Basic to all sin is selfishness as opposed to godliness. Sin is loving ourselves and preferring our own ways instead of loving God and seeking to please Him. Sin can be that of commission-doing anything which is not God’s will for us, or of omission-failing to do what God does will. Sin is the choice of our own will as against God’s will, the use of our capacity to make decisions to rebel instead of to obey. 

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all “(Isa. 53:6). 

Both the Hebrew and the Greek languages use several words to describe the condition and expression of man’s basic selfishness and rebellion against God. Among the more common words for sin in the New Testament are the following: 

 Sin is missing the mark (hamartia).

The most common word for sin in the New Testament is hamartia (ha-mar-ti-a). This word summarizes sin as our failure to be the person God intended us to be. It means “to miss the mark; to be in error; to fall short.” We have missed the target of fulfilling God’s glorious plans for us. Because this word is used so often for sin, the study of sin is called “hamartiology.” 

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). 

Hamartia describes sin in a three-fold way: 

(1) The source of wrong actions. 

(2) A power which acts through the members of our physical bodies. 

(3) Wrong actions. 

 Sin is moral wickedness.

Sin is more than doing the wrong thing. Mistakes are doing the wrong thing, but without the wrong motives. Mistakes are not necessarily sin. Sin involves the corruption of character. The Greek word kakos is often translated as sinfulness, because it emphasizes the moral badness or evil of disposition within man. It is from within that sin arises, because of man’s basic corruption. 

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolish- ness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:21-23). 

 Sin is willful transgression of the law. 

Transgression is the deliberate stepping across the border between right and wrong, the violation of God’s law. This stepping across is not accidental or without knowledge; it presupposes our knowledge of an objective moral law, a law outside of ourselves. Transgression is man’s invasion of forbidden territory or crossing over the moral boundaries God has established. 

“Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression” (Rom. 4:15). 

 Sin is lawlessness.

Lawlessness is the temper of our times. This aspect of sin not only includes the indwelling source of sin and its many manifestations, but the guiding principle of life. Lawlessness (anomia) is a life style of refusing to be subject to God’s law. This is more than disobedience; it is a total disregard for the existence of law. 

“For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law . . .” (Rom. 2:12). 

 What Does Sin Do to Us? 

The most important result of sin is that it breaks our fellowship with God. But it also does things to our own inner workings. When we say that the wages of sin are death, this does not simply speak of the final accounting at the end of life. Sin produces results now. The death process is set in motion the moment we sin and cuts off the flow of God’s life. This is why immediate repentance is so necessary. Sin must be washed out of us before it destroys us from within. 

 Sin makes us less of a person.

Each time we sin, we become less the person we were intended to be. Something dies within us. We know something about ourselves that makes us think less of ourselves. Self-esteem is lowered. If we cannot respect ourselves, it is hard for us to expect others to respect us. We lose confidence both before other people and especially before God. 

“Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God “(I John 3:21). 

 Sin creates guilt.

God has built into us an inner alarm system to tell us the difference between right and wrong. We call it “conscience.” It is possible to alter the conscience until it is no longer accurate, but its purpose is to give us basic moral guidance. When the alarm is sounding, telling us something is wrong, we call it “guilt.” This feeling of inner conviction demands attention. We must deal with it in some way. The two ways we can respond to guilt are: by confessing the sin and receiving forgiveness, or by seeking punishment-even if we have to punish ourselves. God’s answer to guilt is the way of repentance: confess, ask for forgiveness, receive His cleansing, and walk away from the sin. 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). 

 Sin begets more sin.

Each time we do a sinful act, this makes it easier for us to do the same thing again. Habits are created through repetition and reinforcement. We must allow God to interrupt our sinful patterns through giving us repentance and enabling us to renounce them. When we renounce something, we determine to be done with it. 

“But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God “(II Cor. 4:2).