What Is Sin? Understanding How We Miss the Mark (Proverbs 1:8-19)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Do you struggle with sin?

God created you to glorify and enjoy him forever. The easiest way to break your satisfying relationship with God is to sin. When we sin, it is a stab to the very heart of God and the number one way we create barriers in our relationship with him.

There are two chief ways to define sin, one from a broad perspective and the other from a narrower perspective.

Broad Definition – In its most general sense, to sin is to “miss the mark.” Picture an archery range. Just as a shooter can miss his or her target, sin in a person’s life is missing God’s intended goal. It is any violation of any law put forth by God (1 John 3:4). This includes what we know and do not know.

Narrow Definition – From a narrower point of view, sin is intentionally violating God's known will for our lives. We know what God has said about this act or decision, and we still choose to go against what he has commanded.

Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). You were born with a desire to sin. Sin originated with Satan and came into this world as a result of one man’s choice. Romans 5:12 says sin and death entered into the world because of Adam, the first man ever created. Sin is serious because it separates us from God.

Proverbs 1:8-19 says,

⁸ Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,
⁹ for they will be a garland of favor on your head
and pendants around your neck.
¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you,
don’t be persuaded.
¹¹ If they say—“Come with us!
Let’s set an ambush and kill someone.
Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun!
¹² Let’s swallow them alive, like Sheol,
whole, like those who go down to the Pit.
¹³ We’ll find all kinds of valuable property
and fill our houses with plunder.
¹⁴ Throw in your lot with us,
and we’ll all share the loot”—
¹⁵ my son, don’t travel that road with them
or set foot on their path,
¹⁶ because their feet run toward evil
and they hurry to shed blood.
¹⁷ It is useless to spread a net
where any bird can see it,
¹⁸ but they set an ambush to kill themselves;
they attack their own lives.
¹⁹ Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly;
it takes the lives of those who receive it.

To sin is to miss the mark of God’s intended desire for our lives.

Commentator Bruce Waltke states, “Sinful men denotes those who miss the mark of God’s standard of doing what is right and just and fair and so wrong their community.”[1]

A Meditation to PRAY

Praise | Thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for this warning in your Word to guard against sin. 

Release | I release my thoughts and ideas about right and wrong. I want to do life your way, not mine.

Ask | Show me areas of unknown sin in my life and give me strength to surrender strongholds of known sin to you. Purify my heart.

Yield | I surrender my life to you. I give up the “right” to act in ways that make me feel good or justified. I want to be conformed to your image.

A Challenge to Act Like Christ  

The test of your hatred for sin is your readiness to exterminate it from your life. Do you hate sin? Do you hate it enough that you will clear out those gray areas of your life? Areas that only God knows about?

As Ray Ortlund notes,

“We grow not in isolation but in community.”[2]

And Proverbs 1 teaches us just how harmful sinful company can be. When we surround ourselves with people who love and enjoy sin, we’ll likely assume many of their ideas. But when we surround ourselves in community with those who love and serve Jesus, we position ourselves to be conformed to the image of Christ.

*Unless you specify otherwise, comments and questions you ask may be featured in upcoming podcast episodes.

[1] Waltke, Bruce K.,De Silva, Ivan D. V.. Proverbs: A Shorter Commentary (Kindle Locations 2092-2093). Eerdmans. Kindle Edition.

[2] ESV Gospel Transformation Bible