There are few subjects more prominent in the Bible than sin;
hardly a page can be found where sin is not mentioned, described, or
portrayed. As the survey that follows demonstrates, sin is one of the
driving forces of the entire Bible.
Sin
in the Bible
Old
Testament.
Sin enters the biblical story in Gen. 3. Despite God’s
commandment to the contrary (2:16–17), Eve ate from the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil at the prompting of the serpent. When
Adam joined Eve in eating the fruit, their rebellion was complete.
They attempted to cover their guilt and shame, but the fig leaves
were inadequate. God confronted them and was unimpressed with their
attempts to shift the blame. Judgment fell heavily on the serpent,
Eve, and Adam; even creation itself was affected (3:17–18).
In
the midst of judgment, God made it clear in two specific ways that
sin did not have the last word. First, God cryptically promised to
put hostility between the offspring of the serpent and that of the
woman (Gen. 3:15). Although the serpent would inflict a severe blow
upon the offspring of the woman, the offspring of the woman
would defeat the serpent. Second, God replaced the inadequate
covering of the fig leaves with animal skins (3:21). The implication
is that the death of the animal functioned as a substitute for Adam
and Eve, covering their sin.
In
Gen. 4–11 the disastrous effects of sin and death are on full
display. Not even the cataclysmic judgment of the flood was able to
eradicate the wickedness of the human heart (6:5; 8:21). Humans
gathered in rebellion at the tower of Babel in an effort to make a
name for themselves and thwart God’s intention for them to
scatter across the earth (11:1–9).
In
one sense, the rest of the OT hangs on this question: How will a holy
God satisfy his wrath against human sin and restore his relationship
with human beings without compromising his justice? The short answer
is: through Abraham and his offspring (Gen. 12:1–3), who
eventually multiplied into the nation of Israel. After God redeemed
them from their slavery in Egypt (Exod. 1–15), he brought them
to Sinai to make a covenant with them that was predicated on
obedience (19:5–6). A central component of this covenant was
the sacrificial system (e.g., Lev. 1–7), which God provided as
a means of dealing with sin. In addition to the regular sacrifices
made for sin throughout the year, God set apart one day a year to
atone for Israel’s sins (Lev. 16). On this Day of Atonement the
high priest took the blood of a goat into the holy of holies and
sprinkled it on the mercy seat as a sin offering. Afterward he took a
second goat and confessed “all the iniquities of the people of
Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on
the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness. . . .
The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren
region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness” (Lev.
16:21–22 NRSV). In order for the holy God to dwell with sinful
people, extensive provisions had to be made to enable fellowship.
Despite
these provisions, Israel repeatedly and persistently broke its
covenant with God. Even at the highest points of prosperity under the
reign of David and his son Solomon, sin plagued God’s people,
including the kings themselves. David committed adultery and murder
(2 Sam. 11:1–27). Solomon had hundreds of foreign wives
and concubines, who turned his heart away from Yahweh to other gods
(1 Kings 11:1–8). Once the nation split into two (Israel
and Judah), sin and its consequences accelerated. Idolatry became
rampant. The result was exile from the land (Israel in 722 BC, Judah
in 586 BC). But God refused to give up on his people. He promised to
raise up a servant who would suffer for the sins of his people as a
guilt offering (Isa. 52:13–53:12).
After
God’s people returned from exile, hopes remained high that the
great prophetic promises, including the final remission of sins, were
at hand. But disillusionment quickly set in as the returnees remained
under foreign oppression, the rebuilt temple was but a shell of
Solomon’s, and a Davidic king was nowhere to be found. Before
long, God’s people were back to their old ways, turning away
from him. Even the priests, who were charged with the administration
of the sacrificial system dealing with the sin of the people, failed
to properly carry out their duties (Mal. 1:6–2:9).
New
Testament.
During the next four hundred years of prophetic silence, the longing
for God to finally put away the sins of his people grew. At last,
when the conception and birth of Jesus were announced, it was
revealed that he would “save his people from their sins”
(Matt. 1:21). In the days before the public ministry of Jesus, John
the Baptist prepared the way for him by “preaching a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). Whereas
both Adam and Israel were disobedient sons of God, Jesus proved to be
the obedient Son by his faithfulness to God in the face of temptation
(Matt. 2:13–15; 4:1–11; 26:36–46; Luke 3:23–4:13;
Rom. 5:12–21; Phil. 2:8; Heb. 5:8–10). He was also the
Suffering Servant who gave his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45;
cf. Isa. 52:13–53:12). On the cross Jesus experienced the wrath
of God that God’s people rightly deserved for their sin. With
his justice fully satisfied, God was free to forgive and justify all
who are identified with Christ by faith (Rom. 3:21–26). What
neither the law nor the blood of bulls and goats could do, Jesus
Christ did with his own blood (Rom. 8:3–4; Heb. 9:1–10:18).
