What is Sin?

Stealing is a sin, assaulting is a sin, lying is a sin, killing is a sin. And this is just an introduction to sin. In fact, just about anything that’s primarily selfish is a sin. 

That’s all pretty straightforward and pretty obvious, but what about playing Halo well into the night instead of studying for that biology exam?

Who are you hurting?

Only yourself?

Is that really a sin?

Well, you are hurting someone, even if that someone is only yourself.

So, how does that fit into the concept of sin?

The Christian concept of sin, comes down to us from the Koine Greek word ἁμαρτία. Its original usage came from archery and it meant “to miss the mark”. Ancient Greeks loved a good metaphor and they often used the word to mean “to err,” stemming from the verb hamartánein (ἁμαρτάνειν).

In Greek tragedies, they would go so far as to use the word to signify an error, fault, or tragic flaw in a hero that leads to their downfall or use it to mean a fatal mistake or sin, highlighting a character’s failure to achieve their purpose or a deviation from the right path, often with unintended, devastating results.

So, sin is doing something that is wrong and that hurts a relationship. That makes sin is a pretty broad topic and not all sins are huge crimes. Not only that, the idea of sin, is a concept that can be seen far more universally than just within the practice of Christianity.

Getting back to Halo, did you miss the mark? Did you risk affecting your grade? Did you err?

Yes?

Then maybe it was a sin.

What is Forgiveness?

It’s probably pretty easy to believe that some sins can be forgiven, in fact, some sins are easy to forgive, but can all sins be forgiven?

“Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” – Isaiah 55:7.

That’s pretty straightforward.

God can forgive any sin, provided the sinner is truly repentant, but remember, repentance is about far more than a simple “Sorry”.

God forgives us when we sincerely express regret, ask for forgiveness and turn away from our sin, but he also calls upon us to “forgive those who trespass against us”.

Forgiveness is an act of love, a demonstration of perseverance.

^“It (love) always … perseveres.” – From 1 Corinthians 13:7

God loves us and we are called to love. God’s grace and his forgiveness, is a demonstration of the perseverance of his love. When we forgive, our forgiveness is also a demonstration of the perseverance of our love.

So what exactly is forgiveness?

Forgiveness is looking past the sin, looking past the act, and seeing the person. Forgiveness is setting the act aside. It’s making sure that the act doesn’t colour your love for the person. Forgiveness is refusing to judge the person in a manner that would change the way you value that person.

So, why should I forgive?

Well yes, God gives you a moral imperative to forgive, but there’s more to it than that. Forgiveness releases the forgiver as much as it releases the forgiven. I’ve heard it said that refusing to forgive, is like drinking poison in the hopes that the person you’re angry with gets sick. Refusal to forgive is often at least as damaging to the the one who refuses to forgive as it is to the one who is unforgiven. When you refuse to forgive, you carry that baggage, that anger with you. It does you no good, so just let it go.

Just a final note on this.

When you are called to forgive those that sin against you, that list includes yourself. God calls you to forgive yourself for the sins you commit.

Just remember this, forgiveness is also a call to repentance. When you forgive yourself, you are calling upon yourself to repent, to not repeat the sin that caused you harm.

What is Repentance?

The Christian understanding of repentance only makes sense if sin is more than a mistake. In Christian faith, sin is what harms relationship and fractures trust—with others, within ourselves, and with God.

In repentance, we are called to name the action or inaction (sin) and accept responsibility for it. We are also called to turn away from that sin and not repeat it.

That call for repentance is itself an act of forgiveness and therefore an act of love. In calling us to repentance, God is offering forgiveness, but he is also calling on us to love. After all, genuine repentance is also an act of love. To truly have remorse, you must regret the hurt you’ve caused and that can only come from a place of love.

So yes, both the call that God makes to us to forgive and the call that God makes to us to repent are calls to love.

This is another way in which our understanding love lies at the very heart of how Christians see our faith. This article is part of our “What is …” series, where we explore Christian beliefs in plain language.

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