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Scripture defines sin as lawlessness, as falling short of God's glory, and as failing to do the good we know we should do. It is not only a list of bad actions but a condition of the heart that produces them, and it is first against God rather than only against people. Scripture also says all have sinned, that its wage is death, and that God is faithful to forgive those who confess.
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God's answer first
Rather than starting with a list of behaviours, Scripture gives definitions. Three passages define sin from three angles.
The passage that answers this
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Sin is defined as lawlessness, a setting aside of God's authority, and in the very next breath Christ is named as the one revealed to take it away.
Read these with it
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Fall short of the glory of God is the second definition, and Paul says there is no distinction. The law shows us the problem; it is not the solution.
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Sin includes what is left undone. Many people count only actions and never weigh the good they knew to do and avoided.
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Why we ask this
The word is used loosely, sometimes for anything old fashioned people disapprove of. It helps to know what Scripture actually means by it.
Some people carry heavy guilt about things Scripture never calls sin, while overlooking things it does. A clear definition brings relief as well as conviction.
Others cannot see why sin should be a serious matter at all, since much of it seems to hurt nobody. Scripture's answer is that sin is first against God, which changes the whole weight of the question.
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Historical context
- Written by
- John, writing to churches troubled by teachers who denied the seriousness of sin and the reality of Christ's humanity
- Written to
- Christians being told, in various ways, that what they did with their bodies did not matter
- Written because
- 1 John repeatedly tests claims by conduct, which is why it defines sin so plainly
The teachers John opposes seem to have separated spiritual knowledge from bodily behaviour, which is why he keeps insisting that belief and conduct cannot be divided, 1 John 1:6 and 2:4.
That setting explains the tone of 1 John 3:4-6. It is not an attack on struggling believers but on people claiming that sin was beside the point. In the same letter he writes that if anyone sins we have an advocate with the Father, 2:1.
The Old Testament vocabulary lies underneath. Hebrew uses several words for sin, including missing the mark, twisting or perverting, and rebellion, and Psalm 51:1-3 uses three of them in as many lines. The variety shows that Scripture describes sin from several angles rather than with one narrow definition.
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Verse by verse
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Lawlessness is not just breaking a rule but rejecting rightful authority. The definition explains why sin can look small and still be serious.
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The definition is immediately followed by the remedy. Scripture never defines sin in order to leave a reader crushed; the sentence structure itself moves toward Christ.
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Fall short pictures an aim missed. The standard is God's glory, not the average person's behaviour, which is why comparison with others is useless here.
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This shifts the accounting from what I did to what I knew and avoided. Read alongside Luke 10:31-32, where two men pass by a wounded man without doing anything at all.
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Jesus locates the source inside. The list moves from actions to attitudes and ends with pride and foolishness, which no court would prosecute.
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Separation is the effect named. Verse 1 has already denied that God is unable, so the problem is relational rather than a limit in God.
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Wages are earned; a gift is not. The two halves of the verse are deliberately unequal, and the whole gospel sits in the contrast.
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Denial is self ; confession meets faithfulness. Notice that forgiveness rests on God being faithful and , not on the quality of our sorrow.
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What Scripture says
Sin is lawlessness against God
It is a setting aside of God's rightful place. This is why Psalm 51:4 can say against you only, even after David had wronged people terribly.
Sin is falling short of God's glory
The measure is God himself. Isaiah 53:6 uses a different image, all of us like sheep gone astray, each turning to his own way, which is the same conclusion in gentler words.
Sin includes what is left undone
Knowing the good and not doing it is named as sin. Matthew 25:41-45 has the same measure applied to help not given.
Sin comes from within
Jesus said what comes out of a person defiles them. Matthew 5:21-28 goes further, tracing murder back to anger and adultery back to look and .
Everyone is affected
Sin entered through one man and death through sin, and so death passed to all. Psalm 51:5 speaks of being born in iniquity. Scripture presents sin as a condition, not only a series of decisions.
Sin separates and brings death
Separation from God is the central consequence, and Romans 6:23 names death as the wage. Ezekiel 18:4 says the soul that sins will die, which is why the gospel is not merely improvement.
Sin can be forgiven, fully
Confession meets a God who is faithful and to forgive and cleanse. Psalm 103:12 says as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
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The words behind the question
hamartia
The word is used both for acts of sin and for sin as a power, as in Romans 6 where it is spoken of almost as a master. The archery background is often mentioned, and it should not be pressed too far; the meaning in the New Testament is set by the contexts, not by an old etymology.
anomia
It is formed from law with a negative prefix, and describes a life lived as though God's law did not apply. This is why sin is not measured by damage done but by authority denied.
pesha and awon
Psalm 51:1-3 uses transgression, iniquity and sin in close succession. Hebrew describes sin as rebellion, as something twisted, and as a missing of the way, which together give a fuller picture than any single English word.
