“Sin” brings up all kinds of different ideas and images to different people. Everyone has their own questions and ideas about what sin is and what it isn’t. “Is this a sin?”, “Is that a sin?”, I’m sure we could go on and on about this to no end. When we get bogged down and only focus on determining what counts as a sin, or even which sins are greater than others, we lose sight of the bigger picture. In order to get a clear answer to this question, we should always look to God’s Word for the answer instead of relying on our own thoughts and understanding since God is the one who originally defined sin in the first place.
What Is Sin?
What is sin? Simply put, sin is disobeying God’s law. In Genesis 2, God created the Garden of Eden and put Adam and Eve in charge of caring for it. In the garden, there were two trees: the tree of life and the tree of good and evil. God gave them one rule. He told Adam and Eve to NOT eat from the tree of good and evil. Why did he say this? Because they would surely die if they ate from it. Let’s think a little deeper about why God would prohibit them from doing something.
God is the source of life and wants His creation to have life. Just like how parents want to protect their children from harm or danger, they give their children rules for their protection, God, our Creator, is our spiritual Father. He loves and protects us by giving us rules (the law) that keep us close to Him so that He can protect us from the enemy.
So God told Adam and Eve not to eat from that tree because He wanted to protect them. But did they listen to God? In the very next chapter, the serpent, the devil, deceived Eve into doubting God’s word and warning and so she ate from the tree of good and evil. She also got Adam to eat from it, too. They disobeyed God, broke His rule, and that disobedience was sin.
The Law
Now that sin had entered and in a way ‘infected’ God’s creation, there was a need for the Law. Why did God give the law?
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Romans 3:20
The law is meant to help us recognize what sin is. Without God’s law, we wouldn’t know if we were sinning or not. Think about a time when you did something wrong but you didn’t know it was wrong at the time. Maybe you traveled to another country and unknowingly broke a law you weren’t aware of, or even if you went over to a friend’s house and broke a house rule they had set. How would you feel afterward? I’m sure it would be a bit embarrassing if not worse. At least that’s how it would be for me.
After finding out what the wrong thing was, would you then continue to do it? When you choose to deliberately break a law, that’s when trouble and consequences follow. God’s law isn’t meant to restrict us. Instead, it’s meant to protect us by helping us recognize when we do something wrong and from there we can correct our actions.
We Need Help
The law also shows us that we are in need of a savior. The Bible says that no one can be made righteous through the law alone. No one can fully keep all of God’s commands because our sin is too great (Romans 8:2-3). In Romans 3:23-24, it says that everyone has fallen short of God’s glory, but we are redeemed (saved) by Jesus Christ.
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Through the blood of Jesus, we can be made righteous and holy, and are also freed from sin (Revelation 1:5-6). If we are freed from sin, then we will also be freed from the law. But then does that mean we don’t have to follow the law anymore? No, it means we should keep God’s law even more through faith in Jesus Christ.
So, what should we do as believers? How can I know if I am sinning or not? Very simply, you can ask yourself, am I obeying God or not? And how can I know if I’m obeying God? You can obey God by obeying His Word because God is the Word (John 1:1). By knowing and keeping God’s Word, we become more holy and less sinful. We become more like God, our Creator. The better we understand God’s word, the easier it is to obey it. And in obeying the Word of God, we prove to Him that we love Him and God himself will make His home with us.
‘Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”’
John 14:23
Written by Kenny
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