What is sin?
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
New International Version (NIV)
The answer
Sin is anything — thought, word, deed, or a good thing left undone — that falls short of God's standard and breaks His law. Scripture defines it plainly in 1 John 3:4: "Sin is lawlessness."
What that includes
- Wrongdoing against God: exchanging His glory for idols, refusing to thank Him, suppressing the truth about Him — the picture Romans 1:18-23 draws as the first worked example of what falling short of His glory looks like.
- Wrongdoing against neighbour: lying, stealing, envy, murder, adultery — the catalogue in Romans 1:29-31.
- Missing the mark (the word "sin" itself): Romans 3:23 says "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." It is not just the bad acts done, but a life that does not measure up to who God is and who He made us to be.
- Failing to do good we know to do (James 4:17): "To him therefore who knows to do good and doesn't do it, to him it is sin." Sins of omission are still sin.
Why it matters
- It is universal. "There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). Paul says "we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin" (Romans 3:9), and "the scripture hath concluded all under sin" (Galatians 3:22).
- It has a wage. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) — not only physical death, but the second death, separation from God.
- It silences boasting before God, "that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19). No one has a case to make in His court.
- It is the reason Christ came. "He was revealed to take away our sins" (1 John 3:5), and "to this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8).
A verse to carry
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9). The same God who names sin also names its cure: confession, and the cleansing that comes through Jesus Christ.
The most common mistake
Treating sin as only the worst things we do. In Scripture sin is any thought, word, or deed that falls short of God's glory (Romans 3:23), and any good we know to do and leave undone (James 4:17). The heart of sin is not the size of the act but that it is against a holy God.
Answered from Scripture · reviewed November 7, 2026
Scripture defines sin not merely as rare, heinous crimes, but as any thought, word, deed, or good left undone that transgresses God's holy law and falls short of His glory. Because God is perfectly righteous, sin fundamentally constitutes rebellion against His authority, polluting the human heart and incurring the sentence of death. Understanding the biblical depth of sin is essential, for only when its universal ruin is laid bare does the wonder of redemption in Jesus Christ shine in full power.
The Biblical Definition
Sin is lawlessness and falling short of God's glory.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
1 John 3:4 (NIV)
This verse offers Scripture's most concise definition of sin, equating it directly with the violation of God's holy law.
The apostle John cuts straight to the root: sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). It is not merely a social faux pas or an error in judgment; it is a direct violation of the holy character and moral decrees of God. Paul expands this scope in Romans 3:23, declaring that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, measuring human failure not against our peers, but against the infinite perfection of our Creator.
Scripture makes clear that sin encompasses every thought, action, and omission contrary to righteousness. In 1 John 5:17, John affirms that all unrighteousness is sin, while James 4:17 exposes sins of omission: knowing the good one ought to do and failing to do it is counted as rebellion. It reaches into our inner motives as well. In Romans 14:23, Paul warns that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin, and Proverbs 24:9 reminds us that even the thought of foolishness incurs guilt before a holy God.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| 1 John 3:4 | Everyone who sins breaks God's law, because sin is defined fundamentally as lawlessness. |
| Romans 3:23 | Every human being has sinned and continually falls short of the glorious standard of God. |
| 1 John 5:17 | All unrighteousness is explicitly declared by the apostle John to be sin. |
| James 4:17 | Failing to do the good one knows should be done is counted as sin before God. |
| Romans 14:23 | Whatever act does not proceed from genuine faith is judged as sin. |
| Proverbs 24:9 | Declares that the thought of foolishness is sin and that the scoffer is an abomination to mankind. |
Rebellion Against God
Sin exchanges the Creator's glory for created idols.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
Romans 1:21-23 (NIV)
Paul reveals that the root of human sin is refusing to glorify God and worshiping images instead.
Paul exposes the tragic engine of humanity's fall in Romans 1:21-23, where men, having known God, exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal creatures. This suppressing of divine truth awakens God's holy wrath against all ungodliness (Romans 1:18-20). Sin is never passive drift; it is an active dethroning of the Creator in order to install an idol of our own making.
