What is Sin?

Again I love what Sam Storms has said on this.  No need to repeat it. Let me simply add these comments to the motivation not to sin.  Not only do I “get God,” but I “get the Spirit in fullness.” Sin often has the result of grieving and quenching the work of the Spirit in my life and all the benefits that he brings.  When I repent of sin and turn to God in faith, times of refreshing come from the presence of God carried by the Spirit. I also “get” to stay under the fount of grace. When I chose sin, I’m usually choosing a substitute for Jesus, a false gospel, a false savior (Gal. 1:6).  The result is that I become separated from the stream of grace that flows from Jesus (Gal.5). Because I can do nothing apart from Jesus and his grace, there is incredible motivation to avoid sin. Finally I’d also say that I “get” or that incredible promises are made to those who walk in obedience (turning from sin).  Consider all the promises given to us for abiding in Christ, his love and truth in John 15. He bears much fruit, his asks and receives in prayer and the joy of Jesus is made full in us.

The root of sin is usurping God’s prerogative to be God in our life, that is to define for us what is good and what is bad. As sinners, we want to control and make decisions for what would be good, beneficial and pleasurable for me now. Often these decisions are driven by flesh, rather than the Spirit, as Paul says in Romans 8. Satan deceives us that sin brings pleasure, benefit, and success. God’s standards and commandments look constraining to our misguided hearts, while in reality they are given to make our life holistic, productive, and joyful in communion with others. When apostles reminded believers about their holy conduct they did not simply impose commands on them, they always reminded them who they are in Christ, how God views them, what place they have in God’s family. We need to study and remind ourselves about these truths to overcome sin. The more we know the Trinity, the more we become like God. This is why apostles often prayed that believers grow in the knowledge of God and Christ (Phil. 1:9; Col. 1:10; 2 Pet. 1:2, 8; 3:18).

Sin is hatred toward God, expressed in unbelief toward his promises and rebellion against his laws. The evil of sin consists of the wrong we commit against the One who is supremely great and good. We are motivated not to sin by love for God and the fear of God, both of which arise from knowing God through Jesus Christ.

The term “sin” has lost its teeth, or at least its bite. In contemporary society it sounds almost quaint, like “things the Victorians would have disapproved of.” The truth is a bit more sinister. Sin is the rejection of God and his created order. Sin is disbelief or distrust or disinterest in God’s word. This is a serious offense, for God’s word has laid down not only the law of the land, but the laws that govern the whole created order.

Sin as the denial of reality. For what is more real than God’s word, which Jesus says will last longer than the heavens and the earth themselves (Matt. 5:18; 24:35)? To go against God’s word is thus to go against the grain of reality. It’s like ignoring the laws of gravity in preference to one’s own idea about what happens to falling objects. How silly – and dangerous! To ignore the law of gravity is to risk doing serious harm to oneself. In not loving our neighbor as ourselves, we violate not simply our neighbor but God’s revealed law. 

The motivation not to sin should now be clear: we need to get with the program, God’s program! God’s will is not oppressive but liberating. The laws he gives are for our good. This is the thrust of Psalm 1: one who delights in God’s law and obeys it will prosper and flourish. So: our first motivation not to sin should be to honor God rather than to take his place by preferring our own words and laws. Creatures should do everything in their power not to “de-God” God. Talk about fraud! But that’s precisely what idolatry is. We defraud God by depriving him of the honor due him and him only. Our second motivation not to sin should be the desire to live according to the created order. This is wisdom. Sin is only foolishness, and death.

In the final analysis, sin is much worse than immorality – doing wrong things. Sin is first and foremost an offense to God. In disbelieving God’s word and disobeying God’s law, we dishonor God’s name. God is not mocked: in denying the wisdom, trustworthiness, and authority of God’s word, we pass judgment upon ourselves. What is sin? It is our dumb preference for death and destruction…

Sin is rebellion against God, and it is a terrible idea for a creature to try and frustrate the will of its maker (clay pots don’t tell their potters off! [Rom. 9:20–21]). Nothing good will ever come of it. In fact, sin destroys those who indulge in it.  Our motivation to not sin comes not from fear of punishment (1 John 4:18) but out of gratitude for what God has done for us in Christ and our love for him and our neighbor.  Grateful people do not want to disappoint their Maker and Redeemer.

Sin is a violation of God’s will. We sin when we do things that God has instructed us not to do and when we don’t do things God has told us to do. The two great love commandments (love God with everything you are and everything you have, and love your neighbor as yourself) sum up God’s will for our lives. We sin when we do not love as we ought to, when we hate rather than love, or when we love something more or less than we are supposed to or in a way that is in violation of God’s design and desire.

Sin has many biblical words and dimensions. A basic Bible dictionary identifies them. But basically sin is seductive. It seduces people to forget about Jesus and to forsake his way of new, full life. When they are seduced, sin enslaves them. In bondage to it, they are slowly, inevitably destroyed: their relationships, their integrity, their sense of meaning and self-worth, their joy and delight in life. Satan seduces people in order to devastate them and undercut Christ.

Sin is any transgression of or lack of conformity to God’s law. It is terrible, because it is rebellion against the highest authority and because it is a betrayal of the greatest love we can imagine. Sin destroys everything good in our lives and in the world. My motivation not to sin is that God’s Spirit has given me a new heart that understands this and desires to love him as he has loved me.  

Sin is any act, word, or deed that fails to honor and glorify God as the supreme treasure in the universe. What makes sin so sinful is that it fails to recognize, embrace, and give thanks for the most glorious and beautiful being in all the universe. Sin is always an act of idolatry, for in it we seek to find in something else what can only be found in God alone. We sin when we devote our energy and give ourselves to something other than the only person who is immeasurably and infinitely worthy of our complete faith, trust, and love.
My motivation to not sin is that I get God! If it is in his presence that we find the fullness of joy and at his right hand that we experience pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11), my motivation not to sin is so that I might glorify God by enjoying him forever. Sin, therefore, is anytime and in any way that I seek to satisfy my longing for joy and pleasure in anyone or anything other than God.

Sin is whatever we do that doesn’t conform to God’s will and purposes. Sin is terrible because it severs us from God, the source of life. That’s why sin leads to death. Even sins that don’t seem so serious are signs that we are fallen, that we’re turning against God. Sin can manifest itself personally (why do I do the things I know are wrong or harmful to others or hurt the heart of God?) and also systemically (why do certain institutions or politics or even churches seem to be drawn into sin’s orbit so that injustice and dishonesty flourish?). Sin is like an infection that spreads and then leads to death.