T. Allen Burr Ministries

The nature of sin has long plagued people. What is it? Christians and the church have struggled with this concept, not because of a lack of understanding it but because cultures throughout time have been resistant to the concept. What, then, is sin? Theologian John Piper describes sin like this:

It is the glory of God not honored. The holiness of God not reverenced. The greatness of God not admired. The power of God not praised. The truth of God not sought. The wisdom of God not esteemed. The beauty of God not treasured. The goodness of God not savored. The faithfulness of God not trusted. The promises of God not believed. The commandments of God not obeyed. The justice of God not respected. The wrath of God not feared. The grace of God not cherished. The presence of God not prized. The person of God not loved. That is sin.

John Piper

What is sin? That is an incredibly loaded question. And while Piper makes some good points about what sin is, his explanation here is far too esoteric. The chief complaint I hear from people who are resistant to Christianity is the concept of sin. This is reflected in the general American worldview. The American Worldview Inventory of 2020 showed that “the relevance of sin is waning” with just 56% of adults saying that “they consciously and consistently attempt to avoid sinning because they know it offends God.”

So … What. Is. Sin? The concept of sin is difficult to tack down. If you look in the Bible, you will find plenty of examples of what sin entails.

At the dawn of creation, God instructed man in that which was right and wrong. God instructed the man, “But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” (Genesis 2:16-17). Then, in Exodus 20, God handed down the 10 Commandments which state: You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall make no idols. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Keep the Sabbath day holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. And you shall not covet. And yet, these cover only a fraction of what sin is. Several scriptures besides these detail some of what sin entails:

Galatians 5:19–21

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Colossians 3:5–6

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.

Mark 7:21-23 

“For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

2 Timothy 3:1-5

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

Even an exhaustive list of every sin recorded in the Bible does not capture what sin is. Sin is any deed, thought, or mindset that defies, violates, or ignores God’s standards of holiness as described in Scripture. It is the willful selection to do what is morally wrong or objectionable in the sight of God. Sin replaces God’s desires with our own and encourages us to “follow your heart,” or some other hedonistic part of who we are. God, in His revealed Word, laid out for us what His standards are. Through the Son, God said:

Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

The entirety of God’s law and standards of holiness hinge on these two commandments. Love God. Love your neighbor. Sin, therefore, is any action, thought, or mindset that breaks these two commandments. This, to some minds, may leave plenty of room for interpretation, but God’s design upon the world is clear. What does this mean, then? Simply this: If you love God, you will have no other gods other than Him. If you love God, you will make or take no idols. If you love God, you will not take the name of the Lord in vain. If you love God, you will keep the Sabbath day holy. If you love your neighbor, you will honor your father and your mother. If you love your neighbor, you will not murder. If you love your neighbor, you will not commit adultery. If you love your neighbor, you will not steal. If you love your neighbor, you will not bear false witness against them. And if you love your neighbor, you will not covet what they have.

This seems simple enough. But apply this to the scriptures referenced up above and see how much deeper the rabbit hole goes. The notion of resisting the sinful nature becomes harder and harder the more in depth you go applying the two greatest commandments to the rest of the Word. That’s why Paul makes the statement that “everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23) And that’s what sin truly is: falling short of God’s standard of holiness.

In the Hebrew language, the word חֶטְא (“chata”) bears the connotation “to miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt”. Seeing that word, the reader of the text would understand that to “sin” would be to “miss” the will of God, which is our adherence to His standard of holiness. This is why the mercy and grace of God are so vital to our salvation. But does our missing the mark actually affect God? Scripture indicates that it does!

Genesis 6:5-6

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 

Isaiah 59:1-2

Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

Romans 8:7-8

For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

Our sin grieves the heart of God; it causes us to be separated from Him, both temporarily (and eternally if we do not turn from our sins). And sin always pushes us to disobey God. While I may not agree with John Piper on his full explanation of sin, Piper and I agree on two aspects of the nature of sin that can be summarized from his quote at the top of the article: “The commandments of God not obeyed. … The person of God not loved. That is sin.”