What Is Sin?

When you hear the word sin, what do you think of? Many people think of caricatures of 17th-century Puritans or “fire and brimstone” preachers or perhaps comedians making jokes and other pop culture figures being provocative. Even many Christians disregard it as something irrelevant to their day-to-day lives or to the life of the nation. They know that Jesus Christ died for our sins but assert that sin is a comparatively minor issue once you accept Christ’s sacrifice.

But what does the Bible say? It shows that sin is a core issue! Sin destroys success, wealth, relationships, happiness and life itself.

“[S]in is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Sin is not merely violating one’s conscience; it is breaking the law.

The Apostle Paul knew sin only through the law. Which law? The law that says, “Thou shalt not covet” (Romans 7:7): the Ten Commandments. Paul described this law as “holy, and just, and good” (verse 12). King David called it perfect, sure, right and pure, more valuable than fine gold (Psalm 19:7-10).

Where did God’s law come from? From His character, His nature! God’s law codifies how He thinks and acts. It is the will of the Being who existed before the universe and mankind. And the Creator’s will, nature and law is love (see 1 John 4:8.)

God is love, therefore God’s law can be summed up in that one word: love. Jesus said the law is further defined in two great commandments: love God and love neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). These are further expressed in 10 points by the Ten Commandments, the first four of which tell us how to love God, the last six of which tell us how to love our neighbor (Exodus 20).

God’s law of love is the perfect way of life. Every particle of human suffering, unhappiness, misery and death has come solely from its transgression!

“If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well” (James 2:8). The whole law explains the principle of love. Love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:8, 10). Jesus fulfilled it, setting us an example that we too should fulfill the law. We fulfill it with love—not any love we have by nature, but “the love of God [that] is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy [Spirit]” (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit in us is God’s law in action in our lives!

So if we fulfill this royal law, we do well—but if not, we commit sin (James 2:9). Verses 10-11 state that if we keep the whole law (the general principle of love toward our neighbor) yet offend in one point, we are guilty of breaking the law. (Notice: The points of the law James describes are, Do not commit adultery, do not kill—the Ten Commandments.)

Jesus Christ was the ultimate example of perfect obedience to the law. Most Christians believe that Jesus came to Earth to abolish the Ten Commandments. Yet He clearly stated, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17).

Jesus magnified the law and made it honorable (Isaiah 42:21). When we put a spiritual “magnifying glass” on the Ten Commandments, it is enlarged in spirit and principle into many more points. And in the larger view, the entire Bible is a magnification of God’s law. The law is the basis of all Scripture. It defines a way of life: God’s way to happiness, joy and eternal life!

Truly fulfilling the Ten Commandments requires keeping both the letter and the spirit of the law. Christ gave two examples illustrating this point.

First: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment …” (Matthew 5:21-22). Christ quoted, word for word, the Sixth Commandment, which forbids murder (Exodus 20:13). He affirmed that maliciously ending a human life is sin. Then He magnified that law, showing that the spirit of murder, which includes hatred, is also sin.

Second: Christ addressed the Seventh Commandment, saying, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). Christ upheld God’s law forbidding adultery, which includes premarital sex and infidelity within marriage. Then He magnified it, showing that even a lustful gaze breaks the spirit of that commandment.

These examples show that sin against God’s law begins in the mind and must be stopped immediately (James 1:14-15).

In principle, sin is anything other than God’s outflowing law of love. At the root of all sin is vanity—loving self more than loving God or fellow man. Its author was Lucifer—whose heart was lifted up because of his beauty (Ezekiel 28:17). It is manifest in attitudes of self-centeredness, self-exaltation, desire to be beautiful, covetousness, desire to get and take, jealousy and envy, competition, oft-resulting violence and war, resentment and rebellion against authority. These are the principles of spiritual sin.

To repent of sin means to quit sinning and begin keeping God’s commandments—all of them, for if you break only one, you incur the penalty of death (Romans 6:23), eternal death.

Thankfully, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ pays that penalty for us (Romans 5:6-10). Once someone repents, he or she is no longer doomed to eternal death. However, God still expects those He forgives to keep the Ten Commandments. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2). It is now our responsibility to choose to overcome sin—to choose not death, but life (Deuteronomy 30:19).