⁴ Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. ⁵ And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. ⁶Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

What Is Sin?

Defining “sin” is one of those things that we seem to really complicate in many church circles. And yet, I think it should be rather simple to understand. According to this passage, sin is anything that runs contrary to the law of God. Easy, right?

Well, not yet. After all, far too many people then try to define what God’s law is. And so, they make up lists and rules and regulations that one must follow in order to please God. If you follow the Old Testament, you know that there are over six hundred laws to follow. So, sin is anything that runs contrary to those six hundred laws. Of course, in most churches today, we like to mix the Law and Grace together. We end up with a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” that every Christian must follow. Depending on where you live and the type of church you attend, the list will contain different things.

However, didn’t Jesus sum up all the law of God in a simple statement? Of course he did. “Love God. Love others.” That’s the entire law wrapped up in a single statement.

So, what does that mean for our definition of sin? Glad you asked. I believe sin is anything that causes us to turn away from loving God and loving others. Anything? Yup. Anything.

It also means that what is sin for you may not be sin for me. You may be able to enjoy a certain activity and still love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbour as yourself. I may participate in the same activity and find I cannot love God and others while doing it.

I realize that’s a very simplistic way of looking at sin, and perhaps some of you want to challenge my thinking in the comments section, but I do believe that if we simply avoided those things that cause us to love God and others less, and focused on the things that cause us to love God and others more, that we’d be far better off.

Just a thought.

My prayer: Lord, I know that there are things I do that take my attention away from you and others. Those things cause me to look inward, selfishly wanting my will to be done rather than yours. Forgive me when I do that. Help me to turn my attention away from the things that pull me from you. Amen.

Until tomorrow.