Bible Minute: What is Sin?

The Meaning of Sin as Disobedience to God

The word sin appears almost 400 times in the Bible. What is sin exactly? The simplest answer is that sin is disobedience to God. Sin can be thought of as committing a spiritual crime. Most of us do not think of ourselves as criminals.

We tend to think of crime in terms of murder, theft, arson, drunk driving, and so on. However, even those of us who have not committed any of these crimes are still spiritual criminals even if our worst offense is telling a lie.

The Bible says that all people sin. Often we deceive ourselves into thinking that we are good people because we don't commit the worst kinds of sins. If we compare ourselves to each other, this might be a valid conclusion.

In reality, it does no good to compare ourselves to one another because this is not the yardstick that God measures by. He does not grade on the curve. The prophet Isaiah said, In the sight of God, even our good deeds are like something filthy because they are mingled with all the sins we have committed.

Sin as Missing the Target

Tragically, the whole world is full of sin. What makes something a sin? The Bible teaches that the basic concept of sin is the idea of missing the target. What target is it that God expects us to hit?

The Greatest Commandment and the Call to Love

To answer this, let's consider a question that was asked of Jesus. Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus replied, This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it.

All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. Jesus said the greatest commandment is that we are to love God. The second is similar to it. We are to love one another. This is the target that God wants us to aim for.

God’s Commands as Instructions for Love and Good

All of the commandments God has given us are based on love. God teaches us that if we love someone, we should always be trying to do what is in their best interest no matter who they are. We show our love by obeying all that he has taught us.

If we instinctively knew how to love each other, God would not have needed to give us instructions. His commands, if obeyed, result in showing love to him, ourselves, and to everyone else. His commands aren't meant to keep us from having fun, but rather they serve to teach and protect us.

Obeying God is in our own best interest because the commands he has given are for our own good and the good of others. We show our love by obeying all that he has taught us to disobey us to sin. God's commandments are actually instructions which teach us how to be like him.

The more we become like him, the more we put the well-being of others first. The more we do this, the less hurtful things we do to ourselves and others.

Got it?