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Cross references
Definitions of sin
Sin is lawlessness.
All have sinned and fall short of God's glory.
Knowing to do good and not doing it.
Whatever is not from faith is sin.
All unrighteousness is sin.
Where sin comes from
Doubt about God's word before any action.
Out of the heart.
conceives, gives birth to sin, and sin to death.
Sin and death entering through one man.
What sin does
Separation from God.
Slavery, and wages of death.
The physical weight of unconfessed sin, and the relief of confession.
The deceitfulness of sin hardening a person.
God's remedy
Wounded for our transgressions; iniquity laid on him.
Cleansing by the blood of Jesus; forgiveness on confession.
He who knew no sin made sin for us.
No condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
God delighting in mercy, casting sins into the depths of the sea.
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Common misunderstandings
Sin is only harming other people
This misses the main point. David said against you and you only, Psalm 51:4, after harming several people. Sin that harms no one visibly, such as pride in Mark 7:22, is still named.
Sin is a list of forbidden behaviours
There are commands, and they matter, but Jesus traced sin back to the heart, Matthew 5:21-28, and James included good left undone. A list can be kept outwardly while the heart is untouched, which was the Pharisees' problem in Matthew 23:27-28.
Some sins are too small to matter
Scripture does distinguish degrees of seriousness, since it prescribed different penalties and Jesus spoke of greater sin in John 19:11. What it never does is treat any sin as harmless, because the issue is authority denied, 1 John 3:4.
Sin means I am worthless
Scripture says the opposite about human worth. People are made in God's image, Genesis 1:27, and that image is the reason sin is serious rather than a sign of worthlessness. Romans 5:8 says God showed his love while we were still sinners.
If I try harder I can stop sinning
Romans 7:15-24 records a serious man discovering otherwise, and Romans 3:20 says the law brings knowledge of sin rather than . Effort has a place in the Christian life, Philippians 2:12-13, but only after a rescue we did not perform.
God overlooks sin because he is loving
Scripture presents his love in a costlier way. Romans 3:25-26 says God set forth Christ as a so that he might be just and the one who . Sin was not waved away; it was dealt with.
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Things most readers miss
The first sin began with a question about God's word
Genesis 3:1 opens with has God really said. Doubt about what God said came before any eating, which is why Scripture keeps returning to whether we what God has actually spoken.
Scripture describes sin as attractive
Genesis 3:6 calls the fruit good, delightful and desirable. Hebrews 11:25 speaks of the pleasures of sin for a season. Pretending sin is unappealing leaves a reader unprepared.
1 John names both a definition and an advocate
The letter that says sin is lawlessness also says if anyone sins we have an advocate, 2:1. Read together, they refuse both carelessness and despair.
The wage and the gift are set side by side
Romans 6:23 uses two different economies in one sentence. Death is earned; life is given. Missing the second half of the verse turns the study of sin into mere condemnation.
Confession is met with faithfulness, not reluctance
1 John 1:9 grounds forgiveness in God being faithful and . Micah 7:18 says he delights in mercy. Scripture does not present God as needing to be persuaded.
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Someone in Scripture faced this too
Scripture teaches what sin is largely by showing it happening.
Eve and Adam in the garden
What he or she went through
The serpent questioned God's word, misquoted it, then denied its consequence. The tree was good for food, a delight to the eyes and desirable for wisdom, and they ate.
How God responded
God came looking for them and spoke, Genesis 3:9, and the consequences he had named followed.
What we learn
Sin began with a doubt about God's word and God's goodness, not with a craving for something obviously evil. Notice how attractive the fruit is described as being.
David after Bathsheba
What he or she went through
He had committed adultery and arranged a man's death, and had lived with it for months until confronted.
How God responded
David wrote, against you, and you only, I have sinned, and asked for a clean heart rather than only for relief.
What we learn
He had wronged several people, and he still said against you only. Sin's deepest offence is against God, which is why forgiveness must come from him.
Paul, describing the fight
What he or she went through
He writes of doing what he does not want to do and not doing what he wants, and calls himself wretched.
How God responded
The passage ends with thanks to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, and Romans 8:1 follows with no condemnation.
What we learn
Scripture is honest that sin is a power, not just a series of choices, and it does not leave the reader in the wretchedness.
How it points to Christ
The way out named in Romans 7:25 is a person. Sin is never treated as a problem we can outgrow by effort.
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Christ and this question
He was revealed to take sin away
1 John 3:5 puts it in one line: he was revealed to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. The definition of sin in verse 4 is not left standing alone for even a sentence.
