For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. Romans 3:23 (NLT)
We can deduct two things from this passage very easily: Everyone has committed sin and in sinning we have not lived up to God’s standard. This brings us to ask two questions: What is sin? And what is God’s standard?
So what exactly is sin anyway? We can find the most basic definition of sin when we look at the origin of the word. The term “hamartia” (ham-ar-tee'-ah) is the Greek word that we translate sin; it simply put means to miss or fall short of the mark. It was once used to describe an archer who shot an arrow and missed the target; he sinned. Therefore, when we miss the mark of God’s standard it is sin.
But what is God’s standard? God’s standard is holiness: perfection. To make it a little simpler for us to understand He gave us the “Ten Commandments” (Exodus 20). I think we can all name at least a few of the commandments which are a guideline of God’s standard (i.e. do not kill, do not steal). When we break these commandments we are falling short of God’s glorious standard.
Now you may start to think that you have not killed anyone or ever committed adultery with someone’s wife; but Jesus taught that holding hatred in your heart was just like murder and looking on a woman with lust is the same as adultery (Matt. 5:21-22;27-28). But let us take it down a notch, have you told a lie? Even our idea of “a little white lie” is sin and breaks commandment number nine; thou shalt not lie. You may think that this is less evil than the others and so you are not as accountable, but you would be wrong; James says that whoever keeps all of God’s commandments except for one, is guilty of them all (James 2:10).
Take a single pained glass window for example; now imagine that the “Ten Commandments” are painted on that window. If you throw a baseball through the window and knock out just part of the commandments, can you say you just broke part of the window? No, the window is one piece and the whole thing will have to be replaced; you have broken the whole window. God’s standard is the same; if you mess up at all (and I assure you that you have) you are responsible for breaking the whole thing.
So sin is our missing the mark of God’s standard; breaking His perfect law.
