Do you know the answer to either of those questions? We, especially as believers, need to be able to answer this question with sound doctrine and with fullness. I find that the answer for what sin is has become too simplified in our society, and that simplification has caused people to not loot at sin seriously. The last thing we should ever do is take sin lightly, because sin is ultimately very destructive to mankind.
What is sin? Is sin simply about right and wrong? We learn very early on in our life, as kids, about what is deemed right and wrong. However, we must note that what we learn is right and wrong has been deemed right or wrong by man (a sinful creature). For example, a lot of the problems we face in the world is because what one person may deem to be wrong, another person may actually deem to be right. Sin should not be held to the same rights and wrongs that man has deemed, in the world.
Ezekiel 14:13 gives us a fairly clear statement on what sin is: persistent unfaithfulness in the Lord. Let’s take a deeper dive into this so that our answer can have even more fullness.
The first appearance of sin
Sin actually makes its first appearance before man was ever created. We are told in Genesis 1:1 that the Lord created the heavens and the earth. This beginning actually speaks to the beginning of mankind – the beginning of our time. Throughout scripture you can actually find hints of things that took place just prior to the beginning of our time. I want to take a look at this time because it is in this time where we first see sin appear.
God created other beings (intelligence) prior to creating mankind; these creatures are heavenly beings (angels, cherubim, and seraphim). I want to point out that we do not know specifically how many heavenly beings there are, nor do we know what all of their roles are. Scripture does give us a few hints at what some of the heavenly beings do. For example: Isaiah 6:1-3 gives a description of the seraphim and tell us that some sit above the throne of the Lord, singing Holy, Holy, Holy.
Scripture does, however, go into one heavenly being with really good detail and we must look and learn from this being – Lucifer, the Devil. 1 John 3:8, John talks about Satan being the “father” of sin – he was the first sinner. Ezekiel 28:14-15 gives us some more valuable information about this being: he was created by God, held a high position with the Lord, and was considered perfect in his ways by the Lord. Then iniquity was found in Satan and he sinned.
What I am left wondering is… what would cause an angel to sin? How could an angel sin? Where did Lucifer, a being that God considered perfect, go wrongs? How could the Lord create a being capable of sin? I think we actually learn a lot about the Lord in His creating of the heavenly beings and even mankind but we will get to that later on.
In Isaiah 14:12 we learn that Lucifer was the “son of the morning (light bearer)”. Lucifer was a very beautiful creature as described in Ezekiel 28:13. I cannot say specifically what his role was, but some speculate that he was involved in the worship of God through music.
At some point iniquity was found in Lucifer. What does this mean? Evidently, angels were also created having a heart (mind) just like we have a mind of our own. We would say that good or evil desires grow in our heart (mind), right? For Satan, acts against the way of the Lord began to grow in his heart.
Let’s quote Isaiah 14:13-14
For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.
I have highlighted the parts that should stick out to us and teach us about what sin is; everything highlighted is what Lucifer said in his heart. Lucifer not only wanted the throne of God, but he wanted his throne to be far higher than the Lord’s throne. What led Lucifer to begin to think this way? Did he become upset at the way the Lord was doing things? Had he had enough and thought that he could do things better than the Lord?
The answer to those questions also lead to speculation, but what we do know for a fact is Lucifer began to feel and think a certain way in his heart. The way he began to feel and think was sin – the very first sin. Let’s make this very clear: it was merely his thought and not his action that was the sin. We are used to judging someone’s action because that is what we can see; we say that someone has sinned when we see their action. The Lord, however, perceives the sin in thought – in our hearts and mind. You may ask yourself, what did he do that was wrong? These were simply thoughts, you may say, but let’s continue to examine.
God is the Creator of all things (known and unknown). The Lord has a way and it is important for us to know that God’s way is ALWAYS going to be the RIGHT way. The Lord asks that we believe, trust, and follow (be obedient) His way. This is why the Lord gave the Israelites the Law, through Moses, and why He gave the world His only begotten Son. We are asked to keep the way of the Lord. The moment that you begin to question His way, you have already done what Satan did – sinned.
