If you can put truths from the Bible into simple enough words to help a young child understand, you’ll also help yourself understand! When our kids were young we were using a catechism for young children to stimulate their thinking concerning important concepts that we wanted them to understand. One of the questions that we reviewed was: “What is sin?” Sounds straightforward, doesn’t it? What would be your answer?  Well, the answer we taught our children is:

“Any thought, word or deed that breaks God’s law….”

Let’s take that answer in pieces and think about it.

Deeds

This is the easiest piece to acknowledge. A deed is something we do. Some deeds that we do are wrong. They are not wrong merely because they hurt us or hurt someone else. They are wrong because they break God’s law. In the Ten Commandments we are told not to murder, steal, etc. If we do those things they are deeds which break God’s law. They are sin.

Words

We can sin in our speech as well as our actions. In Ephesians 4:29 we are told, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” When our words cut, hurt, convey untruth, tear down, and just don’t give grace to the ones who hear, then we are sinning with our words.

Thoughts

Here is the tough part to come to grips with - our thoughts. We can sin, and do sin, in our thoughts. God sees our thoughts. “Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, you know it all….Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” Psalm 139:4,23-24.

God wants our innermost being, which certainly includes our thoughts, to be clean. “Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.” Psalm 51:6

God instructs us as to what our thoughts are to be fixed on. “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8

We certainly do sin with our thoughts.

Now what?

So, when we think about the fact that God counts wrong thoughts, words, and deeds as sin, then we begin to realize how bad off we are.

Before I get to the solution of this situation, let me just say that we have only begun looking at the definition of sin! The little child’s catechism answer isn’t finished yet. But, for that, we’ll wait until the next time!