What Is Sin?
The primary Greek word for sin, hamartia, means "missing the mark" — falling short of God's holy standard. But sin is more than error; it is rebellion. 1 John 3:4 defines it as "lawlessness." Romans 1 describes humanity's fundamental sin as exchanging the truth of God for a lie and worshipping the creature rather than the Creator. At its core, sin is the creature attempting to dethrone God and become autonomous — to be "like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5).
Original Sin and Its Spread
Romans 5:12 explains the human condition: "sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." Adam's transgression did not merely set a bad example — it altered the nature of his descendants. Every human being now enters the world with a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5). This is not pessimism but diagnosis — the starting point for understanding why humanity desperately needs a Saviour.
The Universality of Sin
Romans 3:10-12 piles up Old Testament quotations to establish the verdict: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God." Romans 3:23 delivers the conclusion: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." There are no exceptions based on nationality, religion, morality, or good intentions. 1 John 1:8 warns: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
Sin's Consequences
Isaiah 59:2 identifies the primary consequence: "your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you." Spiritual death — separation from the source of life — is sin's immediate result. Romans 6:23 states the full wage: "the wages of sin is death" — not merely biological death but the second death, eternal separation from God (Revelation 20:14). Sin also produces temporal consequences: broken relationships, corrupted society, physical deterioration.
God's Remedy
Romans 6:23 continues with the greatest contrast in Scripture: "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The antidote to sin is not self-improvement but substitution — Christ bearing sin's penalty in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21). 1 John 1:9 gives the ongoing application: confession brings cleansing. Hebrews 9:26 declares that Christ appeared "to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." The final victory over sin is secured; its present power is broken by the Spirit (Romans 8:13).