What is Sin?

Are you living in Sin? Or are you living in righteousness for God? Let’s find out!

Sin According to the Bible

I’m sure you’ve heard the word sin or at least have a general idea of what it is. Some people believe sin is just when you do something wrong, and to some degree that is true. Sin is when you do something wrong in the sight of God or wrong according to His Word. My definition of sin, as stated in An Introduction to Christianity, sin is willing disobedience to God and His Word, whether it be disobedience to the Word or something God said to you personally. However, let’s see what the Bible has to say about what sin is. In Galatians 5:19-21, sin is categorized as the works of the flesh, “which are; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, [and] revelries,” furthermore in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, it reads, “do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God”. These two verses should give you a pretty good idea of what sin is and what isn’t acceptable to God. So if any of these things sound familiar or are currently a part of your lifestyle, then you are living in sin. I know people try to justify some of the sins listed but you cannot justify yourself. The only way to be truly justified is “in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God,” as stated in 1st Corinthians 6:11. So if you’ve never given your life to Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior and you are currently living in sin, the Bible says that you will not inherit the Kingdom of God. That is not what I want for you, and more importantly, that is not what God wants for you. But, if you give your life to Jesus and repent of your sins, God is quick to forgive you and love you with His agape love!

Let’s dive a little deeper, In Matthew 22:37, Jesus says “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, This is the first and great commandment,” Well, what does this verse have to do with sin? Easy! if you love God, with all your heart, mind, and soul, it is very difficult for you to disobey His Word. Let’s use Joseph as an example, Joseph certainly loved God with his whole heart, mind, and soul, so when Potiphar’s wife tried to sleep with him, he responded “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” Joseph saw sin, not as a pleasure, but as something that would displease God, but since he loved God so much, he wouldn’t dare displease Him. So as a Christain, it shouldn’t be hard to resist sin, as it wasn’t hard for Joseph. 1 John 5:3 says that “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome.” And God’s commandments are not burdensome because we love Him with all our hearts, minds, and souls. It’s only a burden or an annoyance trying to follow God if our hearts aren’t in the right place and we are still looking to please ourselves and not God. To know if you have a pure heart towards God, ask yourself the following questions: is it hard to follow the instructions of God? and, do I hate being corrected by God when I mess up? Those two questions should really let you know if you are following the first and great commandment stated by Jesus. The answers you should have when you have a pure heart towards God are yes, it is easy to follow the instructions of God, and no I don’t hate being corrected and am willing to change my ways. The change is essential, because if you don’t change them or turn from sin, then you’re going to have to pay the price of it.

The Price of Sin

“for to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”

Romans 8:6 NKJV

A phrase I’ve always heard about sin is “you’ll pay more than you wanna pay”. When people are engaged in sin, they rarely think about the price of it, and more so about the immediate pleasure they get. However, would you change your outlook on sin if you knew, as stated in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death”? And what is this death exactly? This death is spiritual death, as sin separates us from God who gives us spiritual life through Jesus. You do not have spiritual life if you’ve never repented of your sins and believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, so according to the Bible, you are spiritually dead. Moreover, the wages of sin is death because as one has failed to turn from their sin to Jesus, they now will suffer eternal damnation, which is hell. That is the main reason why getting away from sin is so important so that we can avoid hell and make heaven. The whole reason why Jesus came to Earth is so that we can have eternal life, and the only thing that guarantees eternal life is forsaking our sin and turning to Jesus. In Romans 8:6 it says “for to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” And to be carnally minded is giving in to the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19). James 1:14-15, reads, “but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” There is no way that one can live in sin and avoid spiritual death that leads to hell, the Bible says countless times that sin leads to death. It is imperative that as Christians or people who desire to please God we crucify our flesh daily as stated in Galatians 5:24. The temptation will come, but we have to withstand it and overcome it so that we can “endure to the end [and] be saved,” (Matthew 24:13). Heaven is the home of overcomers, and overcomers are those who turn away from sin and turn to Jesus.

How Can I Stop Sinning?

What makes a Child of God and an unbeliever different? What truly sets us apart? In 1 John 3:6 it says that “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him”, so that is what sets apart a Christian from an unbeliever, we do not sin. I know, in church, in life, it is often mentioned how we are all sinners, but that is simply not true for the child of God. 1 Peter 2:24 says that “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.” Right here it gives us the answer to why we can live a sin-free life…Jesus! When Jesus died on the cross, sin died right with Him, so now anyone who believes in Jesus and gives their life to Him now has the power to live righteously for Christ. So don’t believe people when they say you are a sinner, tell them that you are “a new creation in Christ, therefore old things have passed away and all things have become new” (II Corinthians 5:17) meaning that the old things (sin) are no longer a part of your life, you are born again in the image of Christ and have dominion over sin. Additionally, in James 4:7-8, it says “submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you,” so when it comes to sin, if you actively choose to seek out God, God will get you out of the temptation you’re facing. I Corinthians 10:13, says “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” There is nothing that you are tempted with that the power of Jesus can’t help you overcome, but you have to “submit to God” first in order to have that empowerment over sin.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour”

1 Peter 5:8 NKJV

Here’s some advice on how to submit to God and resist the devil. Number 1, read scriptures that come against what you are tempted with, for example, if it is a temptation to drink, repeat 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour” and when you are drunk, that gives the devil an open door to attack you, so stay sober like the Bible instructs you to. Also, it is more powerful to say these scriptures out loud while having them in front of your face. Number 2, start praying, pray that the temptation leaves you in the name of Jesus and that you are righteous in Christ, for example, “God, I pray that the temptation for me to drink leaves in the name of Jesus for I am the righteousness of Christ and am sober-minded and vigilant, the devil shall have no opening, in Jesus’s name, Amen”. And Number 3, simply tell the devil no, for instance, “Devil, I am not going to drink because the Bible says drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, and one thing about me, I AM going to inherit the kingdom of heaven.” I promise you, if you submit to God using those three steps, the devil WILL flee and will not get the chance to devour you like he wishes! Remember you have dominion over sin, whatever you’re struggling with right now is not more powerful than the power of Jesus! You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you and that includes living righteously!