What is sin?

What is sin? Sin, according to the Bible, is any action, thought, or behavior that goes against the will and law of God. The Bible uses different words for sin that help us understand what it is. The following are the more common terms for sin.

1. The most common word for sin in both the Old and New Testaments is almost always translated “sin.”
   • Verse: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23 NKJV)
   • Explanation: Sin means to “miss the mark.” It refers to a moral failure to live up to God's standards, either because we are unable to do so or because we choose to. This word for sin includes the responsibility we bear for failing to meet God’s standards.
2. Another word is "iniquity."
   • Verse: “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6 NKJV)
   • Explanation: Iniquity refers to deviating from the right course. It thus came to refer to the twisted nature of sin and the inherent corruption or perversion involved.
3. Another word is "transgression,” “trespass," or “offense.”
   • Verse: “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.” (Romans 5:5 NKJV)
   • Explanation: This term refers to crossing a line or going past a boundary. It also refers to someone rebelling against an authority. In Romans 5:5, the word refers to Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden, where he chose to cross the boundary that God set up and therefore rebel against God’s authority. God specifically told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; Adam chose to disobey that command.
4. Another word is "abomination.”
   • Verse: “You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.” (Deuteronomy 7:25-26).
   • Explanation: This term refers to practices that produce revulsion in God. It is often used to describe actions, practices, or behaviors that are morally and spiritually corrupt, and that go against God's commands or His holy nature. Abominations include idolatry as in the quoted verse, homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13), seeking to look like the opposite sex (Deuteronomy 22:5), sacrificing sons and daughters to idols (Deuteronomy 12:31), and witchcraft (Deuteronomy 18:9-12).
5. Another word related to sin is “guilt” or “guilty.”
   • Verse: “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.”
   • Explanation: Guilt refers primarily to the result of sin. Guilt includes the person’s knowledge of sin and the realization that we have sinned against a holy God. It also refers to the penalty for sin, the liability that sin brings for offending God.

Sin is an unpleasant topic. Most people do not think they are bad, or they believe they are not as bad as other people they know. Sin is an affront to the modern mindset: “Do not mention anything negative.” For others, sin is a foreign idea. They have rejected God, and therefore, there is no one to whom they are accountable. However, the Bible is clear. Sin refers to the sins we commit and to the inner controlling power of our sin nature.