What is the definition of sin?

Answer

Sin is described in the Bible as the transgression of God’s law. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). Sin originated with Lucifer, possibly the most beautiful and powerful of the angels. Dissatisfied with his position, he aspired to be higher than God, leading to his downfall and the inception of sin (Isaiah 14:12-15). Renamed Satan, he introduced sin to humanity in the Garden of Eden by tempting Adam and Eve with the same allure, “you will be like God.” Genesis 3 recounts Adam and Eve’s defiance against God and His command. Since then, sin has been transmitted through all generations of humankind, inherited from Adam. Romans 5:12 explains that sin entered the world through Adam, resulting in death for all because “the wages of sin is death.” “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

Through Adam, the inherent tendency to sin entered humanity, making human beings sinners by nature. When Adam transgressed, his inner being was altered by his rebellion, resulting in spiritual death and corruption passed on to his descendants. We are sinners becaUse we sin, and we sin because we are sinners. This inherited depravity is known as inherited sin. Just as we inherit physical characteristics from our parents, we inherit our sinful natures from Adam. King David lamented this condition of fallen human nature in Psalm 51:5: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

Another type of sin is known as imputed sin. Imputed sin is the result of our having been credited with the guilt of Adam’s sin “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” (Romans 5:18). To impute is “to take something that belongs to someone and credit it to another’s account,” and imputed sin is Adam’s guilt attributed to or credited to us. All human beings are counted as having sinned in Adam and thus deserving the same punishment for sin as Adam. After Adam’s sin, everyone was subject to death, even before the Mosaic Law was given, because of imputed sin, which affects our standing before God.

God used the principle of imputation to benefit mankind when He imputed the sin of believers to the account of Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for that sin—death—on the cross. Imputing our sin to Jesus, God treated Him as if He were a sinner, though He was not, and had Him die for the sins of the entire world “and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2). It is important to understand that sin was imputed to Him, but He did not inherit it from Adam. He bore the penalty for sin, but He never became a sinner. His pure and perfect nature was untouched by sin. He was treated as though He were guilty of all the sins ever committed by the human race, even though He committed none.God then imputed the righteousness of Christ to believers and credited our accounts with His righteousness, just as He had credited our sins to Christ’s account, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

A third type of sin is personal sin, which is committed daily by every human being. Due to inheriting a sin nature from Adam, we commit individual, personal sins, ranging from seemingly innocent untruths to murder. Those who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ must pay the penalty for these personal sins, as well as inherited and imputed sin. However, believers have been freed from the eternal penalty of sin—hell and spiritual death. We now also have the power to resist sinning. We can now choose whether or not to commit personal sins because we have the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. When we do sin, the Spirit convicts us (Romans 8:9-11). Once we confess our personal sins to God and ask forgiveness for them, we are restored to perfect fellowship and communion with Him. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).

We are three times condemned due to inherited sin, imputed sin, and personal sin. The only just penalty for this sin is death, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23), not just physical death but eternal death.

(Revelation 20:11-15). Thankfully, inherited sin, imputed sin, and personal sin have all been crucified on the cross of Jesus, and now by faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” «In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; », (Ephesians 1:7).