What is sin? Has anyone every asked you that? Have you struggled with an answer? Over the last two thousand years there has been much debate and study on this three-letter word. A great deal of ink has been spilled on this subject. The Bible says several things regarding sin. Romans 14:23 says, “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” James 4:17 says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” 1 John 5:17 says, “All wrongdoing is sin.” Proverbs 24:9 says, “The devising of folly is sin.”
John Wesley, the 18th century theologian, said, “Sin is a willful transgress [or breaking] of a known law of God.” Another definition that I remember hearing as a child is, “Sin is the nature of rebellion against God.”
The original Greek word that is often used in the New Testament, for sin means “missing the mark.” It is like an archer missing the bulls-eye on the target. There has even been much debate over what exactly that means. Some say it means that since we are in imperfect human bodies, we will never be able to live up to the standards that God has for us. Others say that means that sin is missing the mark as far as our intentions go. We may mess up, but if our intentions are pure then it isn’t sin.
Add on top of that, sin is both in human actions and it is also in human nature. We commit acts of sin. Our nature is such that we are inclined to sin.
With such a wide ranging affect and so many different points of view on the subject, there is little wonder that such confusion exists.
Turn with me to 1 John chapter 3.
Read 1 John 3:1-7.
We are confronted with four questions. What is sin? We have covered that a little already. What are the effects of sin? What is the remedy for sin? And, what are the effects of the remedy for sin?
Whenever there is a medical problem we want to know what the problem is. We want to know what the effect of the problem is. Then we want to know what the remedy is. Finally, we want to know what the effect of the remedy is.
For example, we could consider baldness. Baldness is a problem. The effect of the problem is that one’s head tends to get sunburned. The remedy is, perhaps, wearing a hat in the sun. Or, we could seek to reverse the baldness through medical means. The effects of that would be the growth of new hair.
What is sin?
This question just won’t go away. “What is sin?” John states one of the clearest definitions of sin in the Bible. “Sin is lawlessness.”
We come back to John Wesley’s definition of sin, “Sin is a willful breaking of a known law of God.” I am fully aware that God doesn’t want be to harm others. If I go and punch you in the nose, that is sin. I would be willfully disobeying a known law of God.
It goes deeper than that. It goes to our heart and our motive. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment,” and, “Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Our actions begin in our heart. Our motives are born in our heart. John was dealing with a group of people who thought that there was no connection between the physical body and the heart or spirit. They lived lives of horrible sin, because they didn’t believe that there was any relation between the body and the spirit.
This brings us to the nature of sin. We are all born with that nature in us. We are born sinners. Every single one of us is born with the nature to shake our fist at God.
Outward compliance with the law of God is meaningless, if our inward spirit is still shaking our fist at God.
I am reminded of the little girl who was riding in the front seat of the car with her dad. All of a sudden she decided to stand up. Her father told her to sit down. After several warnings, he finally said, “If you don’t sit down immediately, I will pull the car off the road and give you a spanking.” The girl quickly complied with her father’s instructions. After a couple minutes, she turned to her father and said, “I am still standing up on the inside.”
That is the nature of sin. That is the nature of rebellion. We say we are following God’s law by not beating up someone we don’t like, but we still hate the person. It is just as bad, in God’s eyes, to hate that person as it is to beat them up.
What are the effects of sin?
So what are the effects of sin? The primary effect of sin is eternal separation from God. Verse 6 says, “No one who abides in [Christ] keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”
A life that is full of sin leads to separation from God. Eternal separation from God is the effect of sin. John says that someone who keeps on sinning has not seen or known Jesus. They don’t understand who he is or what he has done for them. Jesus died for the sinners of the world. Remember we are all sinners. John also says that the world did not know Jesus when he was here on earth.
To know is more than just general knowledge. They knew he was a guy named Jesus. They knew where he was from. They knew his family. They did not understand him. They did not know who he truly was. They did not know that he is the Son of God. They didn’t understand that he came to deliver us from sin.
