What is Sin? (The Short Answer: It's Humanity's Most Serious Problem)

In his book, Basic Christianity, John Stott observes that the Bible reveals the "sinlessness and glory" that are in Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha'Mashiach) and the "sin and shame" that are in you and me. Perhaps you think I'm being presumptuous by calling you a "sinner." But I think that once you truly understand what sin is from a Christian perspective, you will agree that sin is humanity's most serious problem.

What is sin? Timothy Keller, pastor of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan offers a succinct definition: "Sin is the despairing refusal to find your deepest identity in your relationship and service to God. Sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity, apart from him."

The Lord demands our exclusive worship and He makes this clear in the First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me." If you're not worshiping and getting your identity from God, you're worshiping and getting your identity from someone or something else. It could be money, sex, food, ambition, whatever. These are your God-substitutes, and they're all a dead end.

It's impossible for you to keep all the Ten Commandments all the time - impossible. No one has led a sinless life except Jesus Christ. With respect to the Sixth Commandment (Thou Shall not Murder), Jesus said that to even be angry with someone without justification or to insult someone is as serious a sin as actually murdering someone. John Stott notes that:

"Every loss of temper, every outburst of uncontrolled passion, every stirring of sudden rage, every bitter resentment and thirsting for revenge - all these things are murder. We can kill with malicious gossip. We can kill by studied neglect and cruelty. We can kill by spite and jealousy. We have probably all done so."

The Ten Commandments convict you and me of sin. In the Book of Ecclesiastes we find the following potent observation: "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins." (Ecclesiastes 7:20, NIV). Sin is an insidious, vile disease that has plagued mankind since The Fall (the transition of the first humans, Adam and Eve, from innocence to guilt as a result of disobeying the Lord by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

In the Student Bible, Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford note that "Nobody, including God, has been satisfied with humans since that time (The Fall).Though created good, humans disobeyed God right from the beginning, and we've been suffering the consequences ever since."

But there is hope! Through grace (unmerited favor), God has provided a way to bridge the gulf between Him (who is perfectly holy and just) and sinful mankind. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha'Mashiach) to be the Savior of the world through His death on the cross.

When you accept and trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you come into a right relationship with God - you are forgiven, justified and sanctified in the eyes of Almighty God; your sins - past, present and future - are washed away by Jesus' precious blood.

If you have not yet placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and you want to be saved, read this.