Sin

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Jun 12, 1907

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 33, No. 24.

"Sin."—The root meaning of "sin" in both the Hebrew and Greek is to "miss the mark," to fail. The thought is presented in Rom. 3:23: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." God's glory is His goodness, His righteousness, His character. Ex. 33:18, 19. His design for man is to meet that mark, to develop a character like God's. Man sinned, fell short, missed the mark. Only in Jesus Christ may he be brought back from the awful condition to which his swerving from the right led him. "Sin is the transgression of the law," says the apostle. 1 John 3:4. A right line is a straight line, the shortest distance between two points. Righteousness is straight conduct and character. Sin is swerving from the right line. Jesus saves from sin.