1.0.2: What Is Sin?

Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:23-24

This can be a sorrowful topic, so I’m starting it off with a spoiler alert:

Jesus won on the cross. He came to love you and to die for you, and He did just that and then rose from the dead for you to show you the way to eternal life.

Whelp, now that the wonderful spoiler is out there, let’s dig in.

Overview

As a Catholic, my lay-person view of sin is that it is essentially a wrong committed. Theologians may debate the interpretation of Matthew 5:28, what it means to sin in your heart, and the legalese definition of sin; I’m not there yet, so I’m not going to take anyone else there. Here is what I understand: sin is intentionally acting against the will of God.

Secular and don’t like that definition? Well, here’s a more grey offering: sin is intentionally doing something wrong. Despite the relativism we face in the world today, there are acts that we inherently understand to be wrong. Maybe you feel guilty after, maybe you were really excited to get someone back but then didn’t feel so hot after retribution, or maybe you just have a feeling of unease after doing something. This is gray because I can only offer symptoms: there isn’t much of a proper secular definition of wrongdoing; we explore this further below, but in the end, we only have a gut check.

We’ve all done something wrong; it’s part of being human, so don’t beat yourself up over it. Part of becoming our best selves is to learn from our mistakes and grow. Sins are moral errors in judgment: choosing the easy over the right, the pleasure over the pain, the impulse over eternity. Some of these errors in judgment we will make recurringly, and some we will cross the line once and refuse to cross it again.

Back to the topic: what is sin? Here are our working definitions:
– Theist: sin is intentionally acting against the will of God.
– Secular: sin is intentionally doing wrong.

While these are the definitions I am going to use for this series, it requires a little further explanation. Given that we have two definitions, parsing them will require taking both forks in the road.

Theistic: Intentionally Acting Against the Will of God

Sin: an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law

Oxford dictionary

Simple enough: to sin is to breach divine law. Here’s a slight problem, though: what is divine law? Again, I’m among the laity, not a theologian or a theology scholar, so (without going down the rabbit hole), I can only interpret this through the lens I have: the lens of the lay. (I’ll look things up when they pique my interest, but I’m not chasing the rabbit if I realize I’ve started after it.)

In plain English, to sin is to break a rule set by God – that’s what this definition says. It seems a pretty fair and accurate assessment based on what I knew coming to the table. However, if I care what rules God is laying down, I should probably check God’s definition, too, right?

Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:17

This verse points out that there is right and wrong, and God wants us to do what is right. Overall, we know what is right or wrong. We don’t need someone to tell us it’s wrong to attack the neighbor’s pet dog with a fork, even if that same dog won’t stop barking at the orchid we placed on the porch yesterday. There are times when we need to figure things out, even getting help to interpret the proper direction.

This verse also declares the intentionality part of our working definition: “Whoever knows… for him it is a sin.” If we don’t understand something is wrong, it isn’t sin. This is necessarily on the honor system; whether or not I comprehend is not something someone else could know.

Part and parcel to intentionality: sin is between the sinner and the Savior. While we can (and should) help and guide others away from treacherous ways, we can’t truly understand another’s comprehension without divine intervention. Any admonishment must be done out of love – to urge a friend for their own eternal sake – and not selfish or any other reasons.

A quick rewind before marching on: if sin is breaking a rule set by God, that means God pre-selected a certain “right” because sin is not adhering to the “right.” In un-gibberish, God chose what is right for us. Logically, that means if we chose to do right, we’re not just choosing God’s path, we’re choosing God.

Secular: Intentionally Doing Wrong

Sin: an act regarded as a serious or regrettable fault, offence, or omission

Oxford dictionary

Oooch, look at the end of that definition again. This adds a bite to the apple, doesn’t it? Or, rather, it clarifies something: the act may be affirmative or it may be omissive – something done or not done.

Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

1 John 3:4

Not that the secular reader is interested in a Bible verse, but this one is pretty useful for following the train of thought. This is of particular interest because it gives a cut-and-dry approach to the term in ways comprehensible to the secular mind. (I will assume that you, dear reader, are interested in the perspectives of others, including those in a relationship with a greater power which you may not believe exists – at least as much as you would like to know why someone might think differently than you do.)

In effect, sin is breaking the law. There are presumptions to be made (that the law is just, for example, and imposed by a legitimate governing body). Unless laws are wrong (unjust, invalid, or against more core laws), they should be followed – even if they seem arbitrary. (The rants I’ve heard about the outdated scientific inquiries and historical bias of speed limit laws bears a mention.) Rules, regulations, and policies overseen and enforced by a legitimate overseer, whether a government, business one engages with, or religious group one participates in, count as laws in this context.

TL;DR (Recap)

Sin is an intentionally wrong act. We know that the act is wrong because it is against a proper law set by a legitimate person (or Person or persons) in charge of setting the laws.

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:34-36

What’s Next?

Now that we know what sin is, we can investigate how to overcome temptations to sin with virtue!