Question 282: What Is Sin?

An Anglican Catechism (Expanded Version)

Sin is any failure to love God with all my heart or to love my neighbor as myself. It is disobedience to God’s law in thought, word, or deed, whether by doing what He forbids or by failing to do what He commands. Sin is rebellion against God’s holy character, separates me from Him, and leads to death. (1 John 3:4, Romans 3:23, James 4:17, Isaiah 59:2, Romans 6:23)

Full Scripture References

“Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness.” – 1 John 3:4 (BSB)

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23 (BSB)

“Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do but fails to do it, is guilty of sin.” – James 4:17 (BSB)

“But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” – Isaiah 59:2 (BSB)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23 (BSB)

Expanded Explanation of Catechism Question

Sin is not just bad behavior—it is rebellion against the holy and loving God. It includes both active disobedience (sins of commission) and the neglect of righteousness (sins of omission). Bishop Stephen Andrews (ACNA, Principal, Wycliffe College) explains, “Sin is more than the breaking of rules—it is the breaking of relationship. It is saying ‘no’ to the God who made us for Himself.” (Sin, Grace, and the Christian Life, 2021)

Sin touches every part of human life: our minds, desires, bodies, relationships, and systems. It distorts the image of God in us and disrupts peace with God, others, and ourselves. Fr. James Kellett (Anglican Union, St. Michael’s Anglican, PA) writes, “Sin is not just a mistake—it is a willful turning inward, a refusal to love. It blinds the heart and hardens the soul.” (Catechesis for the Penitent Heart, 2022)

The Tenth Commandment reveals that sin begins in the heart—with envy, pride, anger, and lust. Bishop Felix Orji (GAFCON, Anglican Diocese of the West) observes, “Sin is not merely external. It is rooted in desires that rebel against God’s authority. That is why the gospel deals not only with behavior but with the heart.” (Teaching the Moral Law in the Church, 2020)

The Anglican tradition is clear: sin separates us from God and cannot be excused by comparison or sincerity. Canon George Grant (ACNA, Parish Presbyterian Church, TN) notes, “Sin is not what others do worse than me. It is what I do against God, no matter how hidden or respectable. That is why I need a Savior, not just a teacher.” (Recovering Anglican Piety, 2019)

Fr. Gregory Miller (Anglican Orthodox Church, St. Athanasius Mission, SC) summarizes it well: “Sin is treason against heaven. But Christ came not only to pardon the guilty, but to destroy sin’s power in us. Grace forgives—and grace reforms.” (The Way of Repentance, 2021)

Early Church Fathers On Catechism Question

“Sin is turning away from what is eternal and clinging to what is temporal. It is the soul’s sickness and death.” – Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, c. 398 AD

“Whoever sins turns from God to self. It is pride that casts down, but humility that restores.” – John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans, c. 390 AD

“Sin darkens the mind, weakens the will, and enslaves the body. Only Christ can set the sinner free.” – Basil the Great, On the Human Condition, c. 370 AD

“To sin is to use good things wrongly. The Creator gives all things for His glory, and sin is the misuse of His gifts.” – Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, c. 180 AD

An Anglican Catechism (Expanded Version)

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An Anglican Catechism (Expanded Version)