What Is Sin?

This question is of vital importance because of the fearful judgment against those who commit sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall die, thunders the Old Testament (Ezekiel 18:20). In like tones, the New Testament declares: The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The one who lives in sin throughout his earthly life and faces God without having obtained divine forgiveness will be sentenced to eternal perdition.

Sin sprang full-grown among men. Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God. The first boy born on this earth grew to manhood and murdered the second-his own brother! And sin has existed in every generation since.

In our time, however, there is one difference: many no longer know what sin actually is. Things evil are sometimes designated as good; things good, as evil. Isaiah condemned such a practice, declaring, Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

Since this confusion exists, and since a person will not seek forgiveness for sin until he knows what sin is, a clear-cut definition, both negative and positive, is urgently needed.