After
his resurrection and ascension, Jesus’ followers began
proclaiming the “good news” (gospel) of what Jesus did
and calling to people, “Repent and be baptized, every one of
you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins”
(Acts 2:38). As people began to experience God’s forgiveness,
they were so transformed that they forgave those who sinned against
them (Matt. 6:12; 18:15–20; Col. 3:13). Although believers
continue to struggle with sin in this life (Rom. 8:12–13; Gal.
5:16–25), sin is no longer master over them (Rom. 6:1–23).
The Holy Spirit empowers them to fight sin as they long for the new
heaven and earth, where there will be no sin, no death, and no curse
(Rom. 8:12–30; Rev. 21–22).
As
even this very brief survey of the biblical story line from Genesis
to Revelation shows, sin is a fundamental aspect of the Bible’s
plot. Sin generates the conflict that drives the biblical narrative;
it is the fundamental “problem” that must be solved in
order for God’s purposes in creation to be completed.
Definition
and Terminology
Definition
of sin. Although
no definition can capture completely the breadth and depth of the
concept of sin, it seems best to regard sin as a failure to conform
to God’s law in thought, feeling, attitude, word, action,
orientation, or nature. In this definition it must be remembered that
God’s law is an expression of his perfect and holy character,
so sin is not merely the violation of an impersonal law but rather is
a personal offense against the Creator. Sin cannot be limited to
actions. Desires (Exod. 20:17; Matt. 5:27–30), emotions (Gen.
4:6–7; Matt. 5:21–26), and even our fallen nature as
human beings (Ps. 51:5; Eph. 2:1–3) can be sinful as well.
Terminology.
The
Bible uses dozens of terms to speak of sin. Neatly classifying them
is not easy, as there is significant overlap in the meaning and use
of the various terms. Nonetheless, many of the terms fit in one of
the following four categories.
1.
Personal. Sin is an act of rebellion against God as the creator and
ruler of the universe. Rather than recognizing God’s
self-revelation in nature and expressing gratitude, humankind
foolishly worships the creation rather than the Creator (Rom.
1:19–23). The abundant love, grace, and mercy that God shows to
humans make their rebellion all the more stunning (Isa. 1:2–31).
Another way of expressing the personal nature of sin is ungodliness
or impiety, which refers to lack of devotion to God (Ps. 35:16; Isa.
9:17; 1 Pet. 4:18).
2.
Legal. A variety of words portray sin in terms drawn from the
lawcourts. Words such as “transgression” and “trespass”
picture sin as the violation of a specific command of God or the
crossing of a boundary that God has established (Num. 14:41–42;
Rom. 4:7, 15). When individuals do things that are contrary to God’s
law, they are deemed unrighteous or unjust (Isa. 10:1; Matt. 5:45;
Rom. 3:5). Breaking the covenant with God is described as violating
his statutes and disobeying his laws (Isa. 24:5). The result is
guilt, an objective legal status that is present whenever God’s
law is violated regardless of whether the individual subjectively
feels guilt.
3.
Moral. In the most basic sense, sin is evil, the opposite of what is
good. Therefore, God’s people are to hate evil and love what is
good (Amos 5:14–15; Rom. 12:9). Similarly, Scripture contrasts
the upright and the wicked (Prov. 11:11; 12:6; 14:11). One could also
include here the term “iniquity,” which is used to speak
of perversity or crookedness (Pss. 51:2; 78:38; Isa. 59:2). Frequent
mention is also made of sexual immorality as an especially grievous
departure from God’s ways (Num. 25:1; Rom. 1:26–27;
1 Cor. 5:1–11).
4.
Cultic. In order for a person to approach a holy God, that individual
had to be in a state of purity before him. While a person could
become impure without necessarily sinning (e.g., a menstruating woman
was impure but not sinful), in some cases the term “impurity”
clearly refers to a sinful state (Lev. 20:21; Isa. 1:25; Ezek.
