Sin is a violation or transgression of the divine law and standards of God as revealed in His Word. The sinfulness of a wrongdoing lies in the fact that it is done against God even when it is an offence done to others or to ourselves. Since God's character and standards are perfect, anything that violates them is defined in the Bible as sin. Sin, therefore, is an act of volition against God. It is a thought, a motive, or an act of wrongdoing that results in a state of alienation from God.
Sin originated in the Garden of Eden when Adam violated a direct command of God. As a result, Adam became spiritually dead and he took on a sin nature. We, as the progeny of Adam, are born with his sin nature, and his original sin is imputed to us. Therefore, at the point of physical birth we are born physically alive but spiritually dead. At first glance this may appear harsh and unfair, but this condemnation is for our great benefit. Because of this sentence, we become eligible for the greatest position that man could attain-salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and all the resulting advantages .