Sin also has physical effects on our bodies. This struck about five years ago at a family reunion. My mom was in her early sixties, but she didn’t look it. Outside of the gray hair (which is genetic, much like male pattern baldness), she looks much younger. For the first time at that reunion, I met my mom’s sister-in-law. She had been married to my mom’s brother that had died before I was born. My mom’s sister-in-law was only a few years older than my mom was, but she looked like she was 150 years older. A life of sin had taken its toll on her physical body.
Sin’s effects are devastating to our physical bodies and to our eternal relationship with God.
What is the remedy for sin?
All that said begs the question, “What is the remedy for sin?” Glad you asked.
John offers that answer in verse 5, “You know that he [Jesus] appeared to take away sins, and in him is no sin.”
Jesus came to take away our sins. He came to remedy the sin problem. He is the solution to the problem that has plagued humanity for thousands of years.
John states that Jesus had no sin and that “no one who abides in him keeps on sinning.” Quite simply Jesus is sinless, and we are to be sinless as well. It is only through him that we can be sinless.
The word “abide” means to live or stay. If we live or stay in Jesus we don’t have to sin. It is out of love for him that we don’t sin. It’s not because we fear that he will strike us down with a big lightning bolt if we mess up.
Love is perhaps the greatest motivator. I don’t beat my wife. I just wanted to get that on the record. I do not beat her because I fear that the police will come and arrest me and put me in jail. I do not beat her because I love her. My love for her far exceeds any fear of punishment. In fact if it were only fear of punishment that kept me from doing it, I would still be guilty in the eyes of God. If the only thing that kept me from beating her were the fear, it would probably mean that I would do it if the fear were removed. It would be like the little girl who said she was still standing up on the inside. She sat down only because she feared punishment. It would be like doing something wrong on the inside.
God sent his Son to die for us because he loved us. John says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” We have the opportunity to be the children of God because of his love. John’s expression is sort of like, “Wow, where in the world did this love come from?” It is the love of God for us that we have this opportunity. The plan of salvation was born out of God’s love.
What are the effects of the remedy for sin?
We have discussed the effects of sin and the remedy for it. What are the effects of the remedy for sin?
So, what are the effects of the remedy for sin? First off, we are called children of God, and more than that, we are children of God.
Because we are children of God, we have hope in eternal life with God. John says in verse 2, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
We shall see Jesus as he really is. John was probably the last surviving member of the human race that saw Jesus when he was on earth, or at least the last surviving original disciple. He had seen Jesus face to face. He had been with Jesus throughout his earthly ministry. He had been on the mountain during the transfiguration, when some of the glory of Jesus had been revealed. He was with Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on the donkey. He was with Jesus at the Last Supper. He was at the foot of the cross when Jesus took his last breath. He was one of the first men to the tomb of the risen Jesus. Now John says that we will see Jesus as he really is. The true glory of Christ will be revealed. We, as children of God, will then be like him.
We sang the song this morning, “O to Be Like You.” As a child of God, our desire is to be like him. The hope of this purifies us, according to verse 3. We realize the absolute holiness of God, and we desire to be like him, so we will be ready to meet him again.
Our deepest desire should be to be like him. We are to live lives that in line with the will of God. John says, “Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.” We are not to be deceived by those who claim righteousness while practicing sin. We will be known by how we live our lives. If we are good people, that doesn’t mean that we will get to heaven on that account. Jesus takes our sins away when we confess that we have sinned. He changes our life. We don’t change our life. He does it. When we live with him, when we abide in him, our lives are changed.
Conclusion
We see and understand that sin is a problem. We see and understand that sin has negative effects on us, of which the worst is eternal separation from God. We see and understand the remedy for sin, which is Jesus death on the cross that takes away our sin if we ask him to take them away. We see and understand that the effect of the remedy for sin is that we will be children of God and that we will see Jesus as he really is and be like him.
God has loved us so much. The love of God is nothing like anything the world can offer us. Out of that incredible love, he offers us the chance to be his child.
This morning, we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord. We also celebrate the fact that he is coming again, when we will see him as he really is and be like him.
Are you living with the Lord Jesus this morning? Are you ready to meet him? Is your righteousness inward, as well as outward? Jesus came to take away our sins.
This is his table for his children. If you are not a child of God, you can be, right now. You can pray to him, and he will hear you.
