“Sin is not what you do. Sin is who you are in relation to God as you do it.”
— A God's Great Love and Mercy in Making Himself Known to His Creation Principle
I. Introduction: What Makes an Act Sinful?
We live in a world obsessed with behavior. Christian discipleship is often reduced to moral policing. Do this, avoid that. Obey these rules, keep those commandments. And while obedience matters, the assumption that actions are inherently moral or immoral is a profound misunderstanding of how sin actually works.
- Is sex sinful? It depends.
- Is killing wrong? It depends.
- Is giving to the poor holy? It depends.
Scripture doesn’t divide the world into good and bad actions. It divides the world into two kinds of people:
Those whose wills are submitted to God’s revelation, and those whose wills are autonomous, seeking to define good and evil on their own terms.
Therefore:
All sin is an intentional elevation of man’s will over God’s will.
All holiness is a conscious submission of man’s will to God’s Word.
The moral status of any act derives not from the act itself, but from the will’s relationship to divine authority.
II. Genesis 3: The Birth of Epistemic Rebellion
The first sin in history was not about fruit. It was about authority. When the serpent told Eve, “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5), he was not offering an obviously evil act. He was inviting her to redefine reality on her own terms.
The rebellion occurred the moment Eve decided that the fruit looked good in her eyes, rather than trusting God’s definition of what was good (Genesis 3:6). She acted not out of ignorance, but out of a will that chose autonomy over revelation.
- The action—eating—was not inherently sinful.
- The intent—trusting self over God—was sin in its purest form.
This is the essence of sin: epistemic rebellion. The desire to know, define, or do anything apart from the Creator’s wisdom.
III. Cain and Abel: Two Sacrifices, One Will in Rebellion
In Genesis 4, Cain and Abel both bring sacrifices. Both perform the same outward ritual, but only Abel’s is accepted.
Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.”
Genesis 4:4–5 says, “The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.”
Why? Because Abel’s act flowed from a will that trusted God, while Cain’s did not.
Even before Cain murdered Abel, God said, “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7). The sin was already present—not in the killing, but in the willful rejection of God’s word and the resentment in Cain’s heart.
The external act of sacrifice was amoral. The moral content came entirely from the heart posture behind it.
IV. The Mosaic Law: More Than External Code
It’s often assumed that the Law of Moses dealt with mere behavior, and grace brought inward change. But even under the Mosaic covenant, God judged the will.
- “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17) is a law about inward desire.
- “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:5) is a law about the orientation of the will.
- “Circumcise the foreskin of your heart” (Deuteronomy 10:16) shows that ritual alone was never sufficient.
Psalm 19:14 prays, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight.”
Even ritual offerings became sin when the will was misaligned. Isaiah 1:13 says, “Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to Me… I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.”
The people were doing the right actions, but in autonomy, not in faith. Therefore, God rejected them. The action alone had no moral value.
V. Murder vs. Killing: Same Act, Different Will
Exodus 20:13 says, “You shall not murder.” But God also commands killing in other contexts:
Genesis 9:6 – “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.”
Numbers 35:19 – “The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death.”
Romans 13:4 – “He does not bear the sword in vain, for he is the servant of God.”
In all three, the physical outcome is the same—someone dies. But the moral content is different. What makes the difference is the intention and the source of authority.
Murder is an act of autonomous human judgment—taking life based on personal will.
Justice is an act carried out under divine authorization—delegated authority from God.
Manslaughter, described in Numbers 35:22–25, lacks intent altogether.
The act of killing is amoral. What makes it righteous or sinful is the posture of the will toward God’s Word.
VI. Jesus’ Teaching: Sin Begins and Ends in the Will
Jesus does not raise the moral bar in the Sermon on the Mount. He clarifies that sin was never about the act, but always about the will behind the act.
- “You have heard, ‘You shall not murder’… But I say… whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” (Matthew 5:21–22)
- “You have heard, ‘You shall not commit adultery’… But I say… everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28)
Jesus exposes the root: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery…” (Matthew 15:19).
Sin is not behavioral error. It is metaphysical rebellion—an act of the will that denies the supremacy of God’s wisdom and places the self at the center.
VII. Paul’s Theology: The Will in Rebellion
Paul is entirely consistent with this. He defines sin not as disobedience to rules, but as the suppression of truth and the exchange of God’s glory for human autonomy.
Romans 1:21 – “Although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him…”
Romans 1:25 – “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie…”
This is not moral confusion. It is deliberate self-exaltation. Sin is the epistemic and volitional choice to dethrone God and enthrone the creature.
Romans 14:23 clinches the argument: “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
If an action—even a neutral or good one—is not sourced in a will that trusts God, it is sin.
For Paul, sin is not what you do. It is who you trust and whose wisdom you follow in doing it.
VIII. Why Actions Are Amoral
Actions are vessels. They are not moral in themselves. What determines their moral status is the will behind them.
Sex is holy when it follows God’s design within marriage. The same act is sin when it asserts human desire over divine design.
Killing is justice when done under divine authorization. The same act is murder when done apart from it.
Prayer is worship when it flows from humility. It is self-righteousness when it flows from pride.
Even eating, if done without faith, is sin (Romans 14:23).
The act does not carry meaning. The posture of the soul does. The will makes the worship. The intent makes the act.
IX. Christ, the Perfectly Submitted Will
Jesus was accused of sin repeatedly. He broke Sabbath traditions, disrupted temple commerce, and claimed divine authority. But He was sinless—not because He avoided controversy, but because His will was never autonomous.
- John 5:19 – “The Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing.”
- John 6:38 – “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.”
- Luke 22:42 – “Not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Jesus submitted at every point. He never once moved independently of the Father’s revelation. He did not simply obey rules; He obeyed the relationship. His entire incarnate life was the reversal of Adam’s sin.
Where Adam asserted self-rule, Christ said, “Your Word is truth.” (John 17:17)
Where Eve grasped for wisdom, Christ delighted in obedience.
Where Cain brought a false offering, Christ offered Himself in perfect trust.
The perfection of Jesus was not behavioral compliance. It was perfect creaturely posture. The submitted will, the obedient Son, the true man.
X. Conclusion: The Creator–Creature Distinction in All Moral Judgment
Morality cannot be located in the body. It lives in the will.
Sin is not a behavior. It is the soul’s orientation toward God—an assertion of autonomy.
Holiness is not outward compliance. It is the voluntary death of self-rule and the joy of submission to God’s Word.
The difference is not in what is done, but in who reigns as Lord in the doing.
Jesus came not to make us better people in action. He came to restore the Creator–creature distinction by breaking the proud will and raising up children who live by faith.
XI. Reflection
- Do I define sin by appearances or by the orientation of my heart?
- Where am I trusting my own wisdom while appearing obedient?
- Have I repented of autonomy, or merely adjusted my behavior?
- Am I living in active submission to God’s Word—or selective agreement?
- Have I been crucified with Christ, not just in guilt, but in will?
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)
That is the death tof autonomy. That is the beginning of holiness.
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