The prophets echo this charge with devastating clarity. In Jeremiah 2:13, the Lord mourns two simultaneous evils: His people have abandoned Him, the fountain of living water, only to hew out broken cisterns that hold no water. When David confesses his ruin in Psalm 51:4, he acknowledges the vertical horror of all transgression: 'Against you, you only, have I sinned.' As Isaiah 1:2 decries sons who have rebelled against the Father who reared them, Samuel concludes in 1 Samuel 15:23 that rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption as iniquity and idolatry.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Romans 1:18-20 | God's wrath is revealed from heaven against the ungodliness of those who suppress divine truth. |
| Romans 1:21-23 | Humans exchanged the incorruptible glory of God for idols made in the likeness of mortal creatures. |
| Jeremiah 2:13 | God's people committed two evils: forsaking the fountain of living water and carving broken cisterns. |
| Psalms 51:4 | David confesses that ultimately his transgression was committed against God alone. |
| Isaiah 1:2 | The Lord declares that children He reared have openly rebelled against Him. |
| 1 Samuel 15:23 | Equates willful rebellion against God's direct command to the sin of divination and idolatry. |
Universal Reach
Every human mouth is silenced under sin's indictment.
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
Romans 3:19 (NIV)
God's law reveals total human guilt, stopping every boast before His righteous judgment seat.
The solemn purpose of God's righteous standard is that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world held accountable before Him (Romans 3:19). Paul marshals the testimony of the Psalms in Romans 3:9-12 to demonstrate that both Jews and Gentiles are trapped under sin, with none righteous, none understanding, and none seeking after God. Sin is an absolute, universal human condition.
Old Testament wisdom and history confirm this verdict without exception. Solomon observes in Ecclesiastes 7:20 that there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and never sins, a truth he prayed over the temple altar in 1 Kings 8:46. David pleads in Psalm 143:2, knowing that no one living is righteous before God's judgment. Galatians 3:22 therefore declares that Scripture imprisoned all things under sin, while Romans 11:32 shows God consigning all to disobedience so that He might display mercy. To claim innocence, John writes in 1 John 1:8-10, is to deceive ourselves and call God a liar.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Romans 3:9-12 | All people, Jews and Gentiles alike, are under sin, with none righteous or seeking God. |
| Romans 3:19 | The law speaks so every mouth is stopped and all the world stands guilty before God. |
| Ecclesiastes 7:20 | There is not a single righteous person on the earth who continually does good without sinning. |
| Galatians 3:22 | Scripture imprisoned everything under sin so that the promise through faith in Christ might be given. |
| Romans 11:32 | God consigned all people to disobedience so that He might extend mercy to all. |
| 1 John 1:8-10 | Claiming to be without sin deceives ourselves and makes God out to be a liar. |
| 1 Kings 8:46 | States during Solomon's prayer of dedication that there is no human being who does not sin. |
| Psalms 143:2 | Confesses that in God's holy sight no living person can be justified on their own merits. |
The Consequences
Sin pays its wage in death and eternal separation.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life inChrist Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 (NIV)
The contrast between sin's earned wage of death and God's free gift of eternal life anchors the gospel.
The verdict of heaven against rebellion is unbending: the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). What humanity earns by its transgression is total ruin—physical mortality, spiritual desolation, and eternal separation from the presence of God. This penalty was declared from Eden's threshold in Genesis 2:17, where the Lord warned that disobedience would bring certain death, a principle reiterated in Ezekiel 18:20: the soul who sins shall die.
Sin's destructive trajectory isolates the creature from its Maker. Isaiah 59:2 explains that our iniquities have built a wall of separation, hiding God's face so that He will not hear. In James 1:14-15, desire conceives, gives birth to sin, and sin brings forth death. Natural humanity is 'dead in trespasses and sins' and 'by nature children of wrath' (Ephesians 2:1-3), culminating in the dreadful reality of Revelation 20:14-15, where the unredeemed face the second death in the lake of fire. Yet Romans 6:23 does not end at the grave: the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Romans 6:23 | The earned wage of sin is death, contrasting with the free gift of eternal life in Christ. |
| Genesis 2:17 | God warned that eating from the forbidden tree of knowledge would surely bring death. |
| Isaiah 59:2 | Iniquities create a separation between people and God, hiding His face so He does not hear. |
| Ezekiel 18:20 | The soul who commits sin shall die under divine accountability. |
| James 1:14-15 | Evil desire conceives and gives birth to sin, which when fully grown brings forth death. |
| Revelation 20:14-15 | Those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire. |
| Ephesians 2:1-3 | Describes natural humanity as dead in trespasses and sins and by nature children of wrath. |
The Divine Remedy
Christ was revealed to remove sin and conquer darkness.
