What is a sin?

[DarkProphet]

Christian doctrine holds that ALL people are sinners, even babies by original sin, but I still haven't gotten a clear picture of how a sin is defined. So I ask this, what makes a sin a sin? also is it possible to list all the sins?

 

[ebia]

Christian doctrine holds that ALL people are sinners, even babies by original sin, but I still haven't gotten a clear picture of how a sin is defined. So I ask this, what makes a sin a sin?

Falling short of being truely human - ie failing to live up to being the image of God.

also is it possible to list all the sins?

That's rather like saying "is it possible to list all the things that are dark?" Thinking of sins as a listable thing is entirely the wrong approach. It comes from a misunderstanding of Christian morality as list of things not to do, where as Christian morality is about trying to be what God created us to be; (nothing more and) nothing less.

 

[DarkProphet]

Falling short of being truely human - ie failing to live up to being the image of God.

That's a rather vague definition, could you elaborate on that?

 

[Rafael]

Sin means to simply make a mistake or miss the mark - as an archer would shoot an arrow and miss. To sin, morally is described in the Bible as hatred, sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, and each of these have definition that lies within the unregenerate soul and ego of man from birth.
Once a person is born again spiritually, they have the benefit of God's Spirit dwelling with them so that the works of God fruit may manifest themselves in that new person's life. The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self–control.

 

[DarkProphet]

... each of these have definition that lies within the unregenerate soul and ego of man from birth.

what do you mean by this?

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self–control.

Does that mean you believe these things are impossible without the Holy Spirit?

 

[Rafael]

each of these (hatred, sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness) have definition that lies within the unregenerate soul and ego of man from birth.

what do you mean by this?

It means that each of those words have different degrees of definition in the life of each individual from birth. Without the restraint of God's moral law and spirit, they grow from birth into whatever can be produced by the nature of man in a fallen state of being which leads to death. Example: Envy may seem harmless until a person realizes they have wasted their whole life wanting to be something other than what they are and have been given in life by God, especially in looks or the physical body. Envy can lead to many things bad, and a whole book could be writtin about what envy does when the Bible teaches us to be happy and content with what we are given in life - to not look at others and be unthankful for what we have and make the best of it. Time wasted in vainity when a whole world of poor cries out in need of action for help - even our neighbors,as we are our brother's keeper. See the world? How it turns a blind eye to evil done in the name of materialism, but is content to see people starve or be killed in genocide. Materialism and commercialism that inspires envy.
Man is fallen by nature from birth and inherits this nature from Adam. Because of this fallenness, we are not in commuion with God spiritually as it was before the fall when God walked with man in the garden of Eden and talked with Adam in the cool breezes of the evening. Although children are innocent of sin, they still show the sinful nature of selfishness and ego with inevitable potential to grow if not taught right from wrong.

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self–control.

Does that mean you believe these things are impossible without the Holy Spirit?

The world and the Holy Spirit will produce different versions of each, just as the Greek word for love has three different meanings. There is Agape, God's love, which is completely different from the selfish love commonly known because it includes sexuality - eros. God's love is commited and faithful to the point of sacrificing onesself for another, just as Jesus did. The fruit of the Spirit will be those characteristics that God desires to see in mankind, and although the world has a version of each, only God's will stand to the end in a person's life......

 

[ebia]

That's a rather vague definition, could you elaborate on that?

I could elaborate, but I'm not sure that what you are after is what you are going to get. There is no simple list or neat formula to apply. Which is why the bible doesn't give one. It gives the broad princples (the two great commandments - "Love the Lord your God... love your neighbour as yourself", some rules of thumb ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and some case-studies to help us learn about the life we should be living. Failing to live up to that is 'sin'.

Personally I don't use the word a lot, because it is so widely misunderstood.

 

[HisArrow]

I think of sin as doing something that is against God, the 10 commandments and the two commandments that Jesus gave in Matthew22:37 - 39.

 

[MethodMan]

Christian doctrine holds that ALL people are sinners, even babies by original sin, but I still haven't gotten a clear picture of how a sin is defined. So I ask this, what makes a sin a sin? also is it possible to list all the sins?

Any act by you that creates a separation between you and God is a sin.

 

[Jchirima]

Romans 14 Vs 23(b) whatever is not of faith is sin and galatian 5Vs 6(b) faith which works by love,

Ehpesian 3 Vs 9 says by grace we are saved through faith. Salvation is got through faith not by obeying law. Ephesian 3 Vs 15 and Col 2 Vs 14 says Law was Abolished. Therefore sin is not transgressing law, nor missing the mark but.............................

New testament definition of Sin is whatever you do not of faith which works by love.

 

[Deren]

Christian doctrine holds that ALL people are sinners, even babies by original sin, but I still haven't gotten a clear picture of how a sin is defined. So I ask this, what makes a sin a sin? also is it possible to list all the sins?

