Intro
Everyone knows what the church preaches against. Sin. Traditional churches especially have this reputation of talking more about the “don’ts” of the Bible than anything else. They make sin out to be this really big deal. And you know something, they’re right. It is a big deal. And while I don’t think the church should be known more for what it’s against than what it’s for, we also need to remind people that sin is sin and it really is a big deal to God.
That being said, we probably need a good definition of what sin is and why it’s such a big deal.
Sin Defined
To understand why sin is such a big deal, we first need to have a good, working definition of sin. People will frivolously throw out a really simple, basic definition of “whatever the Bible says don’t do” or “bad things you’ve done” or “anything that displeases God” or even “disobeying the laws of the land”. And while these are all technically true, they still don’t tell you much. After all, what defines “bad things”? And different countries have different laws that might actually contradict each other, so that’s a problem. And how do you know what “displeases God”? Ultimately, we need to come back to the Bible’s definition of sin. So that’s where we’ll start.
The Biblical Definition
There are a couple of good passages that define sin as rebellion against God (see Deuteronomy 9:7) and lawlessness.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
1 John 3:4
So, sin is equivalent to lawlessness. What is lawlessness? Lawlessness is continually breaking the law without any regard for it. However, this begs the question, who’s law? The answer is God’s law. For the Jews that meant the Mosaic law. And while we as Christians do not need to follow all the religious laws (the purity rituals and sacrifices to name a couple), there are plenty of moral laws found in the Mosaic law that we are still to follow, such as the Ten Commandments.
So, yes, the definition of “whatever the Bible defines as sin” is true. But it’s a matter of knowing where to look. The letters of Paul are really good for calling out different kinds of sin and showing what parts of the Mosaic law are not necessary for the Christian. In addition, the Sermon on the Mount also contains teachings on the standard of living God calls us to (Matthew 5-7 can also read my posts all about these chapters here).
To dig a little bit deeper, the Greek word for sin is “harmatia” and means “to miss the mark”, that mark being perfection. So, sin is breaking God’s law and not reaching His standards of perfection. That’s a pretty tall order. And in a later section I’ll discuss just how serious sin is in God’s eyes. But first – to clear up any potential confusion that might be out there – I want to address a couple of synonyms the Bible uses for sin and how they are similar, while also being distinct.
Some Other Words
The Bible doesn’t just use the word “sin” when talking about sin. You’ll also see words like “trespass”, “transgress”, and “iniquity” – along with different forms of these words. So to provide a bit of clarity, trespass and transgress are equivalent in their meaning. I think most of us know what it means to trespass (hint: ever see a “No Trespassing” sign?) and to transgress means the same thing. They’re crossing a boundary you are not supposed to cross. Iniquity is making a premeditated choice to sin and then continue in that sin without repentance. For this one you can think of a serial killer. Just over and over choosing to commit the same sin (murder in this case) without remorse and without repentance.
Different for Different People
Now all this is great, but doesn’t constitute a list of all possible sins. And it’s not supposed to. My intention is not to tell you what all possible sins are. Because frankly, that’s not possible for me to do (especially in a roughly 2,000 word blog!). I already mentioned the letters of Paul are really good for these since he constantly had to deal with sin in the Church. And to make it more interesting, James and Paul both have some fascinating things to say about what constitutes sin. And spoiler alert, it can be different for different people.
If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
James 4:17
In this passage, James challenges believers that if they know they should be doing something good, and they don’t do it, then it is sin for them. I want to point out the phrase “sin for them”. This means that James is not talking about blanket “do good deeds” for all people. He’s referring to specific deeds that Christians feel called to do. He’s saying if God tells you (specifically you) to do this good deed, and you do not do it, that is sin. Because that is in direct disobedience to what God has told you to do. This passage comes at the tail end of rebuking people for arrogantly going about doing things without consulting the Lord and trying to live life on their own terms. James also calls this out as wrong. Now let’s turn to Paul’s statement in Romans.
Eating Food?
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Romans 14:1-2, 5-6, 13-15, 20-23
Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here. First off, Paul is addressing Jewish believers who say that because of Christ, there is no unclean food and they can eat it all. And even Paul says that he is of that mindset. However, there were Jewish believers who still believed that they couldn’t (shouldn’t) eat unclean foods. And Paul tells those who are okay with eating anything that they should not condemn or judge those who refuse to eat them. Everyone is in a different place and Paul tells those that are okay with it that it would be sinful for those who aren’t to eat unclean food while they still struggle with the idea of eating it. Notice that it’s not sinful for those who think it’s okay, just for those who think it’s not okay.
