What in the world is sin?

The average person, when they hear the word ¡®sin¡¯ mentioned, may rightfully ask a few questions-What is a sin? It seems like there is much talk about sin, bur only rarely do people clearly explain what a ‘sin’ is. If I do not even know what a sin is, how can I know if I have committed one?

The Bible answers these questions very clearly. To begin, the Bible says in 1 John 3:4 that ”sin is transgression of the law¡±, or put more simply, “to sin is to break the law”.

What law is the Bible speaking about? Is it talking about the laws of a nation, or of an organization? No, the Bible is talking about God’s eternal moral Law. We know it as the Ten Commandments. A sin occurs when a person chooses to disobey one of God’s commands.

What are God’s laws? How can we know if we have broken them and sinned against Him? Well, to see if we have ever sinned, we need to have a look at some of those laws, and examine our hearts to see if we have ever disobeyed and sinned against God. Please examine your heart honestly in light of the following questions:

Have you ever told a lie? What are people called who tell lies? Have you ever cheated someone to gain money for yourself, even if the amount of money was very small? Again, please be honest as you answer these questions to yourself, because God already knows your heart. Have you ever disobeyed your parents? Have you ever been selfish and done things your way, rather than what was best for the people around you? Have you lived your life only to please yourself, rather than seeking to obey God’s will? Have you ever had impure lustful (sexual) thoughts about another person? Jesus gave us this warning:

“You have heard that it has been said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28

Please do not try and hide from the sins of your past. You may be able to forget many things you have done, but God will not. He sees everything perfectly clear. He gave you your life; and He knows how you have lived it.

If you did answer yes to the questions above (I personally answered yes to them all), then you have admitted to breaking five of the Ten Commandments. Someone could very rightly label you and me both as ‘rebels, liars, adulterers, thieves, and idolaters’. They would be right in speaking, and we would have no way to justify our actions. We would stand guilty before God, with our mouths shut, and with no excuse.

“Now we know that whatsoever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be shut, and the whole world stand guilty before God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; but by the law we become conscious of sin.” Romans 3:19-20

What can we do, since we have sinned against God? 

“All men are going to die once, and then after death they will be judged.”Hebrews 9:27

God will judge all the people of the world with righteousness and justice, because He is good and holy and hates evil. He will never allow even one sin to enter Heaven. Sin is extremely serious to God, even though many people in the world laugh and mock, pretending that their sin and rebellion do not cause any harm. Be assured that God does not laugh at sin. He is just and will be sure to give to all men what they deserve.

I think it is appropriate here to mention that many people nowadays do everything possible to keep from mentioning the ‘H’ word when it comes to talking about the future of the wicked. However, we cannot remove the word ‘hell’ from our Christian vocabulary. Jesus surely did not refrain from using it, and neither should we.  There is no proper place, other than hell, for those who live in continuous rebellion against God. 

So what can we do? Man can do many things, but no human striving will be able to remove even one sin. If God judges us as He should, we are in more trouble than we can ever comprehend. How can we be forgiven? Do we have any hope at all?

Please listen, because God has not kept silent: 

“Come now, let us reason this out, says the LORD. No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I am able to remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool.” Isaiah 1:18

The Apostle Paul also wrote: 

“God shows and clearly proves His love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

We do have hope! Even though we deserve to die, and deserve hell, Jesus has already suffered in our place and taken our sins upon himself!

“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6

¡°He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God’s stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die. Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour.¡±

Praise God! The power that raised Christ from the dead can also raise up each of us to new life in Him!

“Whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”   John 3:16