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While we can be affected by sin, the Bible says that all sin is against God. King David, after committing adultery with another man's wife, getting her pregnant and then having the woman's husband killed so that he would not find out, prayed to God "against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight" Psalm 51:4. So, while sin can affect people, all sin is against God.
So what is sin? Have you sinned?
Sin is breaking God's Law - The Ten Commandments. So let's take a look at the Law of God (Exodus 20) to see how you will do on the day of judgment:
1. "You shall have no other gods before me" - Have you ever worshiped any God other than the true God Almighty? Have you broken this Law?
2. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" - Have you ever made an idol out of anything? Remember, this idol is not just something you make with your hands. It can also be something you make with your mind. If you imagine God as a god who would not punish sin, or as a god who does not care about what you do, then you are making an idol in your mind. Have you broken this Law?
3. "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." - Have you ever used God's name as a cuss word? Have you ever used the holy name of Jesus Christ or God to express anger, frustration, fear or anything other than as a way to express them in a way that is glorifying to God? Have you broken this Law?
4. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" - Do you keep the Sabbath day holy? Have you broken this Law?
5. "Honor your father and your mother" - Have you always honored your father and your mother? Have you broken this Law?
6. "You shall not murder" - The commandments are not limited to the acts they describe. God is so sensitive to sin that He even sees hate as murder. 1 John 3:15 says "everyone who hates his brother is a murderer". Have you broken this Law?
7. "You shall not commit adultery" - Just as before, the commandments are not limited to the acts they describe. In Matthew 5:28 Jesus says that "everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you broken this Law?
8. "You shall not steal" - Have you ever taken something that did not belong to you? It does not matter how much it was worth. The question is one of "yes" or "no" because it is about the action, not the value of what was taken. Have you broken this Law?
9. "You shall not bear false witness" - Have you ever lied before? Have you ever broken this Law?
10. "You shall not covet" - Have you ever desired to have something that was not yours? Have you broken this Law?
If we we break even one of these Laws, we are guilty of breaking all of them. The book of James says "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10).
Further, even our BEST DEEDS are worthless to God. Isaiah 64:6 says "all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment." This reference here to polluted garment is referring to a garment that is so polluted that it has to be burned. A polluted garment is a cloth that was wrapped around the skin of someone with leprosy. Because leprosy is contagious, the cloth could not be washed or reused. It had to be burned and destroyed. >>
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