24:13). The same is true of the term “unclean.” Although
it is frequently used in Leviticus to speak of ritual purity, in
other places it clearly refers to sinful actions or states (Ps. 51:7;
Prov. 20:9; Isa. 6:5; 64:6).
Metaphors
In
addition to specific terms used for “sin,” the Bible uses
several metaphors or images to describe it. The following four are
among the more prominent.
Missing
the mark.
In both Hebrew and Greek, two of the most common words for “sin”
have the sense of missing the mark. But this does not mean that sin
is reduced to a mistake or an oversight. The point is not that a
person simply misses the mark of what God requires; instead, it is
that he or she is aiming for the wrong target altogether (Exod. 34:9;
Deut. 9:18). Regardless of whether missing the mark is intentional or
not, the individual is still responsible (Lev. 4:2–31; Num.
15:30).
Departing
from the way.
Sin as departing from God’s way is especially prominent in the
wisdom literature. Contrasts are drawn between the way of the
righteous and the way of the wicked (Ps. 1:1, 6; Prov. 4:11–19).
Wisdom is pictured as a woman who summons people to walk in her ways,
but fools ignore her and depart from her ways (Prov. 9:1–18).
Those who do not walk in God’s ways are eventually destroyed by
their own wickedness (Prov. 11:5; 12:26; 13:15).
Adultery.
Since God’s relationship with his people is described as a
marriage (Isa. 62:4–5; Ezek. 16:8–14; Eph. 5:25–32),
it is not surprising that the Bible describes their unfaithfulness as
adultery. The prophet Hosea’s marriage to an adulterous woman
vividly portrays Israel’s unfaithfulness to Yahweh (Hos. 1–3).
When the Israelites chase after other gods, Yahweh accuses them of
spiritual adultery in extremely graphic terms (Ezek. 16:15–52).
When Christians join themselves to a prostitute or participate in
idolatry, they too are engaged in spiritual adultery (1 Cor.
6:12–20; 10:1–22).
Slavery.
Sin is portrayed as a power that enslaves. The prophets make it clear
that Israel’s bondage to foreign powers is in fact a picture of
its far greater enslavement to sin (Isa. 42:8; 43:4–7;
49:1–12). Paul makes a similar point when he refers to those
who do not know Christ as slaves to sin, unable to do anything that
pleases God (Rom. 6:1–23; 8:5–8). Sin is a cosmic power
that is capable of using even the law to entrap people in its snare
(Rom. 7:7–25).
Scope
and Consequences
Sin
does not travel alone; it brings a large collection of baggage along
with it. Here we briefly examine its scope and consequences.
Scope.
The stain of sin extends to every part of the created order. As a
result of Adam’s sin, the ground was cursed to resist human
efforts to cultivate it, producing thorns and thistles (Gen.
3:17–18). The promised land is described as groaning under the
weight of Israel’s sin and in need of Sabbath rest (2 Chron.
36:21; Jer. 12:4); Paul applies the same language to all creation as
well (Rom. 8:19–22).
Sin
affects every aspect of the individual: mind, heart, will, emotions,
motives, actions, and nature (Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Jer. 17:9; Rom.
3:9–18). Sometimes this reality is referred to as “total
depravity.” This phrase means not that people are as sinful as
they could be but rather that every aspect of their lives is tainted
by sin. As a descendant of Adam, every person enters the world as a
sinner who then sins (Rom. 5:12–21). Sin also pollutes societal
structures, corrupting culture, governments, nations, and economic
markets, to name but a few.
Consequences.
Since the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love one’s
neighbor as oneself (Matt. 22:34–40), it makes sense that sin
has consequences on both the vertical and the horizontal level.
Vertically, sin results in both physical and spiritual death (Gen.
2:16–17; Rom. 5:12–14). It renders humanity guilty in
God’s court of law, turns us into God’s enemies, and
subjects us to God’s righteous wrath (Rom. 1:18; 3:19–20;
5:6–11). On the horizontal level, sin causes conflict between
individuals and harms relationships of every kind. It breeds
mistrust, jealousy, and selfishness that infect even the closest
relationships.
Conclusion
No
subject is more unpleasant than sin. But a proper understanding of
sin is essential for understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ. As the
Puritan Thomas Watson put it, “Until sin be bitter, Christ will
not be sweet.”
