What is Sin: The Biblical Concept of Sin

Many of the world's religions teach and many people believe that a person can reach God by their good deeds. However, the Bible disagrees with this concept as the following scriptures show.

Isaiah 64:6 - "But we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."
Romans 3:23 - "For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

Isaiah 59:2 - "But your sins have separated between you and your God."

God , who is a perfect being, cannot have imperfection in His presence. His perfect holiness would consume it.

Therefore human beings, who are sinful by nature, could never enter the presence of God on their own merit. Jesus said that those that do not believe in Him will die in their sins. This means that those unbelieving persons will never be able to enter into the presence of God in the eternal life that is to come.

John 8:23-24 - Jesus said to them, "You are from beneath, I am from above: you are of this world, I am not of this world. I said therefore to you that you shall die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am He [The Messiah] you shall die in your sins."

So what is the biblical definition of sin that we can never overcome with our good deeds and that will keep us separated from God for eternity?

The Greek word used in the original language of the New Testament is "αμαρτια" (hamartia is the English transliteration of this word). This word was used to describe a departure from divine standards of uprightness. Of course the New Testament writers would have restricted this meaning not to the standards of the "divine" Greek and Roman gods but to the standard of the God of Israel, the God of Creation.

God's perfect standard is stated clearly in the Bible. In the Old Testament He gave the nation of Israel 613 commands or laws that they were to observe and obey. The most famous of these laws are the Ten Commandments which prohibited such things as idolatry, murder, stealing, adultery, coveting, the giving of false testimony, and the taking of God's name in vain. There are laws against transvestitism, bestiality, sorcery, and astrology. The list of sinful behaviors prohibited in the Old Testament is too long for me to enumerate in this section.

In the New Testament Jesus elaborated on some of these commandments. He said that if you hate someone you have committed murder in your heart. He also said that if you lusted after someone you have committed adultery in your heart. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." In Revelation 21:8 we read, "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

As you can see, the Bible is quite extensive when it comes to the subject of sin. After reading it a person could feel severely condemned. Remember the apostle Paul wrote, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." So that means all of us humans are guilty of falling short of God's divine standard of perfection. But condemnation is not God's goal for His creation. In John 3:17 we read, "For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."

The biblical truth about sin and separation from God is the bad news. The good news can be found in the section of this web site called: "What must I do to be saved?" There you can read what the Bible says about forgiveness for your sins and restoration of fellowshipship with your Heavenly Father.