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How are the words sin and sins used differently in the Bible?
The difference between sin and sins is the distinction between sin in the singular and sin in the plural. In the Old Testament there is no distinction between sin in the singular and sin in the plural. However, in the New Testament there is a difference, and this difference is very significant.
Let us list all the occurrences of the word sin (noun), in both its singular and plural forms, that are found in the New Testament. In the original language, sin is armatia.
Sin in singular form: Matt. 12:31; John 1:29; 8:34 (twice), 46; 9:41 (twice); 15:22 (twice), 24; 16:8, 9; 19:11; Acts 7:60; Rom. 3:9, 20; 4:8; 5:12 (twice), 13 (twice), 20, 21; 6:1, 2, 6 (twice), 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23; 7:7 (twice), 8 (twice), 9, 11, 13 (three times), 14, 17, 20, 23, 25; 8:2, 3 (three times), 10; 14:23; 1 Cor. 15:56 (twice); 2 Cor. 5:21 (twice); 11:7; Gal. 2:17; 3:22; 2 Thes. 2:3 (KJV); Heb. 3:13; 4:15; 9:26, 28; 10:6, 8, 18; 11:25; 12:1, 4; 13:11; James 1:15 (twice); 2:9; 4:17; 1 Pet. 2:22; 4:1; 2 Pet. 2:14; 1 John 1:7, 8; 3:4 (twice), 5, 8, 9; 5:16 (twice), 17 (twice).
Sins in plural form: Matt. 1:21; 3:6; 9:2, 5, 6; 26:28; Mark 1:4, 5; 2:5, 7, 9, 10; Luke 1:77; 3:3; 5:20, 21, 23, 24; 7:47, 48, 49; 11:4; 24:47; John 8:21 (KJV), 24 (twice); 9:34; 20:23; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 22:16; 26:18; Rom. 4:7; 7:5; 11:27; 1 Cor. 15:3, 17; Gal. 1:4; Eph. 2:1; Col. 1:14; 2:11 (KJV); 1 Thes. 2:16; 1 Tim. 5:22, 24; 2 Tim. 3:6; Heb. 1:3; 2:17; 5:1, 3; 7:27; 8:12; 9:28; 10:2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 17, 26; James 5:15, 20; 1 Pet. 2:24 (twice); 3:18; 4:8; 2 Pet. 1:9; 1 John 1:9 (twice); 2:2, 12; 3:5; 4:10; Rev. 1:5; 18:4, 5.
After reading the many Scripture verses above, we will see how wise God was in the writing of the Bible, and we will truly say to Him, “O God! We worship You!”
The difference between the uses of sin and sins is this: Whenever the Bible refers to man’s outward sinful behavior, such as pride, envy, lying, and so forth, it uses the plural form—sins. The singular form, sin, in the Bible never refers to the outward sin, but it does have two different kinds of usage.
First, it refers to sin as a master and power which controls or dominates. This is the sin which is ordinarily referred to as the source or the root of sin. The phrases the source of sin or the root of sin are not scriptural, but we will borrow them for the moment. The Bible does not mention either but rather, speaks of sin reigning and lording like a master. Singular sin refers to the sin that dominates, drives, and causes us to commit sin.
Second, it refers to the whole problem of sin. Whenever the Bible speaks of God forgiving sin, it always uses the plural form, sins, because we need to be forgiven of the sins in our outward behavior. The sinful nature within us cannot be resolved by forgiveness. Saying that God forgives the singular sin is incorrect, for God forgives only the plural sins. Since the singular sin is the master, the power, it is not something that we are directly responsible for; therefore, it cannot be solved by forgiveness. The plural sins need forgiveness because these refer to our conduct, for which we need to bear responsibility and for which we deserve a punishment. Therefore, forgiveness is needed. All “confession of sin” in the Bible should be “confession of sins,” the plural number and not the singular number. Sin in its singular form does not refer to man’s behavior and, therefore, does not require confession. The plural sins however signify man’s conduct and require confession. The death of Christ is to save us from sins. “You shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). This means that the Lord Jesus saves us from the sins of our behavior. He saves us from numerous sins.
When the Lord Jesus said to the Jews, “You will die in your sins” (John 8:24), He was saying that they would die in their sins (plural) and not in sin (singular). The Bible does not say that Christ died for our sin (singular), but it always says that Christ died for our sins (plural).
“And you, though dead in your offenses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). This refers to sins (plural) not sin (singular). This means that we lived in the sins (plural), such as pride, uncleanness, envy, etc. We were dead in sins (plural) not in sin (singular).
