[go to: part 1; part 2]

     “What is sin?”  This is a question I don’t usually get asked so directly.  More people should be asking and considering it, so I sometimes ask it of people to get them thinking.  Unfortunately, while most people can confidently name many sins, they don’t know how to define sin or don’t realize its effects.  Fortunately for all of us, God answers this question in His written word, the Bible.
     Let’s explore God’s word together now to find God’s answers to this question “What is sin?”  In part one of this article we’ll focus on facts we learn from His explanation of sin, and in part two we’ll look at how sin affects people.  Lord willing, we will examine with questions in other “Plowing the Fields unto Harvest” articles what He has done to provide His solution to the problem and what He requires of us to accept His solution for ourselves.
     (A word of warning… this will be a thorough and in-depth discussion.  We will establish a few basic concepts and definitions as essential to a correct understanding and then carefully build upon that foundation.  Depending upon your previous background of religious instruction some portions may seem to you as being overly obvious without need of explanation.  If so, please be patient for the sake of other readers who find the clarification useful.)

•  “What does the word ‘sin’ mean?  Is sin some action I do or is it some defect I am born with?”
     In his letter to the church in Rome, the apostle Paul spends several chapters explaining the problems of sin and why God expects Christians to turn from doing sin to doing righteousness.  In chapter three, verse 23, he summarizes one of his points by saying “… for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, …”.
     Many people would insist that “sin” is an attribute or a characteristic of what people are and therefore it’s not their fault if they “have sin.”  But, notice carefully the wording Paul used here — “have sinned” as opposed to “have sin” — a verb instead of a noun, an action instead of an attribute, something a person does instead something a person is.  Being a farm isn’t what makes a person a farmer.  Being a swim isn’t what makes a person a swimmer.  Being a run isn’t what makes a person a runner.  As we can correctly understand that farming farms is what makes people farmers, swimming swims makes people swimmers, and running runs makes people runners … so too, we can correctly understand from the Bible that sinning sins makes people sinners.
     According the Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the Greek verb Paul used here for sin originally meant and literally means “to miss the mark” like when a hunter’s arrow misses its target.  (In today’s English and in a non-religious sense, we might simply define this meaning as “a mistake.”)  The word’s usage gradually changed and restricted to a religious meaning over the years so that by New Testament times the word generally meant “to disobey God and His instructions.”  (See how the “disobedience”of sin qualifies as the “mistake” of sin.).  Therefore, when Paul wrote “… for all have sinned” we know he meant they disobeyed God … which just so happens to be the point of his discussion since chapter 1 verse 18.
     On only five rare occasions does the New Testament mention people sinning against other people and in each of these situations the reader is plainly told so.  In Matthew 18 and Luke 17, Jesus instructs us what to do when people sin against us.  In the parable of the prodigal sons recorded in Luke 15, the son who left home admits that he has sinned both against heaven and before his earthly father.  In 1 Corinthians 6:18, we read that people who commit sexual immorality sin against their own bodies.  And in 1 Corinthians 8:12, “But when you thus sin against the brethren,” Paul warns Christians, “and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.”  (Notice how sinning against against oneself, other people, and/or Christ is “missing the mark” in that relationship.)
     Even when the Old Testament discusses sin, the focus is usually on disobedience against God.  In Genesis 39, Joseph is invited by his owner’s wife to commit adultery.  After acknowledging the trust and confidence his owner has in him, Joseph lets us know his ultimate motivation to refuse her in verse 39.  “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”.  Joseph is concerned about how sin affects his relationship with God.  David expresses a similar concern in Psalm 41:4 “Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” “Your word I have hidden in my heart,” David repeats this concern in Psalm 119:11, “that I might not sin against You!”
     Since that’s how the Bible talks about sin, that’s the religious understanding we will use here — i.e., we sin when we make mistakes against God by disobeying His instructions to us.  With that in mind, we also understand that “living in sin”or “practicing sin” refers to holding fast to a lifestyle or habit which is disobedient toward God.  Fact #1: Sin, by definition, involves disobeying God.
     How does this understanding compare with the popular religious teachings?  Many so-called “Christian” denominations label infants as being sinners because they say babies are born in a “sinful condition;” that sin is simply a characteristic or quality which one is born with, like the number of fingers & toes or the color of skin, but an evil quality instead of good or neutral.  Why do they teach such a thing?  If sin by definition involves disobedient action on the part of the sinner, when would any newborn baby have disobeyed God enough to sin?  By applying the point we just studied, we should understand that if babies and small children can neither obey nor disobey God, then they must be free of sin — at least until they are older and capable of sin.  And, as we are about to see, sinning requires a knowledge of right and wrong — something babies and most children lack.

