THE “ONE” QUESTION MOST CHRISTIANS GET WRONG

What Is Sin?

Ask ten Christians this question:

“What is sin?”

And listen carefully to the answers.

You may hear:

Adultery.

Murder.

Lying.

Stealing.

Drunkenness.

Sexual immorality.

Hatred.

Greed.

Pride.

Certainly, Scripture addresses all of these.

But there is a problem.

Those are examples of sin.

The question was:

What IS sin?

There is a difference.

And until we understand that difference, we can spend years identifying everybody else's sins while remaining remarkably unaware of our own.

Perhaps one of the most dangerous misunderstandings in Christianity is reducing sin to a list of particularly bad things that particularly bad people do.

Because once we do that, something subtle happens.

We begin grading ourselves.

“I don't do that.”

“I've never done what she did.”

“I would never live like him.”

“I don't drink.”

“I don't commit adultery.”

“I don't steal.”

“I go to church.”

“I read my Bible.”

“I pray.”

And somewhere along the way, we can begin believing that because we have avoided certain sins, we understand the nature of sin.

We may not.

So let's ask the question again.

What is sin?

THE BIBLE GIVES AN UNCOMFORTABLY BROAD ANSWER

John writes:

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” — 1 John 3:4

That is one biblical definition.

But Scripture does not stop there.

James tells us:

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” — James 4:17

Now the circle gets wider.

Sin is not merely doing something wrong.

Sometimes sin is knowing what is right and refusing to do it.

Then Paul writes:

“…for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” — Romans 14:23

The circle widens again.

And then we arrive at perhaps the best-known description:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23

There it is.

Come short.

That takes this discussion far beyond our favorite list of forbidden behaviors.

SIN IS NOT MERELY “DOING BAD THINGS”

Sin is ultimately a failure to conform to God's holy standard.

Sometimes that failure is visible.

Sometimes invisible.

Sometimes it involves our hands.

Sometimes our mouths.

Sometimes our thoughts.

Sometimes our motives.

Sometimes what we do.

Sometimes what we deliberately refuse to do.

That means I can perform an outwardly good action for an inwardly corrupt reason.

I can give because I want recognition.

Pray because I want people impressed.

Preach because I crave applause.

Serve because I want control.

Forgive outwardly while secretly nourishing resentment.

Say the correct Christian words while harboring pride, jealousy, bitterness, lust, hatred, selfish ambition, or unbelief.

Human beings see behavior.

God sees the heart.

That should humble every one of us.

JESUS MOVED THE CONVERSATION INSIDE

One of the startling things Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount was move people's attention from outward compliance to inward condition.

They understood:

“Thou shalt not kill.”

Jesus addressed anger.

They understood:

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Jesus addressed lust.

Why?

Because God's concern has never been limited to whether we successfully avoided committing the final outward act.

He is concerned with what is happening inside us.

The heart matters.

Motives matter.

Desires matter.

Intentions matter.

Why we do something matters.

And that makes self-righteousness extremely difficult to maintain.

PERHAPS WE HAVE BEEN ASKING THE WRONG QUESTION

Many Christians approach questionable situations by asking:

“Is this a sin?”

Sometimes what we really mean is:

“How close can I get to the boundary without technically crossing it?”

But perhaps mature Christianity asks something different.

Does this please God?

Does this glorify Christ?

Will this strengthen my relationship with Him?

Can I do this in faith?

Will this hurt another believer?

Is the Holy Spirit warning me?

Am I doing this because God desires it—or because I desire it?

There is a significant difference between asking:

“Can I get away with this?”

and asking:

“Father, does this please You?”

One seeks a boundary.

The other seeks God.

SIN CAN WEAR CHURCH CLOTHES

This may surprise some people.

Not everything sinful looks wicked.

Sometimes sin looks extremely religious.

Pride can preach.

Jealousy can sing in the choir.

Bitterness can sit on the front pew.

Ambition can build a ministry.

Selfishness can hide behind “discernment.”

Control can disguise itself as “leadership.”

Gossip can begin with:

“I'm only telling you this so you can pray.”

Disobedience can be renamed:

“I'm waiting on God.”

Presumption can be called:

“Walking by faith.”

And stubbornness can announce:

“The Lord told me.”

This is why merely being involved in Christian activity does not automatically protect us from sin.

Sometimes our religious vocabulary simply gives us more sophisticated ways of disguising it.

THE SIN OF DOING NOTHING

James 4:17 may be among the most neglected verses in discussions about sin:

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

Read that again.

There are things we can do wrong.

But there are also things we can be wrong for not doing.

God tells us to forgive.

We refuse.

God tells us to help.

We walk away.

God tells us to speak.

We remain silent.

God tells us to apologize.

Pride says no.

God tells us to reconcile.

We choose resentment.

God tells us to give.

We clutch tighter.

God tells us to go.

We remain comfortable.

God tells us to stop.

We continue.

Sometimes our greatest act of disobedience is not something terrible we did.

It is something righteous we knew to do and chose not to do.

“BUT EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING IT”

Everybody else has never been God's standard.

Culture changes.

Public opinion changes.

Laws change.

Social norms change.

Church traditions change.

What one generation condemns, another celebrates.

What one culture accepts, another rejects.

But Christians do not determine righteousness by counting votes.

Nor do we determine sin merely by asking what society currently considers acceptable.

Our question must remain:

What does God say?

