nick1908 said:
If it helps, my teacher said the classical definition of sin was "the breaking of the law of God"
From the Catholic Baltimore catechism
51. Q. Is original sin the only kind of sin?
A. Original sin is not the only kind of sin; there is another kind of sin, which we commit ourselves, called actual sin.
52. Q. What is actual sin?
A. Actual sin is any willful thought, word, deed or omission contrary to the law of God.
53. Q. How many kinds of actual sin are there?
A. There are two kinds of actual sin-mortal and venial.
54. Q. What is mortal sin?
A. Mortal sin is a grievous offense against the law of God.
57. Q. What is venial sin?
A. Venial sin is a slight offense against the law of God in matters of less importance; or in matters of great importance it is an offence committed with out sufficient reflection or full consent of the will.
59. Q. Which are the chief sources of sin?
A. The chief sources of sin are seven: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth; and they are commonly called capital sins
Protestants would have a slightly different definition .
My church defines it this way
VI. Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, doth, in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God, and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal.
From a web site you might find useful
Every sinner has committed two evils. These are, forsaking God and building a system that tries to quench their spiritual thirst and desire. The sinner has not only refused God's right to rule over him but he has replaced the only true God with a false god.
Jer. 2:13 "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."
1 John 3:4 "Sin is lawlessness" i.e., breaking the law, a WILLFUL act.
Sin is a CHOICE to disregrad God and go ones own way.
Isa. 53:6a "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way."
God would never command or require repentance if man was truly unable to obey.
Acts 17:30 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent."
The sinner's REAL problem is his REFUSAL to come to God when He attempts to draw him near.
Matthew 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"
Every person has recieved light from Jesus Christ and no one has ANY EXCUSE for rejecting God.
John 1:9 "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
Romans 1:20 "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"
Below are the various scriptural words used to describe sin. When the root words are analyzed in the original biblical languages, the overwhelming evidence is that man is a rebel, choosing to violate the known law.
* To act perversely, to twist and distort
* To be stubbornly disobedient
* To refuse to serve God
* To act treacherously or deceitfully
* To be rebellious
* To be lawless, to refuse to conform
* To be obstinate or uncompliant
* To deviate from the right
* To be ungodly, to act impiously
* To be unjust, to refuse to do right.
The Word of God does not describe sin as a simple miss or weakness but as rebellion.
For those of you that wish to study this more, here are Scriptures for you to look up.
John 1:11,
Jeremiah 2:13
I John 3:4
Isaiah 24:5
Ezekiel 33:31
Ezekiel 34:6-7,10,
Ezekiel 18:1-5,9-10,13-14,17-20
John 9:41
James 4:17
John 15:22,24
John 1:11
Jeremiah 2:13
Proverbs 1:24
Titus 1:15
Jeremiah 17:10
John 9:41
