What is Sin?

I think most people will agree that sinning is bad. But what seems to be lost today is the definition of sin. I am going try to explain where sin came from, why it is important to understand its origin and then try to define it.

The Origin of Sin

Most people know of the creation story. According to Genesis, God created the heaven and earth. He said that his creation was good. He also created Adam and Eve in his own image and blessed them. He also gave them free will. Humanity was good. (For more info, read the whole creation story here:)

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Genesis-Chapter-1/

In chapter 2, God created more earthly features such as rivers, plants, and trees. God informed Adam and Eve that they may freely eat of any tree except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Sometime after that, a serpent showed up and tempted Eve. Eve believed the serpent’s lies and ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. In doing so, she committed the first sin. She disobeyed God. Adam then followed her and ate the fruit as well.

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Genesis-2-16_2-17/

Mankind now knew about sin. We became aware of pride, disobedience, lust and anger. We became tempted by it. We would be judged.

Why Retell This Story?

The story of Adam and Eve is an important one. If the serpent did not tempt Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, the story ends. All of us would be living in the Garden of Eden right now. You would not be here reading about sin because it would not exist. It was humans, not God that chose to create sin.

People often wonder why God would let bad things happen in the world. But humans have had free will from the beginning and we chose poorly. We had eternal life and eternal Eden. We lived with God. God warned us that if we eat the forbidden fruit “thou shalt surely die.” The serpent said that we would not die and “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” The serpent lied. We believed him. We chose not to listen to God. We created our own mess.

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Genesis-2-17/

So what do we do now? There is no going back so we need to try to live with our choice. God can not simply deny people the right to choose sin. If he did so, he would take away our free will. It is our fight now. We must turn away from Satan and chose God. But he did not leave us defenseless. He gave us an invaluable gift. He provided us with information on how to get to Eden. The information is the bible.

Defining Sin

We can’t eliminate sin, but we can try to avoid it. The bible gives us some ideas on how to live a good life. One such example is the ten commandments. I would point you to Exodus chapter 20:

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Exodus-Chapter-20/

I like reading this chapter over the bulleted list you can find online as it provides a little more context. God gave us this list in the hopes of guiding us to Him. It is important to remember we must find meaning in the words and the intent behind them. For example, we are told to honor the Sabbath Day, but keep in line with God’s message. Don’t ignore someone’s cry for help to keep the Sabbath.

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-Chapter-14/

Matthew also has a lot to say on the definition of sin. Chapter 5 reinforces the idea that it is more than our actions. Calling some a fool, holding anger against someone with out cause, and looking lustfully at someone of the opposite sex are also sins. We must strive to be better.

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Matthew-Chapter-5/

Call to Action

I will tell you that I wrote this article multiple times. The words I wrote are my understanding of God’s intent. But I am no apostle, prophet, priest, or even a teacher. I am a lay person who is writing about God in the hope of understanding myself better and maybe even helping others. As with everything you read and learn, you should always fact check. God warns us about false prophets. Take that warning seriously.

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