If God calls something sin, changing the terminology does not change its nature.

If God calls something righteous, ridicule does not make it wrong.

The Christian is called to live under the authority of God, not the fluctuating approval of culture.

BUT HERE IS WHERE WE MUST BE VERY CAREFUL

Understanding sin should never make us more arrogant.

It should make us more humble.

Romans 3:23 does not say:

“For they have sinned.”

It says:

“For ALL have sinned…”

All.

The preacher.

The missionary.

The pastor.

The deacon.

The church mother.

The theologian.

The newly converted believer.

The person who has served Christ for fifty years.

And the person walking into church for the first time.

Nobody approaches the Cross carrying a résumé impressive enough to eliminate the need for grace.

We all come needing Jesus.

THE PURPOSE OF UNDERSTANDING SIN IS NOT TO BECOME BETTER AT CONDEMNING PEOPLE

This matters tremendously.

Some Christians seem fascinated with identifying sin in everybody except themselves.

But Scripture should function first as a mirror before we use it as a magnifying glass.

Before asking:

“What's wrong with them?”

perhaps we should ask:

“Lord, what is happening in me?”

David prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.” — Psalm 139:23

That is a dangerous prayer.

Because God may answer it.

He may reveal something we had justified.

Something we had renamed.

Something we had blamed on somebody else.

Something we had carried for years.

Something we thought was simply “our personality.”

And when He reveals it, we have a choice.

Defend it.

Or surrender it.

WHY DOES SIN MATTER SO MUCH?

Because sin separates.

Sin corrupts.

Sin deceives.

Sin enslaves.

Sin destroys.

And ultimately:

“For the wages of sin is death…” — Romans 6:23

But thank God the verse does not stop there.

“…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

There is the Gospel.

The biblical message about sin is not:

“You are terrible, and there is no hope.”

The message is:

You have sinned—and God loved you enough to provide a Savior.

Jesus did not come because humanity needed minor improvement.

He came because humanity needed redemption.

THE CROSS TELLS US TWO THINGS AT ONCE

Look at Calvary and you discover both the seriousness of sin and the magnitude of God's love.

If sin were insignificant, the Cross would have been unnecessary.

But if God did not love sinners, the Cross would never have happened.

At Calvary, holiness and mercy meet.

Justice and grace meet.

Our guilt and God's forgiveness meet.

Christ took what we deserved so that through Him we could receive what we could never earn.

That is why Christians should never speak about sin without eventually talking about Jesus.

Otherwise, we diagnose the disease and hide the cure.

SO, WHAT IS SIN?

Sin is more than murder.

More than adultery.

More than stealing.

More than lying.

More than sexual immorality.

Those may be manifestations of it.

But biblically, sin reaches deeper.

It is transgressing God's law.

It is failing to do the good we know to do.

It is acting apart from faith.

It is falling short of God's glory.

It reaches our actions, thoughts, motives, attitudes, desires, omissions, and disobedience.

Ultimately, sin says:

“My way instead of God's way.”

And perhaps that is why the question is so uncomfortable.

Because suddenly we are no longer discussing only “those people.”

We are discussing us.

ONE QUESTION BEFORE WE FINISH

Instead of asking today:

“Who is sinning?”

Try asking:

“Lord, is there anything in ME that displeases You?”

Then wait.

Don't answer for Him.

Don't defend yourself.

Don't compare yourself with somebody worse.

Don't immediately think about your spouse.

Your children.

Your neighbor.

Your pastor.

Your church.

Your coworkers.

Or the people you saw on television.

Just you.

And God.

“Lord, search me.”

If He reveals something, confess it.

If something needs changing, change it.

If someone needs forgiving, forgive.

If restitution needs making, make it.

If obedience is overdue, obey.

And remember:

Conviction is not God pushing you away.

Conviction is often God calling you closer.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:9

THE QUESTION MOST CHRISTIANS GET WRONG MAY LEAD TO THE ANSWER WE ALL NEED

What is sin?

Perhaps we have spent too much time creating lists.

God wants our hearts.

The goal of Christianity is not merely learning how to avoid enough prohibited behaviors to consider ourselves respectable.

It is knowing Jesus.

Loving Jesus.

Following Jesus.

Obeying Jesus.

Becoming more like Jesus.

And whenever something in us pulls us away from His will, His holiness, His truth, or His lordship, we should take it seriously.

Not because we are terrified that God is looking for an excuse to destroy us.

But because we love Him enough to say:

“Lord, I don't want anything between You and me.”

That changes the question.

We stop asking:

“How much can I get away with and still be a Christian?”

And begin asking:

“How completely can I surrender myself to Christ?”

Now we're getting somewhere.

LET US PRAY

Father, we ask You to search us today.

Not our neighbor.

Not another denomination.

Not another Christian.

Us.

Show us anything in our thoughts, motives, attitudes, words, actions, or omissions that displeases You.

Forgive us for reducing sin to the things other people do while overlooking pride, bitterness, selfishness, unbelief, disobedience, and compromise within ourselves.

Give us tender hearts that respond quickly to Your correction.

Thank You that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

Thank You for Jesus.

Thank You for the Cross.

Thank You for forgiveness.

And thank You that when we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Help us not merely to avoid sin.

Help us to desire You.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

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Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International
Your Feet to the Nations

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Don't merely ask, “Is it sin?” Ask, “Lord, does it please You?”

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