Does sin exist?

I was on MSU’s campus yesterday to return some library books and play with Aidan at the fountain. As we were heading back to the car, I noticed an advertisement written in sidewalk chalk about a discussion/debate titled, “Does sin exist?” to be held on campus. At first I thought the question odd because the answer seems so obvious to me. Of course sin exists. By definition, sin is a violation. I can sin against God, against humanity, against nature, against another person, even against myself. To suggest that sin does not exist is to suggest that humanity has never committed a violation against anyone or anything—humanity, nature, or the self. I don’t think anyone, regardless of faith, can claim that.

Then I realized that the question may be misleading, and it actually refers solely to sins against God. In other words, a more accurate question would have been, “Is it possible to sin against God?” This question seems odd too because I think the answer turns on whether or not you believe in God: If you don’t, then how can you sin against something you don’t believe exists? If you do, how can an imperfect human race not sin against divine perfection?” In the end, I’m not sure what the question or the discussion/ debate was about. While I would like to go to the meeting, I have a family life that prevents such extracurricular activities, which is fine by me.

It did help me think about sin a little more. As a therapist, I see sin in the way family members treat each other and how they devalue and sabotage themselves, either overtly or covertly. That sin is more readily recognizable in a secular society, even if we don’t call it “sin”. What we typically call sin is more accurately sin against God. As a Christian, I understand that a particular type of sin isn’t simply an action; it can also be a state of being. I can sin against God, but that action is usually a result of being in a state of sin (i.e. state of separating me from God). When Christ took on the sin of the world, he asked God why God had forsaken him. He felt the huge chasm between himself and God. Today, when I am in a state of sin, as reflected by what I do and how I act, I have distanced myself spiritually from God. When I turn around, though, and acknowledge my distance, God closes that gap, and I am in God’s presence once more. That’s why I believe that understanding “sin” simply as an action underestimates the true power of sin and the true power of redemption.

To live a life free from sin means to live a life completely in the presence of God. Of course, we can’t be completely in God’s presence while we exist in an imperfect, human world. But with Christ (the only one to completely do so while on Earth) as our model, that is our goal.