What exactly is sin?
Well, Jesus gives us the answer in Mark 7:21-23…
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Now, we all mostly know what these things mean but let’s look at each one a bit more clearly and comprehensively:
Evil thoughts — The THINKING of sinful, base, depraved, vicious, corrupt, vile, destructive, mean, malicious, harmful, hurtful, injurious, foul, perverted, deviant, immoral, dishonorable, unscrupulous, belittling, negative, unhealthy, or any other kind of bad, wrong, or inappropriate thoughts.
Adulteries — Married individuals engaging in…or imagining and fantasizing about…sexual activity with anyone other than their spouse.
Fornications — Unmarried individuals engaging in sexual activity.
Murders — The killing of a human being; maliciously and unjustly tarnishing or destroying another person’s reputation for no valid reason.
Thefts — The taking or stealing of another’s property without permission or legal right; “borrowing” something from another with no intention of returning it; dishonestly taking credit for something when the credit rightfully belongs to someone else; to take advantage of another by exploitation.
Covetousness — Strongly desiring to possess what belongs to someone else.
Wickedness — Evil, malevolent, malicious, venomous, morally-wrong, intentions, attitudes, and/or actions that hurt or harm others; wishing to hurt or harm others.
Deceit — To mislead by false appearance or statement; to hide the truth by concealing, misrepresenting, or distorting the truth; to cheat, defraud, or trick others through deviousness, wiliness, deception, lying, pretense, or any other form of treachery.
Lasciviousness — Any form of lustful, wanton, or lewd behavior…or any manner of dressing…that is designed to arouse sexual desire, or to indicate sexual interest, or to express lust and lewdness; the feeling or revealing of overt, offensive sexual desire.
An evil eye — Having malicious, hurtful, wounding, cruel, or unkind intent towards anyone; devious plotting for personal gain at the expense of others; selfishness or greediness that prefers letting another person suffer over helping them; a mindset of darkness or gloominess; one who takes pleasure in corruption or depravity; one who searches for fault or failure in others and rejoices when they find it.
Blasphemy — Cursing or reviling God; speaking irreverently and sacrilegiously about anything that pertains to God; profane talk that desecrates sacred things; swearing, cursing, or taking the Lord’s name in vain; lifting one’s self up as God.
Pride — An inordinately high opinion of one’s own self; feeling that one’s self is more important and more valuable than others; an arrogant person assuming superiority over others in some respect; a vain person seeking vainglory.
Foolishness — Operating or interacting without good sense or judgment; speaking or acting in a manner of silliness, imprudence, irresponsibility, indiscretion, recklessness, rashness, or thoughtlessness that negatively affects, impacts, distresses, offends, obstructs, diverts, or derails anyone.
Well, this spells out plain enough what sin is, does it not?
Now, let’s look again at the last part of Mark 7:23…
All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Notice how Jesus specifically states that ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE EVIL!
Why are they evil?
Well, it is because in one way or another, committing any of these sins has the possibility or propensity to hurt or harm people.
Also, notice how Jesus states that all the above listed sins defile a person. That is, these sins tear down, pollute, and DESTROY a person.
That is why these things are “sins”…because of the harm they produce in people’s lives…whether in self, others, or both.
Moreover, the reason God commands us to abstain from sinning is NOT because He is trying to block us from enjoying some part of life. Rather, He tells us to abstain from sin so that we can avoid being tore down, polluted, and ultimately destroyed in any part of our life!
Of course, the devil works hard at trying to convince people that God’s ways and commandments are designed to keep them from having fun and to block them from enjoying certain parts of life…but the devil is a liar whose sole purpose is to deceive humankind so that he can steal and destroy the good out of their lives.
One verse that sums up the underlying essence of every sin described above is 1 John 3:10…
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
In simple, easy-to-understand terms, any person who is not doing good…who is not doing right…who is not loving…or who harbors, supports, condones, or accepts those who are not doing good, right, or loving…is a sinner.
If something is not right…if something is not good…if something is not based in love…then it is NOT of God!
This is a guiding-principle that all of us can use to discern between right and wrong, is it not?
In Romans 1:29-31, the Bible lists out an even more expansive list of sins that will be judged by God:
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
The Bible tells us expressly and specifically that anyone who commits any of the sins listed in these verse will NOT escape the penalty and judgement of God.
Going farther, here is a still more expansive list that the Bible gives us in Galatians 5:19-21…
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Every person who commits any of these sins…and who does not get forgiveness of those sins through Jesus Christ the Righteous…will NOT go to Heaven…which means they WILL go to hell.
Here are a few more instances where the Bible lists out sins…
Wherefore putting away lying…be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath…steal no more…let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth…grieve not the holy Spirit of God…let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice…but fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient…no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. — Ephesians 4:25 – 5:5
…for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for mans layers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons…a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious… — 1 Timothy 1:9-13
…a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or trailer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner… — 1Corinthians 5:10-11
…foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. — Titus 3:3
…deceit…cursing and bitterness… — Romans 3:13-14
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. — Proverbs 6:16-19
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. — Revelations 21:8
Now, here is where it is going to get real and personal…
For there is no man that sinneth not. — 1 Kings 8:46
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. — Romans 3:23
Every one of us HAS committed one or more of the sins listed above. We. All. Have!
We may not want to admit our sins. We may not tell anyone about our sins. We may lie about our sins and deny committing them. It may even be that we have hid our sins so well that no other person knows about them.
But, no matter how much we may try to ignore or cover up that part of our mind where undeniable truth resides, we KNOW that we have sinned…and, God also KNOWS that we have sinned.
And in fact, come Judgment Day, we WILL give account of EVERYTHING that we have done…whether right or wrong. Romans 14:12 tells us:
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Now, moving to a different vantage point…
1 John 3:2-3 tells us…
…but we know that, when [the Lord Jesus Christ] shall appear (return), we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
This verse lets us know that those who will go to Heaven are those who have proactively purified themselves through faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to God’s word…who have proactively developed and improved themselves to be like Jesus.
Stated inversely, those people who are not like Jesus are not going to Heaven.
1 John 4:17 emphasizes this point of being like Jesus even more strongly…
…that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
Next, 1 John 3:7-8 gives us a very direct and plain proclamation…
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as [Jesus Christ] is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
This verse lets us know plainly that any person who is actively committing any of the sins listed above…or who has committed any of the sins listed above in the past…is a sinner who is of the devil…which means the devil has claim on the the sinner’s soul…and will take that sinner’s soul to hell with him when God casts satan and all his followers into hell.
Jesus Christ came in the flesh, taught us the true way of God, was crucified, and resurrected to provide a way of forgiveness and atonement for our sins…so that we have a way to escape the devil holding claim over us because of our past sins…and all we have to do to receive this forgiveness and atonement for our past sins is to ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins…and then follow the teachings and commandments given to us in the Bible. But, the good news is that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, taught us the true way of God, was crucified, and resurrected to provide a way of forgiveness and atonement for our sins…so that we have a way to escape the devil holding claim over us because of our past sins…and all we have to do to receive this forgiveness and atonement for our past sins is to ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins…and then follow the teachings and commandments given to us in the Bible.
Continuing on, 1 John 3:21-22 says this…
…then have we confidence toward God…because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
As we keep God’s commandments and live our life in a way that is pleasing before Him…as we live in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ the Righteous…we get to enjoy the peace, happiness, contentment, and confidence that comes with knowing we are right before God…and of all the ways a person can live their life, this God-pleasing way is the best way of all.