Isaiah 53:5-6 says he was wounded for our transgressions and that God laid on him the iniquity of us all. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says the one who knew no sin was made sin for us, so that we might become the of God. This is the exchange the whole Bible moves toward.
It also explains why sin is measured against God's glory rather than against other people. Romans 3:23-26 says all fall short, and then that God set Christ forth so that he could be both just and the justifier of the one who believes. Sin is taken seriously and the sinner is welcomed, at the same time and by the same act.
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What to do with this
Read the definitions rather than assuming them
Take 1 John 3:4, Romans 3:23 and James 4:17 and write out what each adds. Most confusion about sin comes from holding only one of the three.
Let Scripture rather than temperament set your conscience
Some readers accuse themselves of things Scripture never calls sin; others excuse what it plainly names. Psalm 139:23-24 is the prayer to use: search me, and see if there is any wicked way in me.
Confess specifically
1 John 1:9 promises forgiveness to confession. Name the thing rather than praying in general, and then what the verse says about God being faithful.
Look at what you have left undone
James 4:17 and Luke 10:31-32 both press on omission. Ask what good you knew to do this week and avoided, and do one of those things.
Do not fight alone
Hebrews 3:13 warns about sin's deceitfulness and prescribes daily encouragement from others. James 5:16 speaks of confessing to one another and praying for one another.
Read Romans 6 to 8 carefully
These chapters teach both the seriousness of sin and the Christian's freedom from its rule. Romans 8:1 is the sentence to carry: there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
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Study the question further
Are all sins the same to God?
All sin separates from God and all is serious, and Scripture also treats some sins as more grave in consequence and guilt. Both statements come from the text.
What is the same
Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and fall short, and James 2:10 says stumbling in one point makes a person guilty. No sin leaves a person acceptable on their own footing.
What differs
Jesus told Pilate that the one who handed him over had the greater sin, John 19:11, and Old Testament law assigned different penalties. Consequences in this life also differ greatly.
Why it matters
The first truth prevents self by comparison; the second prevents treating serious harm as trivial. Both need to be held.
How to apply this today
- Do I use levels of sin to excuse myself or to minimise real harm?
Lord, let me neither excuse my sin by comparison nor make light of what has hurt others.
Is a thought a sin, or only an action?
Jesus taught that sin begins inwardly. That is not to flatten the difference between a thought and an act, but to deny that the heart is neutral ground.
Matthew 5:27-28
Looking with lustful intent named as adultery in the heart.
Mark 7:21
Evil thoughts listed first among what comes out of the heart.
James 1:14-15
Desire conceives before sin is born, which distinguishes temptation from sin.
How to apply this today
- Where am I tolerating inwardly what I would never do outwardly?
Father, search my heart. Make me honest about what I entertain when no one is watching.
Is being tempted the same as sinning?
No. Scripture says Jesus was in every way as we are, yet without sin, so temptation itself cannot be sin.
Hebrews 4:15
Tempted in all points like us, yet without sin.
James 1:14-15
Sin comes when desire has conceived, which implies a line before it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
God provides a way of escape with every temptation.
How to apply this today
- Have I been condemning myself for being tempted rather than resisting it?
Lord Jesus, you were and did not sin. Help me in the moment, and show me the way of escape.
Why is sin such a serious matter if it seems harmless?
Because Scripture measures sin against God rather than against consequences we can see. Its seriousness is relational, which is also why forgiveness is personal.
Psalm 51:4
Against you, and you only, I have sinned.
Isaiah 59:2
Iniquities separating a person from God.
Romans 6:23
The wage of sin is death.
How to apply this today
- Do I think of sin mainly as a mistake, or as something between me and God?
God, teach me to see sin as you see it, and then show me the mercy you have provided.
Can a Christian stop sinning?
Scripture teaches real change and real ongoing struggle. It says sin no longer reigns over a believer, and it also says anyone claiming to have no sin is self .
What changes
Romans 6:14 says sin will not have dominion over you, and Galatians 5:22-23 describes fruit that grows over time.
What remains
1 John 1:8 rules out claiming sinlessness, and Romans 7:15-25 describes an ongoing fight. Christians differ on how to relate these passages, and both are in Scripture.
Where it ends
1 John 3:2 says when he appears we will be like him. Complete freedom is promised, and it is promised then.
How to apply this today
- Am I discouraged by a struggle that Scripture says to expect?
Father, thank you that sin no longer rules me. Keep me fighting, and finish what you have begun.
What should I do about sin I keep repeating?
Scripture points to confession, to bringing it into the light with other believers, and to removing what feeds it, rather than to trying harder alone.
