How do you define sin?

[Unofficial Reverand Alex]

My understanding of sin is doing something that is selfish, which in turn, brings harm to another.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:


II. THE DEFINITION OF SIN

1849 Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law."121

1850 Sin is an offense against God: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight."122 Sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become "like gods,"123 knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love of oneself even to contempt of God."124 In this proud self- exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation.125

1851 It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate's cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas' betrayal - so bitter to Jesus, Peter's denial and the disciples' flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world,126 the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.

121 St. Augustine, Contra Faustum 22L 42,418; St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I-II,71,6.
122 Ps 51:4.
123 Gen 3:5.
124 St. Augustine, De civ. Dei 14,28L 41,436.
125 Cf. Phil 2:6-9.
126 Cf. Jn 14:30.

Here's the whole section; I just copied the part that defines sin, as that was most relevant to the OP: Catechism of the Catholic Church - Sin

In my own words, I thought about this earlier today as I was preparing for Confession, and I realized that sin shouldn't be measured against the rules. Rules help, certainly; nothing like a direct "Don't do that!" to make it clear that you shouldn't do that (as is evident throughout the Bible for things such as drunkenness, idolatry, and the 10 Commandments). As you rightly pointed out:

"For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”" (Galatians 5, ESV).​

I also find it very useful to consider sin in the context of our relationship with God. Everything that damages that relationship should be considered a sin. This would include direct disobedience of what He tells us to do, but if we don't take time to pray because we're busy watching Netflix, or if we don't help out the homeless guy on the street because we spent the few dollars I could've donated on a nice coffee, is that damaging our relationship with God?

"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." (James 4)​

But how to we balance out such lofty goals with our own weaknesses, and our propensity to sin with God's forgiveness? The natural response here should be humility; pray more, confess more, keep asking for mercy. Even a man who has committed such atrocities as to knowingly deserve crucifixion can still achieve mercy & salvation from God; Luke 23 tells the story.

"One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,[a] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”​

1. Luke 23:39 Or blasphemed him

Just don't mess up your relationship with God. This doesn't mean that 1 sin & you're screwed; God's mercy & His free choice to create us would be pointless if that was the case. You can still maintain a relationship with a person (parent, spouse, brother, etc.) no matter how badly you mess up; just come back, ask for forgiveness, genuinely try to do better, and anyone who loves you enough (as God surely does!) will take you back.

And remember that God set forth the institution of the Church to help us out, generously sharing His forgiveness through the members of His body:

"And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." (James 5)

"Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20)
​

To make all this simple...sin is when you damage your relationship with God, but He's always willing to bring you back.

Peace be with you, and may God continue to bless us all!

 

[klutedavid]

But one could argue:

Deuteronomy 22:5 (NRSA) A woman shall not wear a man's apparel, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whoever does such things is abhorrent to the Lord your God.

So, women wearing pants (men's garment) are sinning.
And abhorrent is a strong word.

Yet, it's a law no one follows.

But I have been to a church that insisted it be followed by members

The issue arises in a society where women wearing pants is acceptable. Israel in the era of the law of Moses it was a sin for a woman to wear pants, not so in our society.

I see no problem with women wearing pants in a society not under the law of Moses.

 

[sunshineforJesus]

Sin is anything clearly against God that seperates us from him.

 

[Phil W]

The issue arises in a society where women wearing pants is acceptable. Israel in the era of the law of Moses it was a sin for a woman to wear pants, not so in our society.

I see no problem with women wearing pants in a society not under the law of Moses.

When does society over-rule God?

 

[Daniel9v9]

God is good and the source of all that is good. Sin is not an arbitrary list of commandments or some thing created by God, but the absence of God - that is, anything contrary to God and His Law; His nature, design and will; contrary to anything that is good. So sin is rebellion towards God, which is evil.

There are many different types of sin, but they are all ultimately rejection, rebellion, distrust, hatred and unbelief in God. This is why, as written in James 2, if we break one article of the law, we break the whole law.

 

[PaulCyp1]

Sin is any thought, word or deed contrary to the stated will of God.

 

[HARK!]

חָטָא chata: to miss, sin

תּוֹרָה torah: direction, instruction, law

The Western mindset is built on Greek philosophy, which is abstract.
In contrast, he Hebraic mindset is concrete. In other words they think in terms of what can be perceived through the senses.

So from a Hebrew perspective the torah, or law, might be thought of as a direction, as toward a target; whereas sinning might be considered as straying from that direction.

I find it interesting that Yahshua called himself the way דֶּרֶךְ derek.

 

[klutedavid]

When does society over-rule God?

When Paul tells you to obey the government.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Sin is often talked about in Christianity, but I wonder if we understand what sin is differently.

