According to the Bible, sin is going your own way instead of God’s way, trusting your own opinions and feelings over God’s truth. It’s any action, thought, or attitude that falls short of God’s perfect standard. Sin breaks everything it touches, and every one of us is born with a sinful nature. That’s why Jesus said we must be born again.
Defining Sin
In Lesson 3, we learned that people are made in God’s image. So what went wrong? The story of Adam and Eve shows us. God placed them in the Garden of Eden and let them eat from every tree except one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then the serpent showed up and asked a question meant to plant doubt: “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1).
Genesis 3:4-6 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Notice how the serpent twisted God’s words to make him look stingy and controlling, then finished with an outright lie. Eve turned her back on the Creator and trusted the creature. Adam and Eve trusted their own opinions and feelings over God’s truth, and sin entered the world. The same basic story has repeated itself ever since.
Broken in Every Way
Sin isn’t just a theological problem. It’s a practical one. It keeps us from the full life God wants for us. That doesn’t mean we’re all as bad as we could possibly be, but the infection runs deep. Think of a glass of lemonade. One drop of poison contaminates the whole glass. Sin is like that poison. It affects our thinking, relationships, health, finances, and everything else.
Because of sin, we can’t keep the greatest commandments. Instead of loving God and others, we put ourselves first, and that causes brokenness spiritually, relationally, and emotionally. Paul gives a sampling of the fallout.
Galatians 5:19-21 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Notice the range, from sexual immorality to simple envy. When it comes to sin, there’s something for everyone. And every generation seems to invent new ways to sin (Romans 1:30).
Born into Sin
When does this sin problem start? The Bible is clear that since Adam and Eve, every one of us has been born with a sinful nature.
Romans 3:10-12 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Think about two-year-olds. They’re all born with a bent toward selfishness, and none of us fully grows out of it. That’s why Jesus said this.
John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
The solution to sin is to start over, to be born again to a new life in Christ. Jesus isn’t asking you to try harder or become a better person. He’s saying something has to happen to you that’s beyond your control. That’s how birth works. You don’t earn it. Someone else does all the work. We’ll see how Jesus did that work in Lesson 5.
The Takeaway
Sin is going our own way instead of God’s. It falls short of God’s perfect standard, breaks everything it touches, and affects every person from birth. We can’t fix it on our own, but through Jesus we can be born again and receive a brand-new life.
