What is SIN?

The Armstrong Churches of God all love to quote a passage from the first epistle of John as their answer to the question: "What is sin?" Now, while I would agree with their characterization of this scripture as providing us with an excellent definition of what constitutes sin, I would also assert that they completely misinterpret what is revealed there!

In the third chapter of I John, we read: "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness" (I John 3:4, ESV), OR "sin is the transgression of the law" (as it is rendered in the King James Version). According to the ACOGs, the law being referenced here is the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament). Hence, for them, any violation of the commandments of Torah is a sin.

Now, this interpretation ignores both the context of this passage within John's epistle and a whole lot of other passages of Scripture to arrive at that conclusion (that it refers to Torah). In the first chapter of the epistle, we read: "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." (I John 1:5-7, ESV here and throughout)

Likewise, in the second chapter, we read: "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." (I John 2:1-11)

Did you catch that? John was referring to Christ's summary of the Law referenced in the Gospels. Do you remember the two Great Commandments? Jesus said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40) More particularly, John was referencing that second commandment. Why? Because he knew that Christ had also said: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) As Paul told the saints at Rome: "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:8-10)

Now, returning to the third chapter of John's epistle, we are ready to take a look at the immediate context of the above referenced passage (I John 3:4). Immediately preceding that passage, we read: "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure." (I John 3:1-3) Do we begin to discern John's theme? For John, righteousness is inextricably connected to LOVE!

Likewise, in the verses which follow the ACOG prooftext, John speaks of Jesus: "You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." (I John 3:5-8) In other words, JESUS is the standard of righteousness for the Christian!

Continuing in the epistle, John returns to his theme. We read: "For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." (I John 3:11-18)

Finally, toward the end of the chapter, John summarized: "And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us." (I John 3:23-24)

Then, in the very next chapter, we read: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." (I John 4:7-12)

The chapter concludes with this admonition from John: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother." (I John 4:18-21) So, according to John, even the first Great Commandment finds fulfillment in this love for each other!

The theme finds its fulfillment in the fifth chapter of the epistle. We read there: "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome." (I John 5:1-3) Hence, we can clearly see that the commandments which John was talking about was Christ's summary of Torah into two Great Commandments: the Law of Love! Thus, according to John, sin is a failure to love one's brothers and sisters in Christ and the people who desperately need to come to Christ! In other words, for the Christian, sin is NOT defined by breaking the terms of God's covenant with Israel (as defined in Torah).