We sin knowingly and unknowingly, intentionally and unintentionally—and that is our nature (the sin nature). This is why we need Christ in our lives to change this nature. Knowing what is right and not doing it is sin—it could be anything at all.
James 4:17 – “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”
For instance, Adam and Eve knew the right thing to do concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they chose not to obey. Instead, they did what they were told not to do. They sinned knowingly.
Sin is also lawlessness. A lawless person is uncontrolled, not subject to law, or one who goes contrary to law. Lawlessness is a state of being unrestrained by law or living in disorder.
1 John 3:4 – “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”
It is in lawlessness that we call evil “good” and good “evil.”
Isaiah 5:20 – “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness…”
Also,
1 John 5:17 – “All unrighteousness is sin…”
Unrighteousness means anything sinful or wicked. Everything that does not conform to God’s holy law and is not right in His eyes is sin.
Sin comes in many forms, degrees, and names—but in the end, they are all sin. Not all sins are listed in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t sinful. In Galatians 5:19–21, Paul listed some works of the flesh, ending with “and the like” because he couldn’t list every possible sin. So any form of unrighteousness, lawlessness, or even knowing what is right and not doing it is sin.
Paul mentioned sins like fornication, adultery, witchcraft, murder, drunkenness, envy, etc. But Adam and Eve didn’t commit any of these; they simply disobeyed God’s command by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—yet their disobedience was still sin.
Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
A single act of disobedience brought sin, death, and suffering into the world—even for those not yet born—because sin runs through the bloodline. Sin may take any form, but no matter how frequent or how small it seems, sin is sin.
All our suffering in this world is a result of that one decision. Adam and Eve didn’t commit murder or fornication—they simply ate from the tree. Just one act brought about curses, sorrow, pain, wickedness, and the loss of eternal life and God’s presence. That tells you how seriously God views sin.
Sin is destructive. Sin is death. Sin is suffering. If you truly understand what happened in Eden, you would never even think of sinning. Whether you sin once or 1,000 times, the consequences are great. All suffering—disease, war, sexual immorality, evil—came from one sin. Sin should be something we run from. Don’t stare at it, don’t entertain it—flee from it. The only thing sin offers is suffering, death, and hellfire.
Everyone born into this world is a sinner by nature, except the Son of Man—Jesus—who was born of the Spirit.
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
You don’t have to commit sin to be a sinner. Being born with a sinful nature is enough. All of this came from one act of sin. Along with sin came death, suffering, and every evil imaginable. We lost immortality and eternal life—all because of sin.
You will sin even if you don’t want to—because it’s your nature, unless you’re born again. When you’re born of the Spirit, you receive a new conscience. That’s why Paul said in Ephesians 4:22 to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former way of life and is corrupted through deceitful desires.”
From Genesis to Revelation, the one thing that separates man from God is sin. It’s not that God separates Himself from us—but our own sins create a barrier.
Isaiah 59:2 – “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”
Sin is not limited to murder or fornication. Knowing the right thing to do and not doing it is also sin (James 4:17).
Adam and Eve sinned once—and it resulted in multiple curses:
- Genesis 3:16 – Severe pain in childbirth
- Genesis 3:17–19 – The ground cursed, painful labor, survival through hard toil
One sin brought about all of this. It shows how much God abhors sin. Sin has consequences in this life—suffering, curses, and death—and if we die in sin, it leads to eternal separation from God.
Sin affects the flesh, the soul, and the spirit. It has both short-term and eternal consequences. Either you kill sin, or sin will destroy you.
Wherever sin exists, there is separation from God. And where there is sin, there must also be punishment. Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden. They were not just forgiven and allowed to stay. The same applies to the angels who sinned—they were cast from Heaven to Hell.
2 Peter 2:4 – “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment…”
