Sin and Sins

“Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin (John 8:21); “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24). Note the singular of “sin” in verse 21, but the plural here. How they are used in each case is explained by St. Chrysostom –– “For this is the reason He [Christ] came; in order to take away the sin of the world; and if it is impossible for men to put off that in any other way except by washing, it is needful that the one who believes must not depart hence having the old man, since the one will not be faith slay and bury that old man shall die in him and shall go away to that place and suffer the punishment of his former sins.” (Holy Apostle Convent, St. John Chrysostom) “Baptism and repentance have been linked from the beginning. In both Matthew 3:6 and Mark 1:5 it says that people coming to John the Baptist were being baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins…Paul said John baptized with a baptism of repentance (Acts 19:4)…Baptism initiates Christian life….We are baptized once to wash away our sin… then we live a life of continual repentance to continue to wash away our sins, and grow in Christ through Holy Communion.” (Sacramental Living Ministries) “To “die in your sins” is a prospect to be dreaded, for after death comes God’s judgment. We shall give account to Him for all our thoughts, words, and deeds. To live in our sins is to oppose God deliberately, as a result of our chosen preferences, but we can also repent and affirm our desire to remain in our sins no longer. After death, however, we enter a “state of unchangeable things; no alterations whatever happen then, only developments in the state chosen by free personalities”…Our sins may be covered or forgiven in this life (Ps 31:1), so that we do not enter life after death still “in our sins.” The Lord’s statement is not absolute but rather conditional, for He says, “You will surely die in your sins” unless you believe in Me (Jn 8:24).” (Dynamis 5/15/2020) “When bondage to sin has died, it must be replaced with something else. For those who are baptized, the replacement is Christ's resurrected life…Those in Christ are not immune to turning away from God. There is a temporary attractiveness in sin, which leads to a hardened heart and ultimately apostasy. We must take constant daily care not to be deceived and thus fall away.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 6:8, Hebrews 3:12) “There is no sin that cannot be forgiven, except the sin which is not repented of.” (Abbot Nikon Vorobiev) #HolyApostleConvent #StJohnChrysostom #SacramentalLivingMinistries #Dynamis #OrthodoxStudyBible #AbbotNikonVorobiev