To “take away sins” in Hebrews 10:4 refers to the taking away of sins (plural). In Hebrews 10:2, “Would have no longer had the consciousness of sins” is also sins (plural).
Why do we no longer have consciousness of sins after the Lord’s blood has cleansed our conscience? Our conscience accuses us of sins (plural), specific sins, such as temper, pride, etc., before God. Since the blood of the Lord Jesus has obtained for us the forgiveness of these sins, our conscience is no longer conscious of sins. The plural sins do exist, but the blood has dealt with them. If the Lord’s blood cleansed sin (singular), then sin would no longer be in our experience. For if the blood washed sin (singular), it would mean that we would never again feel the power of sin, which is the power that drives us to commit sins. This is certainly not so. The blood of the Lord Jesus has cleansed us so that our conscience is no longer conscious of our past sins. This does not mean that we no longer have sin but that our conscience is no longer conscious of sins. We are not condemned by our conscience, because we are cleansed by the blood.
How then are we to be freed from the dominating sin (the singular sin)? “Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves” (Rom. 6:6). Three things are mentioned here: (1) the body of sin; (2) the old man; and (3) sin. The body acts as the puppet. Sin causes the body to sin through the old man. When sin works in the body, the body is called the body of sin. The old man on the one hand accepts the motivation of sin and, on the other hand, instigates the body to sin. The old man stands between sin and the body. The old man is our personality. Sin tempts, and the old man agrees and directs the body to sin. Some say that the death of the Lord Jesus has eradicated the root of sin. This is wrong. The Lord Jesus accomplished the removal of the old man. Sin is still here and so is the body of sin, but the old man, which is in between, has been removed. Man as a person still remains; however, sin is now unable to manipulate the new man. Sin can never direct the new man. Sin (singular) still exists, but we are no longer its slaves. We are no longer slaves to sin, because the old man that directly instigated the body to commit sins has been crucified. What about the body? Originally it practiced sins; now it is unemployed.
Hebrews 1:3 says, “Who…having made purification of sins.” The sins mentioned here is plural, referring to the removal of punishment for sins and not to the purging of the root of sin (singular).
How then do we explain “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)? Since sin of the world is singular, does this indicate that the root of sin is eradicated? If so, then not only would the root of sin in the believers be eradicated, but even the root of sin in the whole world would be eradicated. This is not true. The meaning here is that the Lamb of God has solved the problem of sin for the whole world; it does not mean that He has eradicated the root of sin in the whole world. This agrees with the verse, “Therefore just as through one man sin entered into the world” (Rom. 5:12). Just as sin entered into the world by one man, it is taken away by another man. The Lord has dealt with the sin of the world and solved this problem.
How do we deal with sin (singular)? “So also you, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin” (Rom. 6:11). Sins (plural) are dealt with by the death of Christ, while sin (singular) is solved by dying together with Christ. This death is a reckoning of oneself as dead. If we reckon ourselves to be dead to sin, even though sin still has dominating power, it cannot overcome us.
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin” (1 John 1:7). Again, sin here is in the singular form. This does not mean that the blood of the Lord Jesus cleanses the root of sin. The preceding part shows that if we walk in the light as God is in the light, we will have fellowship one with another. After this it says that the blood of His Son also cleanses us from every sin. If this cleansing referred to our sinful nature, and we walked in the light as God is in the light, we would have no sin. How then would there be sins for the blood of the Lord Jesus to cleanse? It is when we walk in the light of the gospel, as God is in the light of revelation, that we see the blood of the Lord Jesus solving all the problems related to our sin. In verse 9 it clearly says that we have sins (plural). Again, we have sins! Therefore, we can see that sin (singular) refers to the sin that dominates within us as master, while sins (plural) refer to our outward conduct. Sin (singular) refers to the whole problem of sin, while sins (plural) refer to specific sins.
“Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf” (2 Cor. 5:21). The word sin here is singular. The Lord Jesus was made sin not sins for us. Why is the singular word sin used here? It is because the Lord Jesus, who knew no sin (singular), that is, who never knew what sin was and never served sin or knew the power of sin, was made to become sin, the very problem of sin, so that God could deal with sin by judging Him. His becoming sin means that God dealt with Him as God would deal with our problem of sin. If the Lord Jesus had become sins, then He too would have had sins in His conduct and would have been a sinner. He too would have had pride, jealousy, uncleanness, and such sins. Thank God, He did not cause the Lord Jesus to become sins. He dealt with the Lord Jesus as the very problem of sin, so that when the Lord Jesus died, the problem of the sin of the whole world was completely solved.
