away our ability to sin, the sad truth is we still commit sin. God knows that we will sin and He has created a way for us to be cleansed of the guilt of our sin:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Another aspect of sin that we face is our inner defilement. The Apostle Paul lamented this fact:

So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. (Romans 7:17)

He could not eradicate his sinful fleshly desires, but they could be counteracted by the power of the Holy Spirit:

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:2)

If John 1:29 doesn’t refer to taking away our propensity to commit sin or our inner defilement, then what does it mean? Sin is not judged by the way we see it but by the way God sees it. If we look at sin from God’s perspective then we see that all are guilty:

as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; (Romans 3:10)

The word sin in this verse refers to our legal guilt and Jesus was the perfect sacrifice who has paid the price for our sin. The Lamb of God has removed our legal guilt and God declares us righteous as we accept Him as our Savior:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1)

Are you experiencing the peace that comes from being fully accepted by God?

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

Follow me on twitter:  rickhiggins5