My understanding of sin is doing something that is selfish, which in turn, brings harm to another.

For example, a married man sees a woman he is attracted to and acts on it. He will need to lie to his wife, breaking their trust, and feeling betrayed. She will feel angry, jealous and mistrustful of her husband sleeping with another, and hurt. When the husband made this choice, he acted selfishly, rather than loving his wife.

Lying breeds mistrust. Killing breeds fear, need for revenge, etc.
All laws are there for logical reasons.

One cannot text and drive just "because it's a rule," but to prevent accidents, injury and death.

And as Christ said, all laws are fulfilled when loving your neighbor as yourself.

Do others understand sin differently?

St. Paul goes so far as to say "whatever that is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23) though this statement has been debated as to its precise meaning. From the Lutheran perspective it simply means this: All human activity is marred by sin, thus sin infects even our best intentions and most noble of efforts. Thus without faith, a noble work is nothing at all (as it pertains to righteousness before God), and with faith even the most insignificant thing is made noble. So the Apostle, speaking of foods, argues that one who eats in faith eats to God's glory, regardless of what he eats; the one who abstains without faith does nothing--it is not the eating or the abstaining that matters, but rather faith.

This all of course depends upon another biblical statement, that sin is that which is contrary to God's law and will. E.g. God tells us to love our neighbor, so all that is unloving toward our neighbor is sin.

Lutherans speak of the human condition as homo incurvatus in se, or man curved inward upon himself. Our inwardly-bent and self-seeking disposition; where God calls us to be outwardly directed and other-seeking in love toward Him and our fellow creatures, the waywardness of man on account of sin is to seek oneself, be selfish, and satisfy the appetites even at the expense of others. It is this inherent depravity (from the Latin word depravus meaning "bent" or "crooked") from out of which flows sinful thoughts, actions, and feeling; and it causes injury. It is contrary to what God desires of us, as God desires that we abide in justice and have life; but man is broken and so even when he seeks to be noble he falters and fails. Which is why our efforts to be righteous before God do not work, and why we need a righteousness that is apart from the law, the righteousness that is given to us by grace through faith--namely Christ's own righteousness--in order to be reckoned justified.

And this alien righteousness, Christ's own righteousness, is what we have received from God as pure grace, on account of what the Lord Jesus has done for us. And thus we are adopted as children of God, forgiven all our sins, and given the promise of life everlasting. So that though all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, there is salvation in Him who gave His life for ours, and we have peace with God, and life from God. That we might live in Christ, both now with the promises of God freely given to us, and in what is to come when we are raised up from the dead and share in that incorruptible life of the Age to Come, which is world without end. All to the glory of God.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Phil W]

When Paul tells you to obey the government.

As long as that government's laws are just we should do as Paul exhorts.
If the law is contrary to God we are to obey God first.
God's will is our foremost duty.

 

[Beanieboy]

The issue arises in a society where women wearing pants is acceptable. Israel in the era of the law of Moses it was a sin for a woman to wear pants, not so in our society.

I see no problem with women wearing pants in a society not under the law of Moses.

While I agree, I could also state that "the Bible is clear on it, and abhorrent to God."

But if I were to do this, emphasize it, criticize others who do it and do so without love, and either downplay love
or define love as obedience, or claim pointing out the speck in your eye while ignoring the beam in mine, which I understand not having love, then I would be a modern day Pharisee.

Honestly, I don't see a problem asking, "is this a loving thought, word, or deed towards my neighbor?"

It's arguing whether it's 6 eggs or half a dozen, but the focus on sin seems to be more negative, and in my opinion, gets so legalistic that it has a negative impact.

I can't imagine a wedding where the vows are
I promise not to cheat on you
Not to leave you if you go broke, etc

The negative impact would be a spouse saying:
Obviously, having intercourse would be cheating
But can I do everything but and not be cheating?
What if all we did was kiss?
What if we have dinner together, and flirt, but nothing physical, just emotional?
What it's physical but no emotional attachment?
What if all I do is bring her flowers?

The entire questioning sounds like he wants to know just how far he can go without penalty, or that he wants to commit adultery, but is searching for loopholes.

Contrast this with
I promise to remain faithful.

 

[klutedavid]

As long as that government's laws are just we should do as Paul exhorts.
If the law is contrary to God we are to obey God first.
God's will is our foremost duty.

Are you saying that you can pick and choose which laws in our country that you will obey?

A lot of people would see taxation as a burden and unjust. The Biblical tax was about ten percent of your income, whereas tax in modern times is very much higher.

If you see taxation as too high for example; then you could seek to pay less tax, thereby shifting the extra burden of your tax onto those who cannot minimize their tax?

Is that what you mean by a law contrary to God's law?

 

[Phil W]

Are you saying that you can pick and choose which laws in our country that you will obey?

