Introduction
The question “what is sin” underlies many of the disputes that we have in our culture today. There’s even disputes and splits in American churches over the issues of sin. Most notably among these are: homosexuality, transgenderism, and abortion. How are we to know? The Word of God is our best guide.
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God as Sovereign Creator
God is the creator of the universe and of life itself (Gen. 1, Jn. 1:1-3). Therefore, He is King of Kings and has sovereign dominion over all creation. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). God is perfectly good and perfectly loving but He is also perfectly just. He deals with creation with loving mercy and righteous judgement.
God gets to determine what is sin, not humans. Our attempt in Genesis 3 (and since then) to determine this for ourselves has led to the horribly broken condition of our current world (Jdg. 17:6, 21:25).
God as the Source of Good
God is the source of all that is good. When we call something good, we are comparing it to Him as the standard of good. It is the same for evil. Something is evil because it does not align with the standard that is God’s character and attributes. C.S. Lewis said, “A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.”1 We know what is good because it more closely approaches the standard of perfect, which is God.
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Common Definition of Sin
A popular definition of sin that you hear today is, “Anything that separates us from God”. This is a very weak and inadequate definition of sin. Sin does separate us from God but that isn’t exactly what we mean here. We favor this definition because, while a partial truth, it implies that the definition of sin is fluid and can vary from person to person or through time. “What is sin for you is not necessarily sin for me”.
This is the perfect definition for those of us who want to indulge in our sinful lifestyles while also claiming Christ as a form of “fire insurance”. However, there are many things that are sins for all people of all times because they do not align with God and His commands. Note: God’s commands are not arbitrary. They are based on His perfect attributes.
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What is Sin?
The definition of sin, based on what we learn in the Scripture about God and His creation order, is: “a lack of conformity to the divine standard, creation order and purpose of God.” God’s commands aren’t arbitrary. They proceed out of His perfect divine nature. This definition places homosexuality, transgenderism, and abortion squarely in the realm of sin along with sins like adultery (Gen. 1:27-28, 2:24, Gen. 9:6-7, Ps. 139:13-14, Lv. 18:22, Deut. 22:5, Rom. 1:26-27, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, 1 Tim. 1:8-11, Lk. 1:42-43, Matt. 19:4-6, Lk. 17:1-2)
Sin is when we do not behave in accordance with God’s divine attributes. It is when we do not conform to God’s purpose for us and His creation order. Sin is when we do not obey the commands of God. It is when we reject God, our glorious and loving creator and attempt to elevate ourselves above Him as gods of our own lives. Sin is when our goal is that “My will be done” instead of “God’s will be done”.
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Key Point
Our original sin was not eating the wrong piece of fruit. It was the selfish pride of rejecting God and His good creation order to attempt to usurp His authority so we could be lord of our own lives. This is the terrible choice that we made then and still make today.
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The problem is that laws and commands cannot bring salvation. Law and commands can give boundaries and teach right and wrong, but they cannot be unbroken. Once you break them you are a law breaker and subject to judgement because of God’s perfect justice.
James 2:10-11
“For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all. For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you are a law breaker.”
Romans 6:23a
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23, CSB) “For the wages of sin is death,”
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Conclusion
God created man to populate this world and to exercise dominion over it according to His holy and righteous attributes and to display His image in this world to glorify Him. However, we rejected God and His kingdom rule in an attempt to pursue our own pleasure and selfish ambition. In doing so, we broke the world and our relationship with God. We could not unbreak the law nor undo the change that was brought on by the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Therefore, we were helpless in righting the wrong that has been done. Adam and Eve carried the consequence of their actions. Their offspring inherit their sin nature as all creatures reproduce after their own king. Therefore, it is not logically nor biologically possible to reproduce something that is of a different nature or kind than the parents. So, we are all in this same conundrum.
However, God deals with sin and death once and for all through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross. Now, all who choose may be reconciled back to God (Jn. 3:16, Rm. 10:13).
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Blessings
- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Rev. ed (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers 1952) 26. ↩︎
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