Sin, is "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God" (1) Joh 3:4 Ro 4:15 in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission Ro 6:12-17 7:5-24 It is "not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offence against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties. The soul that sins is always conscious that his sin is (1) intrinsically vile and polluting, and (2) that it justly deserves punishment, and calls down the righteous wrath of God. Hence sin carries with it two inalienable characters, (1) ill-desert, guilt (reatus); and (2) pollution (macula).", Hodge's Outlines. The moral character of a man's actions is determined by the moral state of his heart. The disposition to sin, or the habit of the soul that leads to the sinful act, is itself also sin Ro 6:12-17 Ga 5:17 Jas 1:14,15 The origin of sin is a mystery, and must for ever remain such to us. It is plain that for some reason God has permitted sin to enter this world, and that is all we know. His permitting it, however, in no way makes God the author of sin. Adam's sin Ge 3:1-6 consisted in his yielding to the assaults of temptation and eating the forbidden fruit. It involved in it, (1 the sin of unbelief, virtually making God a liar; and (2 the guilt of disobedience to a positive command. By this sin he became an apostate from God, a rebel in arms against his Creator. He lost the favour of God and communion with him; his whole nature became depraved, and he incurred the penalty involved in the covenant of works. Original sin. "Our first parents being the root of all mankind, the guilt of their sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature were conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation." Adam was constituted by God the federal head and representative of all his posterity, as he was also their natural head, and therefore when he fell they fell with him Ro 5:12-21 1Co 15:22-45 His probation was their probation, and his fall their fall. Because of Adam's first sin all his posterity came into the world in a state of sin and condemnation, i.e., (1 a state of moral corruption, and (2 of guilt, as having judicially imputed to them the guilt of Adam's first sin. "Original sin" is frequently and properly used to denote only the moral corruption of their whole nature inherited by all men from Adam. This inherited moral corruption consists in, (1 the loss of original righteousness; and (2 the presence of a constant proneness to evil, which is the root and origin of all actual sin. It is called "sin" Ro 6:12,14,17 7:5-17 the "flesh" Ga 5:17,24 "lust" Jas 1:14,15 the "body of sin" Ro 6:6 "ignorance," "blindness of heart," "alienation from the life of God" Eph 4:18,19 It influences and depraves the whole man, and its tendency is still downward to deeper and deeper corruption, there remaining no recuperative element in the soul. It is a total depravity, and it is also universally inherited by all the natural descendants of Adam Ro 3:10-23 5:12-21 8:7 Pelagians deny original sin, and regard man as by nature morally and spiritually well; semi-Pelagians regard him as morally sick; Augustinians, or, as they are also called, Calvinists, regard man as described above, spiritually dead Eph 2:1 1Jo 3:14 The doctrine of original sin is proved, (1.) From the fact of the universal sinfulness of men. "There is no man that sinneth not" 1Ki 8:46 Isa 53:6 Ps 130:3 Ro 3:19,22,23 Ga 3:22 (2.) From the total depravity of man. All men are declared to be destitute of any principle of spiritual life; man's apostasy from God is total and complete Job 15:14-16 Ge 6:5,6 (3.) From its early manifestation Ps 58:3 Pr 22:15 (4.) It is proved also from the necessity, absolutely and universally, of regeneration Joh 3:3 2Co 5:17 (5.) From the universality of death Ro 5:12-20 Various kinds of sin are mentioned, (1.) "Presumptuous sins," or as literally rendered, "sins with an uplifted hand", i.e., defiant acts of sin, in contrast with "errors" or "inadvertencies" Ps 19:13 (2.) "Secret", i.e., hidden sins Ps 19:12 sins which escape the notice of the soul. (3.) "Sin against the Holy Ghost" (q.v.), or a "sin unto death" Mt 12:31,32 1Jo 5:16 which amounts to a wilful rejection of grace. Sin, a city in Egypt, called by the Greeks Pelusium, which means, as does also the Hebrew name, "clayey" or "muddy," so called from the abundance of clay found there. It is called by Ezekel Eze 30:15 "the strength of Egypt, "thus denoting its importance as a fortified city. It has been identified with the modern Tineh, "a miry place," where its ruins are to be found. Of its boasted magnificence only four red granite columns remain, and some few fragments of others.--Easton's Bible Dictionary

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As for your second question, it might be possible to list each and every sin, but just given the Ten Commandments, and people's inability of just obeying them, it ought to be quite obvious that listing them all is really unnecessary to know just how far-removed humanity is when it comes to meets God's standard of holiness. That is why Jesus Christ came, to stand in the gap created by man's rebellion, so that man would not have to try and meet God's infinite requirement of absolute perfection in order to be able to be reconciled to his Creator.

 

[LivingLifeHisWay]

Sin is lawlessness. Not keeping God's laws...the 10 Commandments.

 

[strikerchris0411]

I do think that breaking the commandments mentioned in the bible are true, but there are many more commandments then the ten in the old testament and 2 in the new testament. Porbably countless commandments in the gospels alone. However I do not think sinning is limited to what is said in the Bible.

If a person commits a sin unknowingly I do not believe that said person is entitled to a punishment, based on the verse where Jesus said anyone who speaks against me unknowingly has not commited a sin" (not exact words, of course).

I mean there is such a broad outlook on what sin can be, but I tried to list what I thought sin was, and how it related to different people. Hope I could help?!

 

[theVirginian]

A good rule of thumb for recognizing sin is that it will be the corrupted opposite of something God initiated and deemed good.

love-hate
sex-lust
giving-hoarding
miracles-occult
free will-manipulation
etc.

 

[Johnnz]

Forget lists. In the Book called Romans we have a verse that says "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." That is a Hebrew poetic form called parallelism, where the first statement is echoed by teh second.

Mankind was made in God's image, to reflect God's glory in a very special way. Anything that removes us from that glory is an expression of sin. That is much bigger than a list of 'rights' and 'wrongs". Salvation is primarily about undoing the effects of the fall in our lives through Christ.

John
NZ

 

[gracealone]

Recognizing sin in my own life is easy. It's that knowledge within that tells me that I really ought to do a thing or I really ought not to do a thing. Then when I know I should do it... I don't do it or when I know I shouldn't do it .. I do it any way. Why should that be? If I recognize right why do I struggle to do what is right... If I recongnize wrong... why do I struggle to keep from doing the wrong thing? That is the nature of sin in me. It's the common struggle that everyone faces.