What is SIN?
- According to the internet dictionary, sin (as a noun) is “an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law”.
- According to Dictionary.com … sin is “transgression of divine law” or “any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle”.
- Interestingly, OxfordDictionaries.com does not give a definition for sin.
What does the Bible say about Sin?
- Most people tend to think of sin as the transgression of the law (God’s Law). The Bible, however, reveals sin as so much more.
- We sin by commission – doing something that is known to be wrong.
- We sin by omission – not doing what we know should be done.
- We sin by thinking the wrong thing.
- We sin when we do something we are not sure is right.
- In short, sin is anything that causes one to miss the mark and/or fall short of the glory of God.
- … and a person can sin in thought, word or deed.
What is the end result of sin?
- According to the Bible, the wages of sin is death.
- That means that death is what Man deserves, has earned, has worked for, because of his sins.
- Given that sin is the transgression of God’s law, then we could say that sin is the penalty for sin.
- PLEASE NOTE, however, that the “death” that is the payment for sin is NOT the first death — which it is appointed unto men to experience — BUT the second death, which the judgement, mentioned in HEBREWS, can lead to.
- Read on to find out more about the second death.
What is death?
- Death is the cessation of life.
Why is death possible?
- Early in Genesis, we are told that God formed Man of the dust of the ground and breathed into him, causing him to become a living being.
- Not long afterwards, however, it becomes clear that the life Adam had been given was only temporary.
- What the verse makes clear is that Man could die. God had made Man so that he could stop living.
- God had given him a life that was temporary … Man was made subject to death.
What does the Bible say about Death?
- Death is natural.
- Death is to be expected.
What was the cause of death?
- Death was caused by sin.
- Death is the payment for sin … It is what we earned/deserve because of sinning.
If the wages of sin is not the first death (death, as we know it), which death is?
- The wages for sin is what is mentioned in the Bible as “the second death”.
What is the difference between the first death and the second death?
- The first death is cessation of life that all people are “appointed” to experience (when they die).
- The second death is a second cessation of life that a person can experience, as a result of the “judgement” (mentioned in HEBREWS). That “judgement” is God’s judgement on sin … or, as ROMANS tells us, the “wages” (payment earned or deserved) for sin.
What does the Bible tell us about the second death?
- Not every person will experience the second death.
- The second death will not affect those who come up in the first resurrection.
- The second death is the Lake of Fire … or, better yet, consignment to the Lake of Fire is the second death.
How does death affect our relationship with God?
- Death, as caused by sin, is the way that our sins and iniquities separated us from God.
Is death final?
- NO … because there will be a resurrection (return to life) of all who die.
- The Bible also speaks of a second death, which means that the initial (first) death would not have been final.
Will there ever be an end to death?
- There is coming a time when death will be no more.
If you’d like to read Bible passages that support the answers given above, please go to the page on Sin and Death.