Sin is a strange word to use in Western culture, largely because we don’t really know what it means. It is not going against the grain of  cultural standards, nor is it making a poor decision.[1] Nor is it even the temptation to defy God and His commands (Matt. 4). It is a deliberate and multifaceted act defined by:

• Missing the mark. Sin is falling short of God’s glory and His standards for humanity by our conscious choice to defy Him (Rom. 3:23).
• Transgression. It is lawbreaking, or transgression, a deliberate act of defiance of God’s explicit commands (Rom. 5:14; 1 Tim. 2:14).
• Rebellion. Speaking to the heart of our transgressions, the rebellious nature of sin is our desire to disobey God, shaking our clenched fists at the One who has made us and shown us the way to life (Isa. 1:2).
• Selfishness. Sin is acting out of a selfish attitude, one that assumes happiness comes from doing whatever we think we want rather than obedience to God. It is putting ourselves first rather than others (Phil. 2:3).
• Idolatry. Our sin is the real-world manifestation of what rules our hearts, our worship of someone or something other than God, whether statues of wood or gold, status, security, power, or pleasure (Matt. 15:10-20; Jas. 4:1-10).

Do you see how all of these facets of sin play together? When we sin, we are always acting in rebellion and selfishness. We’re transgressing God’s commands and falling short of His glory. We do it all because we are, in that moment or in the scope of our lives, worshiping someone or something other than the Creator (Rom. 1:18-25). We think sin will make us happy, and this world tells us this is true. While in the moment sin may give us what we want, it’s never enough. Our desire intensifies with every hit, each one less satisfying than the one before it. And in the end, all we’re left with is guilt, shame, and ultimately death (Gen. 2:17). We are sin addicts, reveling in self-destruction, and it’s killing us.

Taking Sin as Seriously as God Does

There is no exception to this reality. All of us are without excuse. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). And if we truly want lost people to see Christ as their only hope and to see the lies of a world opposed to God for what they are, we need to embrace the Bible’s shocking portrayal of the state of humanity. Here’s what that requires of us:

• Honesty about our own sin. When it comes to our own sinfulness, we are the Black Knight shouting, “It’s just a flesh wound,” and trying to wage war despite our arms and legs being hacked off.51 As Christians, it’s tempting to behave as though our sin is somehow less offensive to God than the sins of those who do not believe or even those of other believers, at least the ones we think we are better than. Instead, the gospel encourages us to see our own sins as the most offensive to God and ourselves as “the worst of them” (1 Tim. 1:15-16). There is no room for posturing or self-righteousness in the Christian life because the whole point of Christianity is you haven’t got any of that anyway!
• Correcting the world’s lies. We don’t condemn those who don’t believe, for they are already condemned by their sin (John 3:18). But we do still need to correct the world’s lies. We need to be honest about the consequences of sin, that all it offers is the certainty of death. To be honest enough to say sin really is as bad as God says it is.
• Sharing the story of the One who overcame sin. The gospel really is good news for the whole world, and it is even better when we realize just how much Jesus overcame to rescue us. Defeating sin, taking on Himself the penalty our sin was due, cost Jesus more than we can ever imagine, but He did it because of the joy set before Him, the joy of seeing His people perfected and this world redeemed forevermore (Heb. 12:2).

We need to take sin seriously because God takes it seriously. And when we take it as seriously as God does, the gospel becomes more beautiful because there is hope for all who will call on Jesus for salvation. Sin doesn’t have the final word. Jesus does. And He is and will be victorious.

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Notes: 1. A poor decision is choosing fish over steak at a wedding. Or choosing fish in general. But then, I don’t really care for fish.

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This post is adapted from Devotional Doctrine: Delighting in God, His Word, and His World, a new free digital resource from The Gospel Project exploring the essential doctrines of the Christian faith and how doctrine shapes our devotion. Get your free copy here.