What is Sin Really?

"The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man" by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens

"What is sin?" may sound like a simple doctrinal question that has been answered by many theologians throughout the centuries. For example, Wayne Grudem defines sin as "any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature."1 Meanwhile, Paul Enns, in his book The Moody Handbook of Theology, defines sin as:2

1. A transgression of the law of God.

2. A failure to conform to the standard of God.

3. A principle within man.

4. Rebellion against God.

5. Wrongful acts toward God and man.

However, I believe such theological definitions of sin miss the crux of the issue because they focus too much on "what we do wrong" (our actions) rather than "what is it really?" The implications of focusing on actions can be seen in evangelisation especially in my Chinese community. For many, it is quite offensive when we tell people that they are "sinners" and they "sinned". The impression is that they have done something very wrong when in actual fact they don't even know what they have done wrong and why they are labelled as sinners.

I believe sin is more than just what we have done wrong. Moving forward, we should redefine sin by considering the following:

1. Consequence: Sin is eventually about the separation of men with God.

2. Causes: Due to men's disobedience and rebellion in the Garden of Eden which effectively broke the covenant between God and men.

3. Condition: Despite men enjoyed every blessing in the presence of God that was only possible and available in the Garden of Eden.

In short, sin is more about our separation from God due to humanity's disobedience and rebellion. It leaves a void in our heart which requires us to constantly seek something or someone to fill this void (this is called allegiance). This is because all men are made in the image of God and we will not stop trying to "image" an idol to seek fulfilment. Therefore we are in a constant cycle of "sinning" against God because we are perpetually separated from Him against His will.

Bibliography

1. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 490.

2. Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, Rev. and Expanded (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2008), 322.