Isn't is somewhat strange to write about sin? Is it necessary to discuss this subject? Do we not all believe that we are sinners and that we sin every moment? Indeed much is said about sin and sinning. But the question is: Do we know what we are speaking of? For many, sin is something we speak about without knowing what it means. If we only had the least impression in our heart of what sin is, we would be much more careful in speaking about it. We often speak about things we know nothing of. But, dear reader, don't think I am saying that we may not speak about sin. On the contrary! We must speak and think about sin and sinning. We must speak about this very great evil because the Bible speaks much about it. We must not be silent about it. We will have to know and confess our sins. This also means that we must know what sin and sinning means. It is not my intention to go into the question of how it was possible that sin entered the world. God's Word clearly teaches us that sin entered the world because of Adam and Eve's disobedience in Paradise. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12).

Sin is a dreadful power from which only God's almighty grace can deliver us. No person can be delivered from the power of sin in his own strength. We all are under the dominion of sin. Paul says in Romans 7:14, "I am carnal, sold under sin." And in 1 John 3:8 we read: "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.'' We cannot esteem the power and destruction of sin too great. Always and everywhere we see man in rebellion against God. In Romans 3 Paul describes the human heart: Both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin.

There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit … Their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.

Do you know, dear reader, that this is not only a picture of those who live in sin, without God and His service, but this is a picture of your and my heart, as we are born. If by God's grace we may receive impressions of this in our heart, our mouth will be closed to speak about others and their sin. How frightening it is to hear so many people speak about the sins of others! They spend much time weeding in the garden of their neighbor but don't realize that their own garden is full of weeds. Or, using the words of the Lord Jesus, "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" (Matt. 7:5). Indeed, the world is a network of iniquity. Let us not think that sin comes to us from without, from the world; and that if we keep the door to the world tightly shut, sin will pass us by. That is the greatest and most dangerous self-deceit imaginable. Sin comes from within; our heart is corrupt and depraved! That which happens and is visible to the world is the sin of our heart breaking through to the outside. The power of sin is terrible and cannot be contained by our own power.

What does God's Word tell us about sin and sinning? Both Old and New Testament use a long list of words to describe the matter signifying sin and sinning; sin, trespass, transgression, iniquity, evil, wickedness, etc. These are different words with the same basic meaning, namely, they describe an activity. This means that sin, according to God's Word, is never a fate that overcomes us, or a circumstance in which we unexpectedly find ourselves against our will. The basic meaning of all these words always signifies an activity of man, or an active deed. The Bible uses most frequently the word sin. Literally, sin means "to miss," "to miss its purpose," "not reaching a goal which should have been reached.'' In these definitions, however, one thing always comes to the foreground: Missing that purpose is not by accident, but through our own wrongdoing we miss that God-appointed purpose. The action of man is stressed.

We may ask the question, "When does a person sin? When is a deed sinful?" Man's deeds are sinful when he does not heed God's appointed boundaries. Man then ends in the wrong place and does not reach his destination. He perishes through his own fault. He strays from the way of life and finds death. He comes short of the promised blessing of the Lord and ends under the curse of God. Every deed which breaks God's appointed boundaries is sin and brings about the downfall of our existence.

Sin also means "to be crooked, wrong, straying from the right way." Sin is often used as this meaning in the Bible, such that the emphasis falls on the depravity of the heart. Not only the sinful deed, but also the sinful will comes to the foreground. We want to sin. Therefore, sin is also unfaithfulness, evil intention, enmity, and secret transgression.

This definition meets with the greatest resistance in our hearts. We think we want to be converted. We live decently. We are upset when others sin much. Yet we think we don't want to sin and that sin is something that befalls us. However, God's Word teaches us that we want to sin and we don't want God to be King over us. Therefore, sin is also guilt.

Still another meaning of the word sin is "to revolt," "to rebel against the authority of the law," "to withdraw from authority over us." This is said of Israel when they rebelled against Jehovah and no longer paid due obedience to Him. "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me" (Is. 1:2).

In this sense, the essence of sin is indicated by a conscious rebellion against the Lord. This meaning does not serve to show sinful deeds as much as it shows the deepest background from which sin comes forth. Rebellion is merely unthankful disobedience, flowing forth from pride and an unconstrained overestimation of self. "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us" (Ps. 2:2-3). This sin of rebellion is so radically significant because it goes directly against Jehovah, the covenant God.

Still another word the Bible uses for sin has the meaning of "to stray," "to be mistaken." The word sin in this sense is used to indicate unintentional transgressions, including those done in ignorance. Ignorance is never an excuse. God created man good and after His own image, in true righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator. Ignorance is also sin (Num. 15:22-29).

Another question which arises is, "Who decides or defines what is sinful?" We will not ask the man with the beam in his eye. He knows exactly what sin is for his neighbor. Nor can anyone trust his own heart or knowledge. Sometimes it is said, "Sin is not sin anymore," which proves that our standards are ever-changing. That which we regarded as sin in the past, we now allow. What I want to point out is this: Our human standards, customs, and traditions are not to decide what is and what is not sinful. There are many sinful customs set forth from generation to generation which are not regarded as sinful because "our parents did it, too." Neither is public opinion a standard by which to decide what is sinful: "If everyone does it, it is not sin." We have become too accustomed to this form of reasoning.

But this is not how it is. God alone, the Creator of heaven and earth, defines and decides what is good and evil. This is revealed in God's holy and precious Word. The Lord notices the smallest deviation from His appointed boundaries. We shall all be judged by God's holy law and not by our corrupt concepts or standards. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments … for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Eccl. 12:13-14). Sin is related to the law. Where there is no law, there is no sin. And, dear reader, there is a law, namely the law of God.

I believe this is enough to seriously meditate upon for now. I hope this may be a personal message for all of us. Do not read it with your neighbor in mind. Read it with a praying and a humble heart, asking if the Lord may open your eyes so that you may see your own picture. Pray that you by grace may come to know your own sin through the light of God's holy law and that you may see yourself in the way that God sees you. Then we close our mouths in speaking of other people's sins and we bow our knees and plead, "O God, be merciful to me, the sinner."

Thomas Watson wrote, "Sin hath the devil for his father, shame for its companion, and death for its wages."