Lawlessness

Man is not a sinner because he sins. Man sins because he is a sinner.

The Bible is clear that sin is basically lawlessness. "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4 The word translated “lawlessness” comes from the Greek word anomia, which means “an utter disregard for God and His laws. This was first seen in the Garden of Eden when Adam disobeyed God. 

Every sin is a transgression against God because sin violates His moral standard for human beings. A lawless person is one who has given himself or herself over completely to a sinful lifestyle. Lawless people either do not believe in God or refuse to acknowledge His right to rule their lives (Psalm 14:1)

Those who persist in lawlessness will not inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus warned that in the end times lawlessness will increase and “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). When an attitude of lawlessness pervades the atmosphere, people stop wondering about right and wrong. They no longer know or care that absolute moral standards exist.

 Jesus warned that in the end times lawlessness will increase. We are seeing the effects of lawlessness in much of the world today. God’s laws—and even secular society’s laws—are rejected as obsolete, superfluous, or repressive. Each man is a law unto himself, and the outcome of that type of lawlessness is anarchy and chaos.