Yeah, I admit. That’s a clickbait-ish title. But, I assure you, it will make sense eventually. Hear me out.

In recent years, we’ve grown less accustomed to hearing that little three-letter word, “sin.” I’m not talking about popular culture where I wouldn’t expect the word “sin” to be bandied about, unless used to convey something exciting (Like those ads with taglines which go, “So good it’s sinful”). I’m referring to the word “sin” almost fizzling out from Christian spaces.

I’m in my mid-forties now and, from what I remember, pastors and Bible teachers talked about sin a lot more a few years ago. Perhaps, it was overused. Perhaps, it’s now old-school. We seem to have found synonyms and substitutes for the word. We use words like messes, fallenness, frailties, faults, mistakes, goof-ups and—the most popular one—brokenness.

Now, you may be wondering why this is such a big deal. Why would I need to devote an entire blog post to a word that may be slowly sidelined from the Christian lexicon? Here’s why: words create worlds. Words help us identify and assign meanings to concepts, ponder them, and perpetuate them. Language shapes reality.

So, yeah, words are important. I’ve built a whole career on them (Insert comment about how AI is taking over my job. Yes, I know, my word-based vocation might soon be extinct. That’s a different post for another day.)

But here’s the thing: when we find substitutes for the word “sin,” we dilute its meaning. We underplay its weight. We minimize its consequences. Synonyms make sin sound less sinful.

It’s not merely about language or semantics;  it’s about our hearts.

If I yell at my daughter in uncontrolled anger, that is sin. It results in brokenness—my daughter is wounded, our relationship is fractured, and my heart is in pieces.

By acknowledging my sin before God and my daughter, I have the opportunity to repent—and the Word reminds us that repentance leads to life. (Acts 11:18)

Calling sin out as sin is not about condemnation. It’s the starting point of life-giving transformation.

Here’s the thing: it’s impossible to repent from brokenness. We can heal from brokenness. But we cannot repent from it. We need to receive forgiveness for our sin from God before we can heal from our brokenness.

So, friend, can we bring back the word “sin” into Christian spaces—our pulpits and stages and social media posts and conversations? It may sound old-school, obsolete, and even over-the-top. But I would venture that it’s necessary.

Jesus didn’t die for our messes and mistakes.

He died for our sins.

May we acknowledge the full and ugly weight of our sin. May we allow it to shatter us.

And may we come to Him broken—because, as David says, “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)

Brokenness before God over our sin is a beautiful place to be.

As Tim Keller says: “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

May we acknowledge the depravity of our sin so we can recognize the divine splendor of Christ’s rescue.

 

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