When God first created mankind in the Garden of Eden, they enjoyed a perfect relationship with God, dwelling together with Him without any barriers. Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8). But something happened. Man did something (called “sin”) that changed that intimate relationship. And ever since that day, man’s greatest need has been to get back into that perfect union with God. What is sin? Why is it so important for us to know about it?
First, sin is the result of violating the will of God. In the Garden, God told man not to eat of “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:17). But, with his free will to make his own decisions, man chose to violate the will of God and “ate” of the fruit (Gen. 3:6). The Bible calls this very first act of violating God’s will, “sin” (1 Tim. 2:14). Sin is breaking the “law” of God and acting in an “unrighteous” manner (1 John 3:4; 5:17). That’s serious!
Second, sin is a personal choice. As free moral agents, Adam and Eve made a choice and they sinned against God. Sin occurs when a person “is drawn away by his own desires” (Jas. 1:14-15) and “commits lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Sin is personally choosing to disobey God’s law (Ezek. 18:20). No one, including the devil, can make another person sin.
Third, sin is not inherited. As sin is a choice to “transgress” God’s law (1 John 3:4) or to refuse to “do” God’s law (Jas. 4:17), it is obvious that this is not something that is or can be inherited. Scripture teaches that the “son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son” (Ezek. 18:20). Each person is responsible to God for his own sin.
Fourth, sin results in separation from God. Each of the previous points may seem academic until one considers the devastating consequences of sin. God warned of sin’s consequences in the beginning—“you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). This was not physical death, but spiritual death. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were driven from the presence of God (Gen. 3:24), thus teaching us that spiritual death is a separation of man from God. Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Scripture teaches, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isa. 59:1-2). But these consequences of sin are not limited only to life on this earth. If man does nothing to address and correct this separation from God caused by his sins, he “shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thess. 1:8-9). There is nothing more serious than that!
It is essential that we understand the true nature and gravity of sin, so that we can understand the desperate need that we have to be saved from our sins. Only the Bible can tell us how to be saved and to be right with God!
Return to the index of “Let’s Go Back to the Bible.”
FAQs
rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
Can a believer be separated from God? ›
Romans 8:35-39 teaches that it is impossible for the believer to be separated from Christ and his love. Nothing can stop Christ's love or separate the believer from his love (Romans 8:35).
Does sin break our relationship with God? ›
Spiritually – The most common consequence we understand is spiritual death. You may understand that sin breaks off our relationship with God, which affects us spiritually. On another level, I have seen many men feel they aren't good enough to be in any relationship with God due to their sins.
What is Romans 18 18? ›
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
What is a mortal sin separates us from God? ›
A sin is considered to be "mortal" when its quality is such that it leads to a separation of that person from God's saving grace. Three conditions must together be met for a sin to be mortal: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."
What are the things that separate man from God? ›
Scripture teaches, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isa. 59:1-2). But these consequences of sin are not limited only to life on this earth.
What will separate me from God? ›
“Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” – This is a reminder we can all do with, every day!
Can you not believe in God and still go to heaven? ›
Most religious “nones” do not believe in heaven at all, but those who do are much more likely to say that people who do not believe in God can go to heaven (27% of all religious “nones”) than that they cannot (9%).
Where in the Bible does it say we are separated from God because of sin? ›
Separation in the Old Testament. The concept that sin separates us from God is found in the old testament, notably and usually referred to, in Isaiah 59:2: But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear [1].
What is a serious sin that breaks our relationship with God? ›
The Church also tells us that the sins of anger, blasphemy, envy, hatred, malice, murder, neglect of Sunday obligation, sins against faith (incredulity against God or heresy), sins against hope (obstinate despair in the hope for salvation and/or presumption that oneself can live without God or be saved by one's own ...
[1855] Mortal Sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God… by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, though it offends and wounds it. [1861] Mortal sin…
Does it break God's heart when we sin? ›
God gave us so much including Himself, a relationship with the Almighty Creator, and we threw it away in pursuit of ourselves, created things. We broke off our relationship with God, and it broke His heart! Your sin, my sin, Adam & Eve's sin breaks God's heart!
What does Leviticus 18 verse 22 say? ›
Leviticus 18:22 has been translated in common English versions as: Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such a thing is an abomination.
What is Matthew 19-26? ›
19:26 But Jesus beheld their thoughts, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but if they will forsake all things for my sake, with God whatsoever things I speak are possible.
What does Romans 1 verse 18 mean? ›
Instead of God's righteousness, it is His wrath—God's righteous anger and judgment—that is revealed against sin. God's wrath comes from heaven, from His essential nature and existence, not some created thing or place. God is angry against human ungodliness and unrighteousness.
What can separate us from the Lord of God? ›
“Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” – This is a reminder we can all do with, every day!
What keeps us away from God? ›
Along with anger, unforgiveness is yet another common way we tend to stray from the Lord. When we get consumed with how we've been wronged, our pride swells and distances us from God. Worse yet, the Bible tells us that if we don't forgive, we won't be forgiven.
Does God consider all sins equal? ›
All Sin is not the Same
In fact, the Book of Proverbs (6:16-19) identifies seven things that God hates although there is not any punishment proscribed for those. Scripture clearly indicates that God does view sin differently and that He proscribed a different punishment for sin depending upon its severity.
What is the root of all sins? ›
So, the ultimate sin, the summation of sin, is lack of love for God and lack of love for Christ. The carnal mind, according to Romans 8:7, is not subject to the law of God and can't be. An unregenerate person cannot keep the law of God, and therefore he sins and sins.
