Grappling with the Definition of Sin

Sin is any deliberate action, attitude, or thought that goes against God. You and I often think of sin as an obvious act, such as murder, adultery, or theft. Although that’s true, sin is also wrongdoing that’s far subtler and even unnoticeable at times, such as pride, envy, or even worry. Sin includes both things one shouldn’t have done, but did (sins of commission) and things one should’ve done, but didn’t (sins of omission).  

The two-word description I once heard from a former pastor that, to me, best captures the essence of sin is “deliberate disobedience.” 

No matter the kind of sin, I see evidence of sin’s reality in the world around me. I just can’t seem to get away from it. Sin infects me and everyone around me. Each of my kids wants to be the first one to get a plate at supper. (I patiently wait until everyone else is served.) My wife and I argue over who cleaned up the dog’s mess last. (No matter what she tells you, I did!) My former co-workers loved to gossip about the incompetence of another worker. (I never gossiped, I assure you!) My friend gripes about the feud he’s having with another friend of mine. (I wonder what he says about me behind my back!) I could go on, but you get the point. Here’s the deal: I live on a nice quiet road, raise a nice little family of nice little boys, and worked for years in a nice quiet office. Yet, even in this nice quiet life of mine, sin engulfs me at every turn. 

When I read the Bible, however, I realize that this reality shouldn’t surprise me. The Bible is pretty outspoken on the yucky stuff that’s super glued on the hearts of all people. Check out these verses: 

“I was sinful at birth, filled with sin from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).

“There is no one righteous, not even one... there is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:1-3).

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately corrupt” (Jeremiah 17:9). 

The Bible is positive when it comes to talking about God and his plans, but, as you see, it’s continually the bearer of bad news when it comes to the hearts of humans. And, as the next section describes, this bad news surfaces in two ways in people’s lives. 

Categorizing two types of sin

Though humans can commit thousands of particular sins, you can usually lump them all into one of two camps: sins of impulse and sins of the heart. 

Sins of impulse are often what come to mind when you think about sin. The typical scenario is:

1. I see something.

2. I want it.

3. So I take it. 

That impulsive desire to own, control, or destroy is what leads to adultery, murder, theft, addictions, or excessive anger or rage. Impulsive sins are usually brought on by emotion, and when you allow it, emotions can control you and take you on an irrational road trip. 

Impulsive sins are often considered the worst type of sins, but a second kind of sin, although subtler, is even deadlier – these are called sins of the heart (or spiritual sins). Spiritual sins are the sins that don’t show up on the outside of a person (such as a blatant action, like theft), but harbor themselves deep inside of the heart. Selfishness, jealousy, envy, bitterness, hypocrisy, and deceit are all sins that can be masked on the outside, but carve a hole into one’s soul the longer they’re allowed to live inside of a person. 

Christians often consider pride the most dangerous sin of them all. Ironically, today’s society considers pride a positive trait (“take pride in yourself,” “hometown pride,” and so on). Although confidence in yourself and appreciation of your hometown aren’t bad qualities, selfish pride is. It causes you to become consumed with your wants, your needs, your happiness, and your rights and to place them as more important than God and others. Pride also serves as a trigger for sins that seem initially like impulsive sins, such as lust, but are actually motivated by a spiritual condition. You can want something, not for animal-like reasons, but purely out of selfishness. Mine, mine, all mine. 

A common saying that helps reinforce that pride is at the root of all sin is that “I” is at the center of “sin.” 

Jesus spent his entire ministry hovering between these two camps of sin (while remaining sinless himself; see Chapter 5). On one side were the impulsive sinners. The religious leaders labeled all prostitutes, dishonest tax collectors, drunkards, rabble-rousers, and so on as “sinners.” On the other side were the spiritual sinners. The group was, ironically enough, composed primarily of the religious leaders of the day, called the Pharisees and the teachers of law. Although outwardly the Pharisees looked like they had their act together, Jesus referred to them as “whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but filled with dead man’s bones” (Matthew 23:27). In other words, the Pharisees were concerned with looking holy rather than being holy. Their pride showed up in the legalistic attitude that they had as they scorned the people who were beneath them in the religious hierarchy. Not only did they not love others, but Jesus made it clear that they also didn’t love God.
 
Like the Pharisees, the Church has often been more outspoken against impulsive sins and much less aggressive in dealing effectively with the more invisible, spiritual sins. However, Jesus did quite the opposite; take a read through the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and you see that Jesus always saved his sharp and direct words for the spiritual sinners of his day.