The Ultimate Definition of Sin

God sets high standards for us in finding and overcoming the sins that affect us. Ultimately, these definitions tell us that sin is anything that is contrary to the will of God or doesn't express the holy character of God. That is the standard He has set for us, as seen by these definitions.
Our efforts to identify and remove sin can be compared to the story of a sculptor chipping away at an enormous block of stone. Another man asks him what he's sculpting, and the sculptor replies, "An elephant." The other man then asks, "How do you sculpt an elephant?" The sculptor considers the question, then says: "It's really very simple. You just chip away anything that doesn't look like an elephant."

We are doing the same thing when we start chipping away sins from our lives. Our goal is, with God's help, to chip away everything that isn't like God. We are removing sin—everything that is contrary to or doesn't express the holy character of God—with the purpose of more fully and maturely reflecting God's very mind and way of life.
~ excerpt from United Church of God, April 21, 2006 | www.ucg.org