•  “How can I know for certain if I have ever sinned?”
     In the fourth chapter of his letter to Christians in general, James mentions how some people have a habit of speaking inappropriately even though they know better.  In verse 17 he sums up his point, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  That’s the wording in the New King James Version (the bible translation I regularly use in conjuction with the New American Standard Bible translation).  Let’s look at the wording in a few other translations to get a fuller appreciation of this passage.
     “If you fail to do what you know is right, you are sinning.” ERV
     “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” NASB
     “If you don’t do what you know is right, you have sinned.” CEV¹
     “Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.” NRSV²
     “And when a person knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, then he is sinning.” ICB³
     Fact #1: Sin, by definition, involves disobeying God.  Fact #2: Sin involves a decision and action to stay away from doing what is right; i.e. avoiding righteousness.  In considering these facts we can see fact #3: Sin is disobeying what God instructs and commands as being right.
     In a discussion with the Pharisees, Jesus confirms this fact that the instructions and commands God gives us through Jesus are good for us.  “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.”  Listen carefully to what Jesus says next.  “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” (John 12:44-50)  This brings us to fact #4 of this discussion: God will judge us (i.e. determine whether we are practicing sin or not) according to the words He’s given us through Jesus.
     God gave us through Jesus the words that will judge us.  These words also include the words Jesus gave us through the apostles and other New Testament writers.  “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual,” the apostle Paul cautions us in 1 Corinthians 14:37, “let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.”  The apostle Peter tells us the same thing, “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,…”  (2 Peter 3:1-2).
     Some people have told me that they consider Paul’s writings as less important to Christians because he was not an “original apostle” like Peter or John or Matthew.  These same people also made it quite clear that they didn’t like some of Paul’s instructions for them.  What does Peter, one of the “original apostles,” have to say about these people?  “… and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,” Peter instructs us in 2 Peter 3:15-16, “as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”  Fact #5: People sin when they twist and distort the Scriptures to suit themselves.
     Have you ever sinned?  Yes, you’ve sinned if you ever didn’t do what was right when you knew the right thing to do from God’s instructions in the Scriptues.

