Why do we use the word ‘sin’? Sure, the obvious answer is that it’s in the Bible—at least we translate the Greek archery term that literally means, “to miss the mark,” as the word ‘sin’ in English—but what does it really mean? After hearing a fire and brimstone sermon on the wages of sin, or seeing a street corner sign telling us to, “repent of our sins or face Hell,” one might draw the conclusion that sin means God is mad at us for not following the rules. That seems to be the way the word come across to people outside the church when Christians use it: “You can’t do that! The Bible says it’s a sin!” Why is it a sin? Just because the Bible says so? Is it wrong just because God says so, or is there a more substantial reason behind it?

When children are young, they lack the capacity to understand mature reasoning, so it’s easy for parents to use the, “Because I said so,” argument. That answer suffices for a time, but as kids grow, the simple parental authority quickly falls to questioning, as it must for them to mature into adulthood and develop the ability to make sound judgements of their own. Children who never get beyond blindly following their parents’ directions without understanding the “why” behind them are ill equipped to make sound choices when faced with the real adult world.

The same holds true for Christians. In the early stages of maturity, they need to know that something is sin even before they fully understand why so that they avoid pitfalls. The Bible says to do or not do something, and that is enough. If that “blind faith” is the extent of their growth, however, they never learn to make informed decisions or to explain their decisions to those outside the church. To a discerning world that doesn’t hold the Bible in such high regard, representing God with this immature, seemingly irrational faith based solely on rules seems irrelevant and makes God look like the parent who just says, “Because I said so.” It’s no wonder outsiders run from faith like rebellious teenagers.

Fortunately, God doesn’t ask us to abandon reasoning. The sixth commandment is, “Do not murder.” Why is murder classified as a sin in God’s book? It’s simple: God created each person for a reason, to fulfill a unique purpose and destiny in the world, so ending a life without justification falls short of God’s ideal plan. That one is easy to explain, and relatively universally accepted. What about the first commandment? What’s the harm in having other gods before the God of the Bible? Does it hurt God’s feelings? Is He just being jealous? Those are very real questions that outsiders are going to ask, so we must think through those questions and get beyond the, “Because the Bible says so,” answers.

We haven’t even gotten to the more pressing societal questions: Why can’t I have sex with my boyfriend? Why is homosexuality wrong? Why don’t Christians cuss? When is divorce okay?

Jesus said the entire concept of sin could be summed up in two things: Love God and love people. If we do those two things, we are fulfilling God’s best. That’s the definition of “hitting the mark.” If you dig through the commands in the Bible, you’ll find that every one of them is based in this understanding and is placed there for our own good.

I’m not saying we change the message, water it down, or ignore issues. Sin is still wrong, and always will be. I am saying that words change in meaning, and we must constantly re-think our terminology to better translate the truths of the Bible into terms that make sense in our ever-changing culture. It’s our job to communicate God’s Word and plan to the rest of the world, so maybe it’s time we stop using a word that, to them, is full of condemnation and lacking relevance. Maybe we start using statements like, “There is so much more to life than what you’re experiencing. Have you considered…” Maybe we start answering outsiders by first truly listening to their hearts, understanding them, and then asking deep questions to help them find the answers to the issues they’re facing. They’re more likely to accept the Bible as relevant when they see the logical application of its timeless truths.