By Gregory S. Tate
Sin Defined
What is sin? In Judeo-Christian texts, the original Hebrew (hatt’ah) and Greek (hamartia) words for sin closely mean “missing the mark” or falling short of a standard. From a biblical perspective, sin is any thought, action, or attitude that violates God’s law or falls short of His perfect holiness. It is fundamentally an act — by omission or commission — of rebellion and a desire, intentional or unintentional, for independence from God, ultimately separating humanity from its Creator.1
Original Sin
Adam’s first sin was disobedience to God: eating the forbidden fruit. (Genesis 3:6) That act of disobedience resulted from a false sense of self-importance. He wrongly concluded that his knowledge and sense of right and wrong could replace God’s. Doubt, distrust, weakened faith, and ultimately disobedience followed.
Mankind’s “Sin Nature”
Mankind’s nature is a deeply debated subject in philosophy, biology, and theology. Spiritually, however, it is marked by continual tension between a sense of right and wrong, the capacity for reason, and a tendency toward moral brokenness.2
God loves each of us completely and desires that love to be returned. For love to be genuine, it must be freely given; therefore, God created us with the ability and responsibility to respond to Him with or without faith and its accompanying love. While many who believe in God choose to love Him, our love still falls short of His perfect standard. To love God perfectly requires complete adherence to His perfect standard of right and wrong — uncompromising morality in thought and action. Since we are sinners and have all already sinned, this standard is already beyond us. Thankfully, one man has met it: Jesus Christ.
Intellectually, we may be appalled by Adam’s flawed reasoning, yet we make similarly ill-fated decisions daily, each being a transgression against God. This is the essence of mankind’s sinful nature: a nature passed to all humanity through Adam’s fall, commonly called the “Fall of Man.” (Romans 5:12 and 3:23) Since Adam, humanity has struggled with an inherited tendency to sin —falling short of God’s perfect standard with each transgression. Given the choice between God’s will and our own, too often we choose our own way, rationalizing that it is better or that a minor deviation from God’s law will not matter. We repeat Adam’s flawed reasoning and let our sense of self convince us that we know better than God. Even knowing how foolish this is, we continue to falter, rebel, and separate ourselves from Him.
Jesus makes this clear in Mark 7:21–23, where He teaches that thought precedes action: 21“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
Jesus further clarifies that evil thought alone constitutes sin in Matthew 5:28 when He says, ”28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The problem is not that God’s standard is too high – His law is perfect. The problem is that we break His law by following our own sinful desires. Ultimately, each of us will answer for every act of rebellion against God and His perfect standard.
Ask yourself honestly: Who among us is free from evil thoughts? Who has never acted contrary to God’s law? Who has never told a small lie, felt hatred when hurt by another, or kept extra change mistakenly given by a merchant? The Apostle Paul rightly answers: none of us, when he states in Romans 3: 23, “. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, . . .”
The evidence abounds: mankind has a natural inclination — an inherited proclivity — to sin. We have a “sin nature.” God’s standard, however, is absolute and encompasses not only our outward actions, but also our deepest and most private thoughts – our heart and all of its’ desires.
Hope, Forgiveness and Salvation
Fear not! From creation, God had a plan for our redemption and salvation. It is revealed throughout His Word, the Holy Bible, where we find overwhelming hope. We have a Savior in Jesus, the Christ, who took our sins upon Himself and accepted the punishment for our transgressions through His blood and death on the cross. God established a New Covenant that, by His grace, promises forgiveness and eternal salvation to all who believe in Christ Jesus, trusting in Him alone by faith, freely surrendering their lives to Him, repenting of their sins, and earnestly following Him. God’s Word states this clearly in John 3:16–17, where Jesus says: 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
If you are honest with yourself, you know you have a predisposition to sin. Accepting God’s offer of grace, forgiveness, and salvation is the only way to overcome this sin nature; the only path to eternal life, true happiness and fulfillment. Through faith in Jesus Christ – and by following Him earnestly – we die to self. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we engage in a journey of sanctification, growing closer to Christ day by day. One day, each of us will stand before God to account for all our thoughts and actions in this life. You alone are responsible for deciding how you will respond in this life to God’s loving offer of salvation. Will you accept God’s loving offer? Decide wisely!
- “Sin,” Going Farther, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, goingfarther.net/basics-of-christianity/sin.
- Google, “AI Overview for ‘Man’s Nature’,” Google Search, July 13, 2026, www.google.com.