•  “Does that mean I cannot sin as long as I don’t know the right thing to do?”
    Nowadays, as they did back then, we have the saying, “Let your conscience be your guide” to distinguish right from wrong. As we saw earlier from 1 Corinthians 8:12 we sin if we wound a weak conscience into sinning… in other words, when our actions lead someone to violate his or her conscience, then we have lead that person into doing something that he or she is not confident is acceptable or right according to the Lord's permission as authorized in the Scriptures.  For example, Christians were to avoid participating in idolatry and activities that supported idolatry.  One activity involved with worshipping a Greek or Roman god’s idol was the preparing and eating meat from the animals that had been sacrificed to that idol.  Any meat not used by the worshippers was then sold at the market, usually at a discount price, and the proceeds helped finance the idol’s temple activities.
     For the poorer people (including many Christians) this was usually their only affordable meat to eat.  In 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and also in Romans chapter 14, Paul explains that eating such meat, in and of itself, was not sinful as it was simply food.  Still, for new converts the purchase and use of sacrificed meats seemed too closely associated with their old idol worship, and for sake of caution they choose instead to avoid it.  But then, when they would see the more mature Christians casually buying and serving these meats, they would become confused about what was the right thing to do and who was doing it.
     Using this scenario to illustrate his point, Paul instructs the stronger Christians to be patient and flexible with weaker Christians in matters that God’s Word allows some flexibility of opinion.  And in Romans 15:1 he says plainly, “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves” (NASB).  His use of “weak faith” and “weak conscience” refers not to weak from sin, but rather weak from spiritual immaturity.  He is referring to the Christian whose knowledge of God’s word is immature or weak concerning what may be a permitted Christian liberty… who therefore cannot knowingly act in faith based upon the word of God (Romans 10:17).  This “weak” faithful person would rather cautiously stay assuredly within God’s authority rather than fearfully risk unknowingly sinning.  In other words, “weak” Christians are faithful Christians because they are still doing only what they are confidently prove from the Scriptures is right, but simply have a lot more to learn about what all God instructs is right to do.
     How Paul addresses this eating of meat sacrificed to idols in terms of one’s conscience reminds me of a warning Jesus gave his disciples:  “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.” (Mark 9:42).  Christians tend to trust and imitate those Christians they consider to be stronger than themselves.  Unfortunately, sometimes that trust can be abused resulting in sin.  Paul warns in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verses 9-12 that if a stronger Christian uses his liberties in such a way that leads or pressures a weaker Christian to act with doubt and without the full confidence of faith, then both sin – the one for stumbling in faith and the other for causing a believer to stumble.  In Romans chapter 14, Paul writes similar instruction and warning.
     Then at the end of verse 23 of Romans chapter 14 he summarizes the principle he’s trying to make.  Compare how this reads in the different translations we saw earlier.
     “… for whatever is not from faith is sin.”  NKJV
     “… if you do anything that you believe is not right, it is sin.” ERV
     “… whatever is not from faith is sin.” NASB
     “… because anything you do against your beliefs is sin.”  CEV¹
     “… for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”  NRSV²
     “… if he does anything without believing that it is right, then it is a sin.” ICB³
      What facts can we gather here to answer our question, “Does that mean I cannot sin as long as I don’t know the right thing to do?”  Fact #6: People act in faith when they act within their understanding of what God instructs and commands as being right.  Fact #7: People sin if they do what they think is unfaithful or if they lack confidence what they do is according to faith.  Fact #8: People sin if they pressure others to act not according to faith.

When is my action faithful or sinful to God? disobey God = sin obey God =  faith  disobey God = sin  doing what you know / believe is wrong to do OR knowing / believing what you do is wrong to do  doing what you know / believe is right according to God’s word AND knowing / believing what you do is right according to God’s word  not doing what you know / believe is right to do OR not knowing / believing what you do is right to do

•  “How am I supposed to get this faith that tells me the difference between right and wrong?”
     As adults we have learned that we benefit if we deliberately overcome ignorance in matters important to us.  It’s the right thing to do.  Likewise, as adults we have learned that we harm ourselves if we deliberately stay ignorant in important matters.  It’s the wrong thing to do.  Those basic principles of life apply to God’s religion as well.  We’ve seen that God has given us through Jesus the instructions we need to discern right and wrong.  The right thing to do is to explore God’s written Word for those instructions.
     “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Romans 10:17
     “These things I write to you, … so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”  1 Timothy 3:14-15
     “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.”  2 Timothy 2:15-16
     “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  2 Timothy 3:16-17
     “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12
     God’s instructions are for our benefit.  We are obeying God’s instructions in the Scriptures when we study the Scriptures and grow in our understanding of the word of God.  Therefore, fact #9: People sin when they refuse knowing or stop growing in understanding the Scriptures.

•  “Don’t I inherit sin from my parents?”
     As we mentioned earlier, some denominations teach that children are born in sin.  The typical claims are that children inherit sin from their parents, either directly their sins or indirectly the sin of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.  In chapter 18 of the Old Testament book Ezekiel, God confronts people who were teaching that God condemns children for their parents’ sin.  He tells them not to teach that falsehood anymore and clarifies that He condemns the wicked and not the righteous.  Then, in verses 19-32, He explains why He judges the way He does.
     “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’  Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live.  The soul who sins shall die.  The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son.  The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
     “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.  None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.  Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
     “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live?  All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.
     “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’  Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?  When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.  Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive.  Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.  Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’  O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?
     “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God.  “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.  Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.  For why should you die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God.  “Therefore turn and live!”  (Ezekiel 18:19-32)
     Fact #10: God does not permit people to inherit sin.  Fact #11: God demonstrates His fairness by condemning only those people who persist in practicing sin and by His sincere desire to forgive everyone who persist in repenting from sin.

