During this season of Lent we talk a lot about sin. But what exactly is sin? Is it something you do? Is it something with which you are born? Are there different categories of sin? Well, hopefully in the next few paragraphs, I will be able to answer some of these questions.

To find the answers to these questions, we only need to turn to one place and that is Scripture. In 1 John 3:4 we see John describing sin in this way: "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness."

Please understand that we are not simply talking about the law of the land, but the perfect, unadulterated law of God as he has set forth in the Old and New Testaments.

How did sin get into the world? Well, there are really two answers to this question. The first comes from 1 John 3:8 where it says, "He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning."

So sin came from the devil. On the other hand, as it says in Romans 5:12, "Sin entered the world through one man." How many kinds of sin are there? There are two kinds of sin, original sin and actual sin.

What is original sin? Original sin is that total corruption of our whole human nature that we have inherited from Adam through our parents. There is one verse especially that tells us this straight out.

Psalm 51:5 says, "I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."

There are others that hint at this in one way or another. Romans 5:12 tells us that, "Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." John 3:6 tells us that "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."

This original sin has brought guilt and condemnation to all people, has left everyone without true fear and love of God, and causes everyone to commit all kinds of actual sins.

Actual sin is every act against a commandment of God in thoughts, desires, words or deeds. This is clearly taught in Matthew 15:19 where it says, "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." It is also seen in James 4:17 where James tells us that, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

The way we confess it at St. John's Lutheran Church is that we have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. There are many actual sins that you commit each day, some without even knowing it.

The best verse is 1 John 1:8 where John tells us, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

You can see then, that once you look into the perfect word of God, you know that no one, not one person, can escape the ravages of sin. We are all sin damaged.

Yet, the next verse, 1 John 1:9 gives us peace, comfort and joy, because it also plainly tells us, "If we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Today I commend to you God's word as you search it out for the truth in your life. There is no hiding from God. It is time to look at yourself with all honesty and reality as you are a sinner. It is then time to look at Jesus for what he is: your Savior! Have peace, in Christ you are saved!