Chapter 3 - The Science (Self-Evident Truth) of Sin

What is sin? For many, sin is defined as an action or series of actions contrary to the rules that God has set down for man’s behavior. Murder, stealing and lying are just a few examples of what we deem to be sinful actions. Someone who does these things is referred to as a sinner. But is that all there is to the word? Can there be a more practical and comprehensive way of looking at the concept of sin and sinner?

In biblical Hebrew, the generic word for sin is het. It means to err or to miss the mark. In Greek, the word for sin is hamartia and is usually the word translated as sin in the New Testament. In Classical Greek, it means to miss the mark or to miss the target but what mark or target has been missed and how do we stop missing and hit it instead?

I believe the mark or target we’re missing is the bulls-eye of living in the nature or essential qualities and attributes of God. The irony of our dilemma though is that God’s nature and attributes aren’t mere targets we can just aim at much less hit.

For example, being very tall is an attribute. The shape and color of one’s eyes is also an attribute. These are traits that can’t be obtained naturally simply because one wants to possess them. These are qualities that are inherited. To inherit a physical, mental, social or spiritual attribute, you have to be the offspring of someone who possesses the attributes in question. This leads us into the topic at hand. Sin is more than just a concept or a word that describes a set of actions or behaviors. It is a state of existence! And being a sinner goes far beyond the scope of one’s behavior. It speaks to the state of one’s nature.

Psalm 51:5 reads “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me.” 

Psalms indicates that we are formed in a state of sin. Therefore our sinful natures, which are inherited, consequently lead us to sinful behaviors.  Sinning is a natural reality for human beings. It is as natural for us to be sinful as it is natural for a leopard to have spots or an elephant to have a trunk. This isn’t an excuse. It is however a profound and inconvenient truth. The greater question is how did we become shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin?  Romans 5:19 tells us that “…by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners …”

We all know or are at least familiar with the Garden of Eden story about our fore-parents, Adam and Eve, so there isn’t a need to rehearse the entire dialogue between the involved parties. However, the broader implications of what transpired at the tree in the genesis of humanity may be lost on many of us.

Genesis 2:17 states that “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shall surely die.”

Yes, Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating fruit they weren’t supposed to eat, but what was the big deal really? Who were they hurting, and why did God even make the fruit if it wasn’t supposed to be eaten? ...