What is sin?

Most people would agree that sin is something evil or bad. And I would agree with that definition. I also think that sin is evil and bad.

But what does the Bible tell us about sin?

The Bible tells us that after God created man, He placed them in front of two trees and told them that if they ate of one tree they would have eternal life and live forever, but if they ate of the other tree they would surely die (Genesis 2:17). But what are these two trees? Our intuition would tell us that they would be the Tree of Good and the Tree of Evil, because surely eating of the Tree of Evil will result in death.

But is this actually the case? No. The two trees in Genesis 2 are the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Yep. Good and Evil are both on the same tree.

God created man as a container, but when the devil deceived man, he ate the fruit of the wrong tree. God wanted man to choose him (which is why he created us with a free will). If Adam and Eve had eaten of the Tree of Life, the essence of God would have come into them. But because they ate of the wrong tree, a sinful nature came in instead.

So back to the original question: What is sin?

Most people on this Earth consider themselves to be good people. “Good” is relative. It depends on the standard of ethics and morality with which you compare yourself. And, for the most part, I agree that most people are good people. According to the standard of “goodness” that is normally accepted. And, let’s be honest, that standard isn’t really very high.

We may look to God and complain, “I’m a good person! Why won’t you justify me?”

The reason is that God judges us according to a different standard. He, in His very essence, is righteous. Therefore, He cannot accept anyone that does not match His standard of righteousness.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

So what is the standard according to which God judges us? The glory of God. God judges us according to Himself. He’s the standard.

Here is my definition of sin:

Sin is ANYTHING that falls short of or doesn’t match God Himself.

Yep. So if you’ve ever even done the SMALLEST thing that doesn’t match God, you’ve got a problem. You’re a sinner. And we all are.

That is honestly the reason why so many people are atheists today. Because if you try to convince yourself that God doesn’t exist, you manage to convince yourself that you don’t have any problem.

I really like this quote

When I was a student I claimed that there was no God. Although I was extremely strong in my claim,… I knew deep in my heart that God exists. But my lips refused to admit this so that I could have an excuse for sinning. By declaring the non-existence of God, going to sinful places were justifiable. If there were no God, I would become bold to sin… When you do away with God, you feel free to commit the worst sins without any fear whatsoever…the only reason men claim that there is no God is for an excuse for lawlessness, immorality, license and indecency.

- Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Faith

The Solution

But don’t lose hope! We, as sinners, have a problem before God. But God didn’t just leave us in our hopeless condition. He actually became a man Himself and lived a perfect human life on the Earth. He didn’t even sin once! And, as a perfect, sinless man, He was qualified, by His own standard of righteousness to step in and take care of our sins for us. He was nailed to the cross, and shed his blood there for us. Now, today, we can just pray, “Lord Jesus, wash me in your precious blood” and then we are instantly forgiven and justified (1 John 1:9). One of my favorite verses also makes this clear:

Romans 8:1 There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.