But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
1 John 3:5 (NIV)
Jesus took upon Himself our humanity specifically to take away our sins through His sinless life and sacrifice.
The entire biblical witness moves toward a singular, gracious climax: God has provided a perfect remedy for our sin in Jesus Christ. As 1 John 3:5 declares, Christ was revealed precisely to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. He did not come as a mere moral teacher offering advice for self-improvement; the Son of God entered human history on a rescue mission. In 1 John 3:8, Scripture adds that He appeared to destroy the works of the devil, undoing the ancient curse that Satan introduced into the world.
This deliverance required an unblemished substitute. In the ancient prophecy of Isaiah 53:5-6, the prophet foretold that the Messiah would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and that the Lord would lay upon Him the iniquity of us all. When Jesus began His public ministry, John the Baptist pointed directly to this fulfillment, crying out, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' (John 1:29).
At Calvary, the great exchange took place once for all. According to 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Christ did not merely sympathize with our plight; 1 Peter 2:24 affirms that He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, dying our death so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Hebrews 9:26 confirms that He has appeared once at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Because of this finished work, redemption is freely offered to all who turn to Him: 1 John 1:9 promises that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| 1 John 3:5 | The Son of God appeared in the flesh to take away sins, having no sin in Himself. |
| 1 John 3:8 | The Son of God was revealed to destroy the works and kingdom of the devil. |
| 2 Corinthians 5:21 | God made the sinless Christ to be sin for us so that we might become God's righteousness. |
| 1 Peter 2:24 | Jesus Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree that we might live to righteousness. |
| 1 John 1:9 | God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse anyone who confesses their sins. |
| Isaiah 53:5-6 | Prophesies that the Lord laid upon the Suffering Servant the iniquity of us all. |
| John 1:29 | Proclaims Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. |
| Hebrews 9:26 | States that Christ appeared once at the end of the ages to put away sin by His sacrifice. |
Origin and Nature
Sin originates in Eden and corrupts the inner heart.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
Romans 5:12 (NIV)
It links the historical fall in Eden to the universal reign of sin and physical and spiritual death.
To understand the reality of sin, one must trace its roots back to the historical rebellion in the garden of Eden. As Romans 5:12 explains, sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. The rupture was neither an accident nor an evolutionary defect, but a deliberate act of cosmic defiance recorded in Genesis 3:1-6. There, the serpent tempted the first humans to question God's truthfulness and goodness, leading Adam and Eve to transgress God's explicit boundary and seek autonomous wisdom apart from their Creator.
The consequence of that first transgression was catastrophe for the entire human race. Sin was not contained in Eden; it corrupted human nature itself. King David reflected on this inherited guilt and moral corruption, lamenting in Psalm 51:5, 'Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.' Human depravity is not merely learned through poor societal examples; it is an internal condition transmitted from our first father.
Scripture therefore diagnoses the human dilemma as an inner corruption of the soul. In Jeremiah 17:9, the prophet warns that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, beyond human power to fully cure or comprehend. Our external transgressions are simply the bitter fruit of this polluted spring. Jesus explicitly confirmed this reality in Mark 7:20-23, teaching that defilement comes not from without, but from within: out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, and pride. Sin is not just what we do; it is the natural bent of the fallen heart in rebellion against God.
