What Is Sin?
When I was a child and teenager, I was taught by my parents what the Bible said was right and what was wrong. Many other doctrines in the Bible were taught to me. I read them in the Bible, believed them, lived by them, and was blessed in my soul and life. There came a time in my life that I began to desire for God to teach me personally what was right and what was wrong. I never doubted that the Bible was true, but I wanted to say that I believe this or that because God’s Word says so. I began to search things out in the Bible. I believe God wants each of us to have this firm foundation to stand upon. So my dear grandson, you are not different from your grandmother. When I finished my search I was glad that I could say I believed this or that, because it says in the Bible thus and so. I didn’t believe it because someone else said it, but because God had said it. This is the way I want you to know it.
There is one thing that I had when I began my search, that was the Holy Spirit as my teacher. The Bible tells us definitely that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) Since the Bible was written by “holy men of God” who “spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit,” and it is not “of any private interpretation,” (2 Peter 1:20-21) then we need to have the Holy Spirit to reveal, or help us to understand, all of the Word of God. Yet there are a lot of the basics that we can know. I do hope that you will understand what I write to you by the help of the Holy Spirit.
First, let us know what sin is. In other words, that would be what is wrong. When we find out what is wrong then we can know what is right. Sin means “Willfully breaking religious or moral law” (Webster’s Dictionary). The Bible also gives us the definition of sin. In 1 John 3:4 it says, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth [or breaks] the law [of God]; for sin is the transgression [or disobedience] of the [God’s] law.” Then in James 4:17 we read, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” We see that sin is either a direct disobedience of God’s Word, or a willful failure to live by its requirements. It is a serious thing to disobey God’s law because it involves the destiny or end of our soul. It means living in either eternal torment or eternal bliss. To commit sin is a terrible thing and a very serious thing. That is the reason we need to search the Scriptures to find out how to live pleasing to the Lord in this world. We can’t do this within ourselves. God had a plan for us by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our salvation, so through Christ we can live right.
If sin is disobeying God’s Word, then we must find out what it says in the Word of God so we can live up to it. First we want to find out why we sin, and then get rid of the cause.
You, of course, know what the Bible tells us about Adam and Eve in the beginning, and how they obeyed the devil who talked to them through the serpent. He got Eve to disobey the only commandment that God had given them. She ate of the fruit, which was forbidden, and gave to Adam “and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:6) They no longer could talk to God as before, but hid themselves. Sin separates us from God. God called to them and said, “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9) They said, “We hid ourselves because we were naked.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree whereof I commanded you not to eat?” Of course, we realize that because of sin, they knew they were naked. Before they had sinned, they didn’t think anything about their nakedness. But after they sinned they made themselves clothes of fig leaves. No doubt they thought quickly of something, or they would have chosen something more substantial than leaves. The leaves would soon dry and crack, but they were so ashamed of their nakedness because of their sin. Not only did they need a covering for their bodies but they also needed a covering for their souls. God can’t look upon sin with any pleasure. Sin will cause us to be cast out of His presence. But oh, the Lord is so very merciful and He told Adam and Eve that He had a plan for them, so their sins could be covered as well as their bodies.
In Genesis 3:15 we read that God promised a Savior. God spoke to the devil, who had spoken through the serpent, and said, “I will put enmity [or warfare] between thee [the devil] and the woman, and between thy seed [Satan and his servants] and her seed [Christ and His followers]; it [Christ] shall bruise thy head [Jesus broke or crushed Satan’s power], and thou [Satan] shalt bruise his heel.” In other words we find a promise in this Scripture of Jesus being born. Jesus was the seed of the woman. In Luke 1:31-35 we read how the angel told Mary that she would have a child even though she was a virgin. God would be the father of this child. The angel said, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and… that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Through Christ, sin could be conquered because He was the Son of God, and not from the seed of man, yet He was called the Son of man because He took upon Him flesh or the nature of man.
The seed of Satan are those who have yielded themselves to him and are his servants. Jesus said to some who opposed Him, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” (John 8:44) So we note that the warfare would be between the seed of Satan and his servants and the seed of the woman, or Jesus Christ and His followers. Now who will conquer? God said that “her seed; it shall bruise thy head.” Jesus Christ would crush or break the power of Satan over mankind and men would be able to become sons of God. Isaiah 53:5 tells us that Jesus “was bruised for our iniquities [or sins].” Praise God for Jesus who conquered the enemy of our soul!
We have established the fact that sin displeases God. He punished Adam and Eve and put them out of the garden, yet He gave them a promise of a Savior to come. It was many years before Jesus came. During this time they offered a lamb, which was a type of Jesus, as a sacrifice for their sins. Today Jesus is our Savior.
Let us note that in the 21st verse in Genesis 3, God killed an animal and made Adam and Eve “coats of skin” to wear. It says that God “clothed them.” Clothed means “to cover.” Here we find that it is a command for us to wear clothing. Paul in the New Testament tells us to dress in modest apparel (1 Timothy 2:9). In other words, we are to be clothed. It is still a sin to go without decent clothing today as it was in the Garden of Eden.
Now one thing that God showed me in my search, was that because Adam and Eve sinned, that sin passed down upon all the human race. Adam was created holy and pure but when he sinned, he lost that purity. When he had a son, the Bible tells us that his son was “after his [Adam’s] image,” (Genesis 5:3) or had the principle of sin within him. The Apostle Paul tells us “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death [spiritual death] by sin; and so death [or spiritual separation from God] passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12) We see that every child who is born has that sin principle within him. “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5) Then we read in the Bible in another place where it says, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” (Psalm 58:3) Thus the Bible explains that children are born with a bent, or inclination, toward sin; but if they die without first coming to a knowledge of sin, they are saved through Jesus’ blood. There comes a time in a child’s life when he knows he has sinned. He understands it and then he is responsible. The Apostle Paul says, “sin is not imputed [or charged, or ascribed] when there is no law [or understanding].” (Romans 5:13)
Now you have come to the time in life when you are responsible. You know what sin is. I remember when I realized that I had sinned. I had a big imagination, but the time came when I knew the difference between imagining things and telling lies. The Bible says that “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.” (Revelation 21:8) So telling lies is wrong, and therefore is a sin, as well as many other things that we will mention later.