Sin isn't something most people talk about very much. Many churches don't talk much about it either. But the Bible tells us that everyone sins, and that every sin earns us the death penalty (Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23). What is sin and why is it so bad?

Some think of sin as what we want to do but aren't allowed to do. But really it's what God says we shouldn't do because it will hurt us and others. God hates sin because it's like an evil disease that will ultimately make His children suffer and die. God is our Creator, and He knows what is good for us and what will bring harm.

You see, for eternity God has lived the give way of life—He is love. His way of life has been recorded in the Bible as God's law—a set of eternal principles that can help us see how to love the way He loves.

But sin is the opposite. It's lawlessness—breaking God's laws (1 John 3:4)—and it leads to death (Romans 6:23). Murder, sexual sin, stealing, lying, warping the way God wants to be worshipped—breaking any of God's laws destroys the connections of love He wants us to have with Him and each other.

For further study, please read our Bible study aid booklet The Ten Commandments.