| Passage | What it says |
|---|---|
| Genesis 3:1-6 | Narrates the original deception, doubt of God's word, and direct disobedience of Adam and Eve. |
| Romans 5:12 | Explains that sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, spreading to all. |
| Psalms 51:5 | Acknowledges that fallen human nature is brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin. |
| Jeremiah 17:9 | Affirms that the unregenerate human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. |
| Mark 7:20-23 | Teaches that sinful thoughts, adulteries, murders, and wickedness proceed from within human hearts. |
Where in the Bible
| Book | Passages |
|---|---|
| Genesis | 2 · Genesis 2:17, Genesis 3:1-6 |
| 1 Samuel | 1 · 1 Samuel 15:23 |
| 1 Kings | 1 · 1 Kings 8:46 |
| Psalms | 3 · Psalms 51:4, Psalms 143:2, Psalms 51:5 |
| Proverbs | 1 · Proverbs 24:9 |
| Ecclesiastes | 1 · Ecclesiastes 7:20 |
| Isaiah | 3 · Isaiah 1:2, Isaiah 59:2, Isaiah 53:5-6 |
| Jeremiah | 2 · Jeremiah 2:13, Jeremiah 17:9 |
| Ezekiel | 1 · Ezekiel 18:20 |
| Mark | 1 · Mark 7:20-23 |
| John | 1 · John 1:29 |
| Romans | 9 · Romans 3:23, Romans 14:23, Romans 1:18-20, Romans 1:21-23, Romans 3:9-12, Romans 3:19, Romans 11:32, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:12 |
| 2 Corinthians | 1 · 2 Corinthians 5:21 |
| Galatians | 1 · Galatians 3:22 |
| Ephesians | 1 · Ephesians 2:1-3 |
| Hebrews | 1 · Hebrews 9:26 |
| James | 2 · James 4:17, James 1:14-15 |
| 1 Peter | 1 · 1 Peter 2:24 |
| 1 John | 6 · 1 John 3:4, 1 John 5:17, 1 John 1:8-10, 1 John 3:5, 1 John 3:8, 1 John 1:9 |
| Revelation | 1 · Revelation 20:14-15 |
The story in order
- Creation and Fall (c. 4000 BC) · Genesis 3:1-6 · Sin enters the world through disobedience, corrupting humanity's heart.
- The Law Given (c. 1450 BC) · Romans 3:19 · The law reveals sin and stops every mouth, showing universal guilt.
- Rebellion in Israel (c. 700 BC) · Isaiah 1:2 · God's people rebel against Him, exchanging His glory for idols.
- David's Confession (c. 1000 BC) · Psalms 51:4 · Sin is ultimately an offense against God alone.
- Prophecy of the Remedy (c. 700 BC) · Isaiah 53:5-6 · The Suffering Servant will bear the iniquity of all.
- Christ's Incarnation (AD 1) · 1 John 3:5 · Jesus appears to take away sins, being sinless Himself.
- Christ's Sacrifice (AD 30) · 1 Peter 2:24 · Jesus bears our sins on the cross to bring righteousness.
- Apostolic Teaching (c. AD 95) · 1 John 1:8-10 · Denying sin deceives us; confession leads to forgiveness.
Sin as Rebellion and Idolatry
| Sinful Act | Description | Biblical Parallel | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebellion against God's command | Divination and idolatry | 1 Samuel 15:23 | 1 Samuel 15:23 |
| Forsaking God | Carving broken cisterns | Jeremiah 2:13 | Jeremiah 2:13 |
| Exchanging God's glory | For created idols | Romans 1:21-23 | Romans 1:21-23 |
The Two Wages: Sin vs. Christ
| Source | Result | Outcome | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sin | Earned wage | Death | Romans 6:23 |
| Christ | Free gift | Eternal life | Romans 6:23 |
Key words
- Sin (hamartia (ἁμαρτία))
- Any thought, word, deed, or omission that transgresses God's law and falls short of His glory. · Romans 3:23
- Lawlessness (anomia (ἀνομία))
- The fundamental nature of sin as a violation of God's divine law. · 1 John 3:4
- Rebellion (marad (מָרַד))
- Active defiance against God's authority and commands. · Isaiah 1:2
- Death (mavet (מָוֶת))
- The ultimate consequence of sin, both physical and eternal separation from God. · Romans 6:23
- Righteousness (dikaiosunē (δικαιοσύνη))
- The state of being in right standing with God, imputed through faith in Christ. · 2 Corinthians 5:21
Recognizing the gravity of sin does not drive believers to despair, but silences every boast and directs the soul straight to the Savior. The same God who exposes our transgression has provided His Son to bear our penalty and cleanse our unrighteousness. When we turn from self-justification to confess our sins, we find at the cross not condemnation, but full and free pardon.
40 passages, each cited once.
Scripture cited
- Romans 3:23
- Ecclesiastes 7:20
- Romans 3:9
- Galatians 3:22
- Romans 3:19
- 1 John 3:4-10
- Romans 6:23
- James 4:17
- Romans 1:18-23