Bigger Than Bad Habits

Understanding the biblical definition of sin

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

What do you believe about sin? What are your thoughts on human nature? Many people don’t want to talk about sin because it’s negative and makes people feel bad about themselves. There are even some preachers—I use that term loosely—that purposefully avoid talking about sin.

But talking about sin is necessary because it’s directly related to the gospel message and our standing before a holy and righteous God. We shouldn’t be afraid to talk about sin. Furthermore, when we do have conversations about it, we need to define it biblically.

“[Sin] is bigger than bad habits,” Odd Thomas of Beautiful Euology rapped, “it’s a matter of man seeking for God’s spot following in same pattern as Adam.” The primary reason people are hesitant to talk much about sin is because, in the words of the late RC Sproul, “We don’t know who we are and we don’t know who God is.”

Sin is bigger than bad habits. It’s more serious than just trying to be better. It’s more critical than failing at a New Year’s Resolution. Sin, at its core—to borrow from Sproul again—is “cosmic treason.” It’s a hell-worthy offense. Sin destroys, decays, and decimates. So if we talk about sin, we must do so the way God speaks of it.

This is why evangelism is critical. We’re not telling people the Osteenian lie of how to live your best life now. We’re not explaining to others how they can improve in this or that area. We’re proclaiming to them their need not for new habits, but new life! Spiritually dead people don’t need 10 new steps for breaking bad habits; no, they need the gospel message preached to their spiritually dead hearts to become a new person—then everything else follows after that.

At its core, defining sin as mere bad habits is conflating law and gospel. Christianity is not merely about breaking bad habits—though it’s certainly not less. An atheist, a Hindu, a Buddhist can break bad habits and still go to Hell. The ability to break bad habits happens after Christ has invaded our hearts. Some habits—or sinful inclinations—disappear quickly. When God saved me, my foul mouth went away nearly overnight. But sometimes we do have sinful habits that hang around. We kill those temptations by the power of the Spirit—not ourselves. Sin, again, is bigger than just breaking bad habits. It’s an offense to God.

“We’re not sinners because we sin,” Sproul wrote. “We sin because we’re sinners.”

The former portrays sin as something we just do and feeds into the “bad habit” narrative; the latter shows us that sin is our nature (before Christ), and the problem is far worse than mere bad habits. It’s much worse than the things we do, but who we are as flawed, sinful humans.

Of course, the cross of Christ rectifies this problem. The Spirit invades are sin-stricken hearts to bring us new life! Sin being more than bad habits is a massive problem, but it’s not bigger than God’s grace. It’s not mightier than the mercy and love and forgiveness of our Lord. It’s not stronger than the sovereign grace of God to quicken our hearts that once loved sin to now love righteousness.

Yes, it’s important to acknowledge that sin is far worse than mere bad habits. Sin is what separates us from God—but Jesus brings us back to God through redemption only if we repent and believe. Let’s be thankful today for the strength of God’s grace and mercy to overcome our sin problem.