1 John 1:9
Confession met by a faithful and righteous God.
Hebrews 3:13
Daily encouragement from others against sin's deceitfulness.
James 5:16
Confess to one another and pray for one another.
Romans 13:14
Make no provision for the flesh; remove what supplies it.
How to apply this today
- Is there one person I could tell the truth to this week?
Lord, I have come back to this again. Forgive me, and give me one honest friend and one practical step.
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Reflection
- Which of Scripture's definitions of sin had I not been using?
- What good do I know to do and keep not doing?
- Where have I measured myself against other people instead of against God's glory?
- Have I confessed specifically, and do I believe 1 John 1:9 about what God then does?
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Prayer
God, your word says sin is lawlessness and that all of us fall short of your glory. I do not want to argue with that or soften it.
Search me and show me what I have excused, and what I have left undone that I knew to do.
Thank you that Christ was revealed to take sin away, and that you are faithful and to forgive when I confess.
Keep me from carelessness and from despair. Let me live today as someone under no condemnation, and let that make me holy rather than casual. Amen.
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Further reading
Genesis 3
How sin entered, and how God responded.
Psalm 51
A confession that asks for a clean heart, not only relief.
Romans 3:9-26
All have sinned, and how God justly.
Romans 6
Freedom from sin's dominion.
1 John 1:5-2:2
Walking in the light, confession and an advocate.
Isaiah 53
Transgressions and iniquity laid on another.
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Explore the passage
These are questions the text can actually answer. Take one, go back to the passage with it, and read until Scripture answers rather than until you have an explanation you like. Each question names where this study, or another passage, does the answering.
What this reveals about God
Start here, because every passage of Scripture is first about God before it is about us. Read for what He does, what He says, and what He is called.
What does these passages teach about God?
Underline every verb God is the subject of. What He does tells you who He is.
What does these passages reveal about God's character?
Look for the words the text itself uses of Him: holy, merciful, faithful, jealous, patient. Take the text's own vocabulary rather than your own.
What this reveals about us
Scripture is honest about people. Read for what it says of human need, human failure, and the kind of response it calls for.
What does these passages teach about humanity?
Watch what the people in the text want, fear, and trust. Scripture rarely flatters them.
What does these passages reveal about faith?
Faith in Scripture is always faith in someone, about something specific. Ask what exactly is being believed here, and on what word.
Where this arrives in Christ
Jesus said the Scriptures testify of Him. Follow the line the Bible itself draws rather than inventing one.
What does these passages reveal about Jesus Christ?
Look for what the New Testament does with this text. A connection Scripture makes is a connection you can stand on.
What does these passages reveal about salvation?
Ask who does the saving, who is saved, from what, and by what means. Let the text answer each part.
The world behind the words
The first readers knew things we have to learn. Recovering what they knew is study, not speculation.
How would the original audience have understood these passages?
Ask what they had already been told, what they were living through, and what this would have cost them to believe.
What historical or cultural background helps explain these passages?
Look at the work, the worship, the law and the customs the text assumes you already understand.
What do these words carry in the original: hamartia, anomia, pesha and awon?
Take the word to its root, its first appearance, and its range of use. Then let the context choose the meaning.
How this connects to the rest of Scripture
Scripture is its own best commentary. The clearest answers usually come from another passage rather than from a scholar.
Which Old and New Testament passages help explain these passages?
Prefer passages that quote or clearly echo this text. Those links are the Bible's own, not ours.
What biblical themes are developed in these passages, and where do they begin?
Trace one theme backwards to where Scripture first raises it, then forwards to where it lands.
What this asks of you
Application is the last step, never the first, and it must come out of the passage rather than out of general advice.
What does these passages teach believers to do today?
Say it as one sentence you could obey this week, and be able to point at the verse it came from.
Where faithful readers differ
Some questions here are genuinely open. Where Bible believing Christians read this differently, the readings are set out with the passages behind each one, and what Scripture states plainly is kept separate from what is interpretation.
Which parts of these passages does Scripture state plainly, and which parts are interpretation?
Write two lists. Anything you cannot put in the first list, hold loosely and say so when you teach it.
Questions Audela will not answer
Where Scripture does not answer a question, Audela says so plainly rather than filling the silence. An honest “the Bible does not tell us” is more faithful than a confident guess, and it keeps the reader’s trust in God’s Word rather than in our reasoning.
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever.
- Ask instead: What does the passage say God did, and what does that reveal about His character?
- Ask instead: What has God told us about His purpose here, in this text or elsewhere in Scripture?
- Ask instead: What does Scripture say about how God acts, and where does it say it?
- Ask instead: What happened, and what does the rest of Scripture make of it?
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