Sin Defined

1. Dictionary
2. Orthodox
3. Hebrew
4. Greek
5. Two-Fold Expression of Sin
6. Sins Against God
7. Sins Against Neighbor
8. Two-Fold Nature Of Sin

Introduction

As surprising and questionable as it may sound our human family has but one problem. It is the problem of sin, a problem that if it could be solved then every other problem on earth would immediately go away. That's how simple life really is according to what the Bible teaches.

"But those who keep on sinning are against God, for every sin is done against the will of God....Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: if you are constantly doing what is good, it is because you are good, even as He (God) is. But if you keep on sinning, it shows that you belong to Satan (the devil), who since he first began to sin has kept steadily at it. But the Son of God (Jesus) came to destroy these works of the devil....So now we can tell who is a child of God and who belongs to Satan. Whoever is living a life of sin and doesn't love his brother shows that he is not in God's family;" 1 John 3:4, 1 John 3:7-8, 1 John 3:10 "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:17

Throughout the scriptures sin is revealed to be the underlying culprit to all human predicaments including war, crime, disease, poverty, and even death. These, along with all other human tragedies are the results of sin...tragedies that could be eliminated by eliminating sin.

If this sounds to be an over simplification to the complex human issues that we face in our modern world, and that it is unrealistic for every human problem to be solved, then you are partly correct. For while it is true that sin is the cancer behind every problem and that to remove the cancer would heal the problem, it is also true that sin will never be eliminated on this earth. That would be unrealistic to believe, the reason being that too many people are deceived by the temporary pleasures that sin provides and they see no need to deal with it in their own lives.

Sin Defined

The first problem that man has in dealing with sin is to understand what it is...as opposed to what it isn't.
Modern dictionaries define sin as ...."the breaking of religious law or a moral principle especially through a willful act"
More orthodox definitions consider sin to be "a true willful transgression of God's known law". This orthodox meaning is closer to what the Bible teaches although it does not completely tell the story.
Bible terms... There are several Hebrew and Greek words used in the Bible that are translated "sin". Each provides a slightly different picture of this powerful enemy.

The Hebrew words are ...

"hata" … which means: miss, go wrong, sin
"no'a" … which means: badness, evil
"ma'en" .. meaning: to refuse to obey God's commands
"gabab" …meaning: to be exalted
"sug" … which means: to backslide
The Greek words are ....
hamartaeon … meaning: to miss the mark, to err, offend
hamartia … meaning: an offense, sin
harmartamas… meaning: a sin
hanamartatos…meaning: sinless, without sin

These Hebrew and Greek words are mentioned here to identify the inadequacy of the English language to fully translate the total meaning of the term "sin" as it is used in the scriptures. As we will shortly learn, sin is a much more complex problem than what most people appreciate by the use of a simple terminology.
Two fold expression of sin ... actions, attitudes
In defining sin we are immediately confronted with the fact that sin expresses itself in two ways ... both in our actions and our attitudes.

Actions

"Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous." 1 John 3:4-12

"Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:17 Notice that in the "willful act" of sin's expression there are two sides. One is the act of "commission" by doing a wrong and unrighteous act. The other is the act of "omission"...which means to avoid doing something that you know is right.

Attitudes

"But anyone who believes th at something he wants to do is wrong shouldn't do it. He sins if he does, for he thinks it is wrong, and so for him it is wrong. Anything that is done apart from what he feels is right is sin." Romans 14:23 (Words of Jesus) "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28 (Words of Jesus) "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." Mark 7:20-23 In the eyes of God sin is committed well before the act or deed is committed. We have sinned when we have determined or premeditated to do a particular sinful act. It isn't the deed alone that is offensive to God...it is an immoral and rebellious attitude toward life, others, God and themselves that God judges as well. Man can see the outward deeds when someone commits a sinful act...but God sees the inner person long before the act is ever committed. God sees the evil heart even when it is kept secret from others around us.

Sins Against God

The Bible further identifies the expressions of sin to be "against God" and "against our neighbor". Keep in mind that our sins against God or our neighbor can be expressed both in our actions and attitudes.
The Bible identifies several attitudes or actions one can take against God that are regarded as "sin".

They include....

a. disbelief in God's existence referred to as "atheism"
b. unrealistic pride in self which leads to mistrust of God
c. hardness of heart which leads to a rejection of God
d. tempting God with demands rather than requests
e. challenging God which leads to rebellion
f. blasphemy of God...irreverence of His authority

Sins Against Neighbour

The Bible identifies several attitudes or actions one can take against our neighbor that are regarded as "sin".