For us today, that would be like Christians drinking alcohol. Is it sinful? That depends on who you ask. I know plenty of Christians who have no problem with drinking a beer every now and again. They don’t get drunk, because the Bible explicitly calls that out as sinful. However, there are also Christians (myself included) who won’t touch it at all because for them it would be wrong.
Notice what is wrong for those who are okay with it. I already referenced the judging and condemning – which are wrong – but Paul also says that being a stumbling block is wrong. To be a stumbling block would be to cause another believer to sin. In Paul’s day that would be pressuring others to eat unclean food, for today it would be pressuring someone into trying a beer when they are convicted that they shouldn’t.
From Faith
Paul also says that anything not done from faith is sin. What does that mean? Well without faith it is impossible to please God. And I’ve already defined sin as anything that breaks God’s law – which displeases him. So breaking God’s law is equivalent to doing anything not done from faith.
Oof. That was a lot. Now let’s turn to the seriousness of sin and why it’s such a big deal.
Seriousness of Sin
So now that I’ve defined sin, what’s the big deal? Let me go back to my statement that sin breaks God’s law. As well as my statement that sin is missing the mark of perfection. Why is that a problem? Well, the only way to be in God’s presence is to be perfect. Sin cannot enter His presence. In fact, Jesus commands us to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 NIV).
Okay, so sin is big deal because we can’t live with God for all of eternity because of it. Well, yes, but it’s goes further in that we can’t even have a relationship with God because of sin. The Bible indicates that sin creates a barrier between God and humans (Isaiah 59:2). It’s kind of like when someone you trust lies to you and breaks that trust. It damages the relationship and can be difficult to mend it again. In a similar way, the sin of Adam and Eve broke the relationship between God and mankind. And all mankind has inherited that tendency toward sin ever since. Consequently, our sin dooms us to Hell and the Lake of Fire for all of eternity – totally separated from God. It’s pretty messed up. So what can be done?
The Solution
Hebrews 9:22 says that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”. That’s why the animal sacrifices were instituted in the Old Testament. The shedding of the blood of animals temporarily covered and forgave the people’s sin. It was a brutal, bloody, way to receive forgiveness, but it was what God required of them. However, if you read through the entirety of Hebrews 9, you’ll see that while those could cover the sin temporarily, it could do nothing for the guilty conscience or give people the strength to overcome their natural tendencies to sin. And God knew that. That’s why the entire Old Testament points to a newer and better covenant where God would totally forgive all sins and cleanse people’s hearts and minds of sin.
The Old Covenant was sealed in blood sacrifices. A lot of them. The New Covenant was also sealed in a blood sacrifice. Notice I made that singular? Because only one was needed. Because the one who sacrificed Himself was Jesus Christ – God in the flesh. Jesus never sinned and never inherited the sinful nature from Adam. Therefore, He had no sin of His own to die for. God actually took all the sins of all the people for all time (past, present, and future) and laid them upon Jesus when He hung on the cross. And Jesus bore the sins and then bore the wrath of God so that you and I don’t have to experience God’s judgment upon our sin (I cover this more in one of my Easter Posts).
How Serious?
So how serious is sin to God? Serious enough to send His only Son, Jesus, down to die the most brutal type of death found in human history and bear the weight of all sins from all time and bear the entirety of God’s wrath and judgment upon sin – all so you and I can have a relationship with God. Wow. That’s intense. So, yes, sin is a very big deal to God. However, if you are saved and have a relationship with Him, He no longer sees your sin, He sees the righteousness of Jesus which covers your sin. Now that’s incredible. God transferred your sin to Jesus, in order to transfer Jesus’ righteousness to you.
Wrapping Up
I hope this post gave you a bit of clarity when it comes to sin and what it is. As well as why God sees it as such a big deal. God longs for us to be in relationship with Him and He fought for us to be able to have the opportunity to be in right standing with Him. And He still fights for us today. Let us praise and worship our God who loves us so unconditionally even when we mess up. All He asks is for us to come to Him and repent and He will restore our relationship with Him.
Outro
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