•  “Does God make me sin?”
     It seems to me that people generally have trouble coping with criticism, even when it’s helpful.  Tell someone that he or she has made a mistake, and most people will either (1) deny they’ve made a mistake; (2) try to justify their actions; or (3) attempt to explain why the mistake was not their fault.  Often they aggressively offer their denial, justification, or explanation with a great deal of resistance, anger, hostility, and ill-will.  Hard-to-find are the individuals who quickly admit responsibility for their errors and strive to improve by learning from their mistakes.
     In James 1:12-18, we learn that we cannot blame God for our sins.  “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.  Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”  Fact #12: God does not tempt, encourage, pressure, or force people to sin.
     James goes on to explain the real reason why people sin.  “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”  In other words, people sin because they want something other than what God offers them.  Fact #13: People sin because they choose to sin by choosing what pleases them over what pleases God.
     He then points out what God offers people, especially Christians.  “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”
     Later, in chapter four, James warns Christians about the problems that come from misplaced desires and bad motives.  “Where do wars and fights come from among you?” he asks in verse one.  “Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?  You lust and do not have.  You murder and covet and cannot obtain.  You fight and war.  Yet you do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.  Adulterers and adulteresses!  Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  Fact #14: People who choose to persist in practicing sin make themselves enemies of God.

     Let’s review the facts we’ve learned from God’s explanation of sin.
     Fact #1: Sin, by definition, involves disobeying God.
     Fact #2: Sin involves a decision and action to stay away from doing what is right; i.e. avoiding righteousness.
     Fact #3: Sin is disobeying what God instructs and commands as being right.
     Fact #4: God will judge us (i.e. determine whether we are practicing sin or not) according to the words He’s given us through Jesus.
     Fact #5: People sin when they twist and distort the Scriptures to suit themselves.
     Fact #6: People act in faith when they act within their understanding of what God instructs and commands as being right.
     Fact #7: People sin if they do what they think is unfaithful or if they lack confidence what they do is according to faith.
     Fact #8: People sin if they pressure others to act not according to faith.
     Fact #9: People sin when they refuse knowing or stop growing in understanding the Scriptures.
     Fact #10: God does not permit people to inherit sin.
     Fact #11: God demonstrates His fairness by condemning only those people who persist in practicing sin and by His sincere desire to forgive everyone who persist in repenting from sin.
     Fact #12: God does not tempt, encourage, pressure, or force people to sin.
     Fact #13: People sin because they choose to sin by choosing what pleases them over what pleases God.
     Fact #14: People who choose to persist in practicing sin make themselves enemies of God.
     
     There is one more fact about sin that we’ve talked about, but haven’t said plainly yet.
     Fact #15: Sin has consequences that you should consider concerning both what sin causes and how God responds to sin.  Lord willing, in part two of this article we will look at how sin affects people.
[go to: part 1; part 2]

     
     ¹ “The Contemporary English [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1995 by the American Bible Society.”
     ² “The Scriptures quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
     ³ “Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible, New Century Version, copyright © 1986, 1988, 1994 by Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas 75234. Used by permission.”     
     [*EGW editor’s note:  Originally I had planned to publish this article and its sequel articles under the feature column “Questions & Answers.”  However, when the first half of the article was published, the initial reader feedback indicated some confusion understanding the topics worded as questions and some confusion as to the intent & reasoning of the article.  After considering this feedback, I made some clarifying changes to the article and then relocated the article to this feature column where asking lots of little questions is part of the study process.  Also, I extended the reader’s questioning of the article’s intent to questioning the intent of the Exploring God's Word site in general and prepared a Q&A article to handle that as well.
     Please keep sending us your questions, comments, and other input so we can continue improving our on-line efforts to help meet your Bible study needs. (Back to beginnning of article)]