Satan eventually acted out on his thoughts and feelings, things got violent. Revelation 12:7-9 describes a war that broke out in heaven. Satan drew other angels to his cause – Revelation 12:7. I want to make a quick point that other angels even fell into sin, Satan was no longer acting alone. Violence now filled the heart of Satan and his angels (followers). Violence was the action that Satan chose to take to act out on his sin.
This rebellion that Satan led against the Lord is a very open representation of what sin actually is. Sin is rebellion against God. So you may ask, why did God create Lucifer? Did God create sin? Let’s understand something about the Lord.
Did God create sin?
I can see exactly how some may ask that question about the Lord. After all, we learn that Satan and other angels sinned. Genesis 3:1-13 we see that it didn’t take long for sin to creep into the heart of man. Some try to point this out as a “failure” of the Lord, but God does not fail. I think we actually learn a lot about the Lord in the way He chose to create the heavenly beings and mankind.
God is love and is full of faith in His creation. You will notice throughout the first chapter of Genesis that when the Lord created all things, He said that it was good. Some believe that the Lord should not have created His heavenly beings or mankind to have free will to choose because free will (desire) is what led to sin. I have to disagree with that statement.
Sure, the Lord could have certainly created us as mindless zombie creatures but in His creation we see the faith that God has towards mankind. When the Lord placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the tree of knowledge was not hidden from them. Genesis 2:17 the Lord commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge. Genesis 3:3 shows us that both Adam and Eve even knew where the tree was. God had great faith in that man would not eat of the tree (be disobedient to Him). God did not fail man, but man failed God by not listening to God, and choosing to listen to the snake (Satan) and eating of the tree.
God does not know sin. How is this possible? Remember what I said before – God’s way is ALWAYS right. This means that everything God thinks is right! Everything that God does is right! God does no wrong. We are the ones that must accept the Lord’s way as right – not the other way around. Satan thought otherwise. Ezekiel 28:17 tells us how Satan became prideful in himself and his way – this is what led to his sin. When we start to believe our way is better than the Lord’s way, we have sinned.
Sadly, all of us are capable of thinking the same way as Satan, and it could very well lead us into sin. So, what can we do about sin? How can we deal with sin?
Victory over sin
We learn in scripture that the Lord is a sovereign God which means He is over (has authority) all things. While the Lord did not create sin, knows no sin, He still has authority over sin. Ultimately, the Lord is going to choose to do whatever He wished to do with sin – this is why He has authority over it. We know from Revelation 20:10, 14, 15 tells us what the Lord’s decision is going to be for Satan and other sinners.
Since the Lord has authority over sin, He is able to say what goes against Him and His way. This should make sense, right? This is exactly why the Lord established His law through Moses, and gave His law to the children of Israel. This is also why the Lord then sent His only begotten Son to the world to establish His way with a world that He continued to love and have faith in.
Sin, as I have said before, has become a subject that has been overly simplified. At the very same time, it has become a very debated subject mostly because people try to judge others sins. The truth, however, is that no man can judge another’s sin! As James said in James 4:12, God is the only lawgiver – judge.
What then is sin? Is sin going against the Ten Commandments? Is sin going against the Law? What Is Sin? Any act that goes against the way of the Lord can be considered sin. One sin that many of us commit everyday is acting in rebellion of love. We have been commanded (Luke 6:27; John 15:12) to love one another, as God have loved us, but many of us refuse to share that love with others.
God, however, forgives us of our failures (sins). There is only one sin that the Lord will not forgive, and so we can think of this sin as sin itself – unfaithfulness. Jesus said, in Luke 12:10:
And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
To blaspheme (speak against) the Holy Spirit is to actually speak against the fullness of the Lord. When you speak against the Holy Spirit you speak against the ascendance, the resurrection, and death of Christ; you speak against the birth of the Messiah, that is the only begotten of God. This blasphemy against the fullness of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – this is sin.
When you speak against the fullness of God, you are being unfaithful to Him. Let’s also understand that this does not just stop at speech, but also includes how you choose to live. When you choose to live at odds against the Lord’s way, that too is considered blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which resides in all believers. This is what sin is. Sin was and still is sadly introduced into the hearts of man by the fallen angel – Lucifer/Satan – the Devil. We overcome he and sin through the Lord.