They include...

a. Anger
b. Harsh judgment
c. Scorn
d. Malice
e. Envy
f. Strife
g. Render evil for evil
h. Oppression
i. False dealing
j. Theft

Two-Fold Nature Of Sin

The origin of sin is found in the book of Genesis, chapter 3, which we discuss at length in another study. A review of that event, however, is necessary here to understand what sin is...and what sin is not. God created all human beings, beginning with Adam and Eve, in His image and likeness. This does not mean that we physically look like God but rather that we have similar abilities to God, such as the ability to love, to make choices, and to live forever. There is a reason that God created human beings in this special way with an eternal soul and in His image and likeness. The reason is...God is love and He desired a living being to which He could express His love and who could love Him in return.

God created human beings in His likeness with the ability to love without force. Humans have the ability to make choices, unlike the animal world that functions only on instinct. With this ability we can individually choose whether or not we will love and respect our Creator who has first expressed His love to us. The test of our love is to obey His commandments. When we fail to do so we have committed sin. Adam and Eve were the first to disobey God's command. In so doing they became sinners. Their sin changed their inner character to become rebellious against God, a character that has been transferred to their children and to all generations of mankind thereafter.

Today we are all born with a sinful character to rebel against God. It is our inbred human nature to disobey God's laws and as a consequence we have all sinned, each and every one of us, and have fallen short of God's expectations for us. The Bible refers to this inner rebellious nature as human depravity. Our human family is born with an inner nature to sin, which means that we are not inherently good as some would like us to believe. The Bible emphatically reveals man's character to be evil, a reality that we must face before we can find help. Adam and Eve did not sin on their own. They were tempted to do so by an evil enemy who is referred to as satan or the devil. For this lesson we simply acknowledge his existence as our only tempter who causes us to rebel against and disobey God.

Much of the spiritual world is beyond our understanding but the Bible does reveal the existence of the good spirit God, and the evil spirit satan. These two spiritual beings are at war with each other with the prize being the soul of man. As human beings we are servants to either one or the other of these spirits...the master of our life is either God or satan.

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin (and satan) unto death, or of obedience (to God) unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness... for as ye have yielded your (life a) servant to uncleanness... even so now yield your (life a) servant to righteousness.... For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness... But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:16

Of these two Spirits, God is far greater in power and those who choose to worship and obey Him have the power to live above and avoid the consequences of sin. Sin's power can totally consume and enslave those who choose to rebel against the authority of God. Sin is not to tell a lie or to cheat or steal. Sin is not to commit murder or to use drugs or to commit adultery. These things, along with the long list of other bad things that we do to one another, are not regarded in the Bible as sin...they are only the outward expressions of sin.

The scriptures identify sin as a much deeper problem than the bad things which we do outwardly. Sin is a nature or attitude within us that causes people to do bad things. It is the corrupted moral and spiritual character of our human family from which we make decisions. It is the fuel that motivates our activities, the power behind all bad things.

It is this distinction of the two-fold nature of sin as...

1) an outward act ... and
2) an inner character

That much of humanity has yet to define.

For this reason human efforts are failing . We are trying to solve our problems by dealing with the external expressions of a deeper problem. We are working hard to solve crime, war and hunger on earth, but to little avail. Our efforts center upon the outward symptoms rather than on the root disease. Sin is the root problem of man that must be corrected before the outward expressions of it will go away. Before we can correct the evil things that man does to one another we must first correct the evil character of man that motivates him to do these things. The inner depravity of sin must be corrected.

When Adam and Eve first disobeyed God their character changed. No longer did their inner motives seek to do the will of God but rather to rebel against His authority and love. As a consequence Adam and Eve became sinners whose inner character had been corrupted and depraved to rebel against God to commit sinful acts.

This inner character, know as human depravity, has been inherited by the entire human race. It is the same character that Adam and Eve exhibited to rebel against God and which motivated their son Cain to murder his brother, Abel. We are the offspring of Adam and Eve with the same inherited sinful nature. We have all sinned, there is no one who is righteous within ourselves. God tells us that our self righteousness appears as a filthy rag in His eyes, that no human being can brag of having moral uprightness or spiritual goodness.

Although this sad commentary is the reality of our human family and appears to be a bleak picture of our life on earth, it remains a reality that we must deal with. Mankind has been corrupted by sin. Sin has corrupted our minds, hearts and souls, and has changed our character from what God originally created us to be.

If mankind could find the answer to this inner corruption then we could solve all our human problems. This simple and basic truth is taught throughout the Bible, and while it may appear hopeless within our human abilities, there is an answer provided by God to our sin problem. Although the world at large shall never deal with this problem, we can deal with it as individuals to both defeat sin and the problems that it creates for us individually. Sin is an issue between God and man alone. In order to deal with the problem of sin we must deal with God.

It is God's desire that our human family enjoy life to the fullest and His laws are designed with that purpose in mind. Jesus confirmed God's desire... "I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly". John 10:10

The sin problem is the only problem that keeps us from enjoying the promise.