Finally, let us conclude the discussion of this question from the book of Romans. The first eight chapters of Romans specifically address the problem of sins and sin. Romans 1:1—5:11 is the first section, and it deals with the problem of sins (plural), not sin (singular). Romans 5:12—8:12 forms the second section, which speaks of the problem of sin (singular). In the second section, except for the one instance in chapter seven where sins (plural) is mentioned, all the references are to sin (singular). The first section deals with specific sins in outward conduct. The sinful records and their penalties need to be taken away and eliminated. Therefore, the Lord Jesus came to bear our sins and take them away. The second section says that God not only forgives us of our sins (plural), but He also frees us from the sin that dominates us. God not only forgives our sins and does not punish us anymore; He also saves us from sin and from committing sins. The first section speaks of the precious blood, while the entire second section speaks of the cross. The resurrection in the first section is the Lord’s resurrection for us, while the resurrection in the second section is our resurrection together with the Lord. The first section speaks of the Lord Jesus being crucified and shedding His blood for us; the second section speaks of our being crucified together with Him. The first section deals with forgiveness, while the second deals with deliverance. The first section deals with justification, while the second deals with sanctification. The first section solves the punishment of sin, while the second solves the power of sin. We all need to pass through these two sections.
When you first believed in the Lord, you were worried about the many sins you committed. All the individual sins were placed before you. You saw that there was nothing good without and within you. You wondered how the righteous God, the righteous Lord, could forgive your sins. But when you realized that the Lord Jesus had borne your sins, that His blood had cleansed you of your sins, and that they had all been forgiven, you rejoiced. Because your sins had been forgiven, you were able to stand in God’s grace, rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God. Now you believe that you can do good. But day after day you discover that you can still lie as you lied in the past. What should you do? You should come before the Lord to ask for forgiveness. The Lord still forgives, and the Lord’s blood is still efficacious. Then you may resolve and be determined to never sin again. The first few days you may do all right, but later as you become loose, you will sin again. Again you ask the Lord to forgive your sins, and again you resolve not to sin. But again and again you sin, and again you stumble. In the past you felt the evil of outward sins. After becoming a Christian, not only do you feel the evil of outward sins, but you also feel inward sin lording it over you. For example, consider a person who loves to gamble. In the past, he acknowledged that this was unacceptable conduct. But since he has believed in the Lord, he feels that there is a master in him with the power to force him to do the things which he does not want to do, leaving him no choice but to do them. Every one of us has our own particular sin that entangles us. You may recall how happy you were when you were saved. But now you suffer more than before you were saved. How can you overcome these sins? You inquire of God whether there is a deeper salvation. What Romans 5:12—8:39 describes is the deeper salvation. If the blood were all that God required, God could have used a different way to cause the Lord Jesus to shed His blood. Why was it necessary for Christ to die on the cross? It is because God wanted to show us not only that the punishment for our conduct was forgiven through the Savior Jesus, but also that our very person was crucified together with the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins and, at the same time, He brought us along in His crucifixion so that we were crucified with Him. Not only were the sins of the sinner on the cross, but the sinner himself was on the cross. Not only were our sins on the cross, but all of us who are in Christ were on the cross as well. Not only did the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus cleanse us of our sins, but God also reckoned His death to be our death more than nineteen hundred years ago. At the beginning, we believed that the Lord Jesus died for us. Today we reckon the Lord’s death as our death. Since the Lord has died, we too have died. As we believed in His death, we also should believe that His death is our death. In this way, although sin is still alive, it cannot seduce one who is already dead, for a dead person is freed from sin. Once a man has died, sin cannot interfere with him any longer, because even though sin is alive, the person is dead. God forgives our outward sins, but He will not forgive our inward sin. He has crucified our old man, so that the sin in us has no more power to drag us down. We believe that we are already dead. We do not have to go and die; rather, we believe that we have already died. We do not believe that we should die, but that we are already dead. When we feel weak and unclean, we must realize that God has already dealt with these things on the cross. If we look at Christ with the eyes of faith and believe that we have been crucified with Christ, we will see that the power of Christ will save us and free us from the power of sin within us. The first step of salvation gives us peace and satisfaction; it causes us to enjoy happiness. The second step of salvation gives us power to be freed from sin and walk in His way. Today, we may feel the power of sin oppressing us within. How good it would be if we could overcome the power of sin within. Overcoming the power of sin within is by deliverance and emancipation and not by forgiveness. Since the master within has been replaced, the old master can no longer control us. We must all go this way.
