Understanding Sin And Its Consequences

What is Sin?

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

 (1 John 3:4 KJV)

             From the dawn of creation, sin has been a persistent disruption to God’s perfect design, humanity. Sin has made its way into humanity and has manifested itself in many ways throughout different periods in history. But the question begs, what is sin? The word “sin” has its many meanings used throughout the Old and New Testament, but the main biblical definition of “sin” comes from the Greek word “anomia” which by its definition it means lawlessness, iniquity, disobedience, or simply sin. Sin in the biblical and spiritual sense means transgression of the Law of God and rebellion against God (1 John 3:4). Sin had its origins in humanity in the book of Genesis, in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit, the fruit from which God told Adam to not eat (Genesis 2:16-17), and from which Eve had the knowledge of the fruit being prohibited from eating (Genesis 3:2-3). Man was made a sinner due to his willingness to hear, believe, and obey a lie that came from the mouth of the devil himself through a serpent, thus disobeying God’s will. Through Adam, sin entered humanity, and we humans became sinners by nature. It is through the Law that we learn about sin and develop the conscience to discern what is right and what is wrong.

How Does Sin Come Into Existence?

“But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after the desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

(James 1:14-15 NIV)

             In our day to day lives, we observe how sin comes into existence through our words and actions, we see as people around us say or do things that are wrong, even ourselves when we sin and fail to keep God’s will. So how can we as humans take something such as a thought and convert it into an evil action? The book of James 1:14-15 gives us a look into how an evil desire can become a sin, first, an evil desire to rebel against God is set in the mind, that evil desire if kept around long in the mind will eventually go into the heart which is the soul, and after that, the evil desire will then be conceived to give birth to sin which is the action to rebel against God. James uses the idea of conception and birth to describe how sin can be born from our evil thoughts and desires. We must take into account that God cannot make you sin, nor He will tempt you to sin, God’s holy nature makes it impossible for Him to sin, which means that it is impossible for Him to make us fall into sin. Also, the devil can and will tempt us to sin, but in no way can he force us to sin since it is in our free own will to make the choice of either give birth to sin or give death to sin. A person cannot blame external factors for allowing sin to take over their life.

The Consequences of Sin

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 KJV)

             We see that in Genesis, God tells Adam to not eat from the forbidden tree, the consequences of eating from the forbidden tree would be death. As we read in Genesis, Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree that God told them not to eat from, but why didn’t Adam and Eve drop dead the instant their hands touched the forbidden fruit? Given that God cannot lie, and His presence brings life, it is clear that anything separated or away from God leads to death. Once Adam and Eve introduced sin into their lives, they were separated from the presence of God, which resulted in death being a part of their spiritual and physical lives. Sin has consequences that extend both physically and spiritually, affecting not only our own lives but also those of others around us. Sin removes the peace in the soul, an example to this is Judas Iscariot, he was miserable and unhappy after he betrayed Jesus, tormented by his own conscience, and in a desperate attempt to ease the guilt off his soul, seized with remorse, he returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, then he said to the chief priests in the temple that he betrayed innocent blood, he could not bear with the guilt anymore and took his own life. Sin removes the peace in the soul and turns it into conflict. The price of sin in the physical world brings forth consequences that may lead to imprisonment, physical conflict, or even death, each crime is punishable depending on the severity of the crime, a shoplifter won’t get charged with the death penalty, but a murderer who took the lives of many will get charged with life imprisonment or the death penalty. However, the price of sin in the spiritual world is the same, sin brings upon separation from God, which in turn brings upon death, each sin has its own price in the physical world, but in the spiritual world, there is no “higher” or “lower” sin, every sin brings upon spiritual death, no matter how big or small it is.

How Do We React To Sin?

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

(2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV)

There are two ways in which we can react to sin, either we repent with godly sorrow, or we have remorse with worldly sorrow. What is the difference in between godly and worldly sorrow? Godly sorrow leads to true repentance (metanoia), this path of sorrow leads to repentance that brings upon salvation. Worldly sorrow includes pain and sorrow, but the results are opposite, it produces death in the way that this worldly sorrow can cause pain and the acceptance of the wrongdoing, but it does not lead to true repentance in the way that one fully surrenders to God. The perfect example of godly and worldly sorrow is in the contrast in between Peter and Judas Iscariot, both in a way rejected Jesus, while Judas rejected Jesus by turning Him in over to the authorities, Peter rejected Jesus by denying Him three times before the rooster crowed the next morning, both Peter and Judas rejected Jesus, both felt the guilt and sorrow of rejecting Jesus, but the difference in between Peter and Judas is that Peter sought true repentance, and became one of the foundations into building the primitive church, however, Judas consumed by guilt, he had remorse for the actions he had done, instead of seeking true repentance, which Jesus would’ve forgiven him, he took his own life out of the guilt, pain, and regret of betraying Jesus. Are we like Peter or are we like Judas when we sin? Do we seek true repentance when we sin or do we mourn when we sin and repeat the same sin over again?

How Do We Overcome Sin?

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

(John 16:33 NIV)

             There are times when we feel overwhelmed by sin, and certain sins can obstruct our connection with God’s presence. Whether we struggle with anger, lust, pride, greed, envy, or other temptations, these challenges can hinder our relationship with God. However, God has provided us with His Word and His presence within us to overcome sin. Through prayer, we communicate with God; through reading His Word, He speaks to us; and through fasting, we discipline our flesh and grow in the Holy Spirit.

We are no longer under the law but under God's grace (Romans 6:14). To overcome sin, we must live by grace, not by self-righteousness. Our efforts alone are insufficient to redeem our sins; Jesus has already paid the debt on the cross with His blood, providing us with cleansing and salvation. If we focus solely on avoiding sin rather than nurturing our relationship with God, we risk falling back into sin. However, by prioritizing our relationship with God, we can overcome sin.

We cannot overcome internal struggles through our own strength alone; we need external strength. Only with God's aid can we overcome these struggles, as He is our source of strength. The Holy Spirit empowers us to triumph over our flesh. By keeping God’s Word in our hearts, we align with His will and walk the path of truth in Jesus. Daily submission to God enables us to resist the devil, who will then flee from us (James 4:7). Nonetheless, we must remain vigilant, as the devil prowls like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We must arm ourselves with the full armor of God to withstand the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:10-18).

In conclusion, we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Overcoming sin is a daily battle, but to defeat sin and overcome the world as Jesus did, we must submit ourselves to God each day. If we do fall into sin, we can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Yet, we must not misuse God’s grace but live genuinely under it.

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under the grace.” (Romans 6:12-14 NIV)