Yes.
While inappropriate contentography and abortion are legal, not to mention drug use in some places, we don't need to partake in them.

A lot of people would see taxation as a burden and unjust. The Biblical tax was about ten percent of your income, whereas tax in modern times is very much higher.
If you see taxation as too high for example; then you could seek to pay less tax, thereby shifting the extra burden of your tax onto those who cannot minimize their tax?
Is that what you mean by a law contrary to God's law?

No.
I see demanded public schooling, and slavery, and segregation, and forced participation in military service as anti-Godliness.
Our taxes go to a lot of things that are unGodly too, but all I can do is pray that my taxes will go in the right direction and someone else's go for the wasteful things.

 

[HARK!]

Yes.
While inappropriate contentography and abortion are legal, not to mention drug use in some places, we don't need to partake in them.

Yes?

I haven't seen a law that forces you to view inappropriate content, nor to have an abortion.

 

[klutedavid]

Yes.
While inappropriate contentography and abortion are legal, not to mention drug use in some places, we don't need to partake in them.


No.
I see demanded public schooling, and slavery, and segregation, and forced participation in military service as anti-Godliness.
Our taxes go to a lot of things that are unGodly too, but all I can do is pray that my taxes will go in the right direction and someone else's go for the wasteful things.

Are you saying that you can pick and choose which laws in our country that you will obey?

What happens if everyone starts to do that?

You are on very dangerous grounds with your viewpoint.

The law regarding freedom to abort is one that you have a personal choice in.

A taxation law must be obeyed by all.

Speeding laws must be obeyed.

It is critical that all members of society obey the rules, otherwise we are all in trouble.

 

[Josheb]

How do you define sin?

I define sin by scripture.

The word "sin" literally means to "miss the mark." This is true in the Hebrew, true in the Greek, and true in English where a "sinn" is the score one receives in archery when shooting an arrow and...... missing the target.

So then we must ask ourselves, "What is the mark or target God wants us to hit?" and we will find there are several such goals or objectives but the most encompassing is "Be perfect as you Father in heaven is perfect" (Mt. 5:48). So sin is any imperfection.

But we can also look to scripture for some very specific definitions of sin because sin is lawlessness (1 Jn. 3:4), sin is unrighteousness (1 Jn. 5:17), and sin is anything not done in faith (Rom. 14:23).

So we see sin is a condition of imperfection and sin is any act of lawlessness, unrighteousness, and faithlessness. Sin is a function of both disposition and conduct, leading to the age old adage we sin because we are sinful and we are sinful because we sin.

 

[Beanieboy]

When does society over-rule God?

Slavery is one example.

What troubles me is the way that some modern Christians try to use the Bible to validate sin.
Scott Lively, for example, a conservative evangelical Christian, known for his propaganda such as The Pink Swastika, claiming homosexuals created the Nazi Party (despite the group being with the Jews and others who were gassed), went to Uganda, and having ties to religious and political leaders convinced the government to make homosexuality illegal, with prison time and even execution, misrepresenting the Will of God to be to punish homosexual with death by using Leviticus.
He justifies his sin of representing lies as facts, lying to his neighbor, going to other countries to get them to pass the so-called "Kill the Gays Bill" as simply doing God's will, following scripture, and trying to discourage homosexuality.

A friend of mine from Uganda said it created an atmosphere of paranoia, fear and hatred that made the country extremely violent, violence towards glbt common, and even had one friend who was straight but beaten to death simply because he was perceived as gay by his attackers.
Is any of this loving your neighbor?

There have been a number of Christian groups fighting against glbt equality in jobs, health insurance, and housing. Those fighting against making discrimination illegal simply claim the oppose homosexuality, and to have protections against being unfairly fired from a job, for example, is promoting homosexuality.

What it does promote is discrimination, and unfairness, and often, violence of a marginalized group. That is not loving your neighbor.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

One cannot text and drive just "because it's a rule," but to prevent accidents, injury and death.

Do others understand sin differently?

Certainly.
For a multitude of pizza delivery drivers, and potentially many others,
what would be, or what could be 'wrong' (if it is wrong) for others
may be not only okay, but also helpful and delightful
instead of a risk , instead of any kind of danger or risk of accident, injury or death.
i.e. LIFE! often is much different to those who ARE ALIVE than to those who are just existing.... and the laws of men, while often may be for good purpose and to help keep things peaceful and safe, are not always good nor right - in fact they can be used often to oppress and to accomplish further subjection to a system that is not good, to those unaware of it, or to those subject to it.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Slavery is one example

One example of what specifically ?

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

When does society over-rule God?

In God's Word, society is called death dealing (pernicious, evil, wicked) ...

Is that "over-ruling" God though ?