what is sin?

Answer 1

To commit sin is to willfully disobey God's commandments or to fail to act righteously despite a knowledge of the truth (see James 4:17).

The Lord has said that He "cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" (D&C 1:31). Sin results in the withdrawal of the Holy Ghost. It makes the one who sins unable to dwell in the presence of Heavenly Father, for "no unclean thing can dwell with God" (1 Nephi 10:21).

Other than Jesus Christ, each person who has ever lived on earth has broken commandments or failed to act according to knowledge of the truth. The Apostle John taught: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, [Jesus Christ] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8–9). Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, each person can repent and be forgiven of these sins.

Answer 2

Unbelief.
Eve discounted one word which God had spoken. Most everything else that people call sin is a symptom. Eve's sin, as with all, was unbelief -- eating the apple was the result. Now people call the results (disobedience) sin and can no longer discern the cause.

You don't sin by smoking -- you smoke because you are a sinner, an unbeliever. Wicked is the doing. Unrighteousness is the thinking about the doing. The result or symptoms of sin are most always wicked; a perversion of something good.

Smoking is wickedness as it violates the body, God's temple. We do wicked things because we are sinners and we are sinners because we do not believe God's word. If you know what is right but do it any way it is called iniquity.

This is a simple but fairly tight summary of human sin. If you grasp it you can do surgery on most of the answers here and get a clean picture of your own position and response.
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It is best to stick with scriptural definitions as theological concepts and dogmas change over time. There are more than a dozen concepts of sin held forth among various Christian churches and those have changed over time. The subject is so confused that the teachings about sin are often perverted in themselves.

In summary: Disobedience and unrighteousness are the results of sin and sin is the result of unbelief. This seemingly minor flaw in understanding can cause you a lifetime of personal defeat and maybe more.

Answer 3

Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). Sin had its beginning with Lucifer, the “shining star, the son of the morning,” the most beautiful and powerful of the angels. Not content to be all this, he desired to be the most high God and that was his downfall and the beginning of sin (Isaiah 14:12-15). Renamed Satan, he brought sin to the human race in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Adam and Eve with the same enticement, “you shall be like God.” Genesis 3 describes their rebellion against God and against His commandments. Since that time, sin has been passed down through all the generations of mankind and we, Adam’s descendants, have inherited sin from him. Romans 5:12 tells us that through Adam, sin entered the world and so death was passed on to all men because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23

Answer 4

if we talk about the definition of sin in the bible it is a transgression of the law (or the word) of God many people wonder what about the people who do not even know what is contain in the bible, how could they transgress it, but the bible has a statement about this: In Rome 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Rom 2:12 for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
Rom 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) “ In this verse it is clear that even though the person did not know what is contained in the law but God put a law on their heart ( for example; Bible said “Deut 5:17 Thou shalt not kill. Even though you didn’t know this verse, you know deep in your heart that it is wrong to kill someone)

The contributing factor to make a person a sinner is his willingness to do it and not to do it (committing and omitting) like in the verses “Jam 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” you will see in this verse that the very moment you know the good thing you must do and you willingly refuse it to do it not you are already committing a sin (so this is a perfect example of omitting and committing: you omitting to do good and committing not to do the good that you knew)




There are level of sin and it is fall into two category, it was written in “1Jonh:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
1Jonh:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

This is the punishment that will be given to the sinners.
1Jo 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Answer 5

Sin is: the breaking of any one ten commandments, sexual immortality and drinking to drunkenness.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10:

9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Answer 6

To sin is to trangress one of God's laws. Usually that transgression needs to be knowing. In other words if you knew something was wrong and you did it anyway, then you sinned. If you didn't know any better, then it is still a transgression because God's laws don't change, but it is not a sin because you didn't know any better.
That is for a sin of commission. There is also a sin of ommission. "To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin". In other words if we fail to do what we know we should do, then we have sinned as well.
To become clean before God, we not only need to refrain from breaking a law, but we also need to discipline ourselves to do what is right to love God and our neighbors.

Answer 7

Missing the mark. Anything other than what God wanted you to do in that moment is sin.

Answer 8

Sin is nothing! There R only these actions which help survival and those which destroy it!
Sin was a made up device, by priests to black mail people!
ciao...john-john.-

Answer 9

Simply put, . . .it's disobedience to God's. When we refuse to obey God's written Words or His vocal commands, as mentioned numerous times in the Bible, it is accounted unto us as SIN! Just as in the case of Adam and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden . . .

Answer 10

A man-made concept used to describe acts considered to be wrong from the point of view of the religions they created. It also changes over time. Do you really think that people who lived 1500 years ago would not consider almost everything we do today a "sin"?