The problem of the origin of the evil that is in the world has always been considered as one of the profoundest problems of philosophy and theology.
THE DEFINITION OF "SIN" is...any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.
Sin is a want of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God. It implies a LAWGIVER, who is God; subjects upon whom it terminates; a positive command, written in the moral constitution of man; power to enforce the command; duty, or obligation to obey and sanctions for disobedience. This law is an expression of God’s moral nature and intimates that complete conformity to that nature is the normal condition of man.
THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW OF GOD.
(a) It was not given as a means whereby man might be saved.
Galatians 3:21 says: "If there had been a law given which could make alive, verily righteousness would have been of the law."
Since man is hopelessly enslaved to self, he cannot keep God’s law and consequently neither life nor righteousness are possible by the law.
Sin always has relation to God and His will or Law. Sin includes both guilt and pollution.

The Law of God was given to intensify man’s knowledge of sin, to reveal the holiness of God, and to lead the sinner to Christ. Man knows that he is a sinner by the testimony of conscience; but by the published law of God he has an intensified knowledge of sin.
In the published law of God, (the Scriptures) there are (8) words used to describe SIN:
(1) missing the mark or aim, (2) the overpassing or transgressing of a line, (3) the disobedience of a voice, (4) the falling where one should have stood upright, (5) ignorance of what one ought to have known (6) diminishing of that which should have been rendered in full measure, (7) non—observance of a law, (8) discord in the harmonies of God’s universe.
THERE ARE SINS OF OMISSION AS WELL AS COMMISSION. Failure to do what the law of God enjoins is as much sin as doing what is forbidden.
James says: "Therefore, to him who knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin."
To fail in one point is to be guilty of the whole.
James 2:10 "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law."

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Ignorance of the law of God does not excuse a man.
Luke 12:47—48
"That servant, who knew his Lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to His will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more."
Ignorance of the law of God lessens the penalty as to degree, but not as to duration.
Man’s ability to fulfill the law is due to his own part in the sin of Adam, and is not an original condition. Since the law of God expresses the holiness of God as the only standard for the creature, ability to obey cannot be the measure of obligation or the test of sin. And, the feeling of guilt is not necessary to the fact of sin. Man’s moral standard may be so low and his conscience may have been so often sinned against, that he has practically no sense of sin left. The feeling of guilt is not necessary to the fact of sin in a person’s life.
As stated earlier, SIN INCLUDES GUILT AND POLLUTION; the one expresses its relation to the justice, the other to the holiness of God. These two elements of sin are revealed in the conscience of every sinner. In so far as sin is a transgression of the law, it is guilt; in so far as it is a principle, it is pollution. We have considered briefly the matter of guilt, so let’s consider this issue of POLLUTION OF SIN.
Isaiah 1:4—6
"Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment."
Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?"
Luke 6:45
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks;"
Romans 7:14—26
"For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.

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If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But, now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells, for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to my inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God-—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
OUR HUMAN NATURE HAS BEEN POLLUTED BY SIN! And here are the results of that pollution:
(1) a darkened understanding
Ephesians 4:17—19
"This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness."
Romans 1:28—32
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil—mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only to do the same but also approve of those who practice them."
2 Corinthians 4:3—6
"But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

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(2) evil and vain imaginations and vile affections
Genesis 6:5, 12
"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually."
"So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth."
Romans 1:22—25
"Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man——and birds and four—footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, Amen."
(3) a defiled mind and conscience
Titus 1:15, 16
"To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work."
These are the symptoms of which the corrupt nature is the source. This lack of ability to please God is also spoken of as "death." Men are said to be "dead in trespasses and sin" (Eph. 2:1,5; Col. 2:13); that is, they are totally destitute of spiritual life.
BUT HERE IS THE QUESTION THAT HAS TOTALLY BAFFLED THE PHILOSOPHER AND THE THEOLOGIAN.
WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF SIN?
Where did sin come from? How did it come into the universe?
First, we must clearly affirm that God Himself did not sin, and God is not to be blamed for sin. It was man who sinned, and it was angels who sinned, and in both cases they did so by willful, voluntary choice.
To blame God for sin would be blasphemy against the character of God.
Deut. 32:4
"His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is He."
Job 34:10
"Far be it from God that He should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that He should do wrong."
James 1:13, 14
"Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed."

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There is an error that many make which we must guard ourselves from accepting and that is...it would be wrong for us to say there is an eternally existing power in the universe similar to or equal to God Himself in power. To say this would be to affirm what is called an ultimate "dualism" in the universe, the existence of two equally ultimate powers, one good and the other evil.
Also, we must never think that sin surprised God or challenged or overcame His omnipotence or His providential control over the universe. Therefore, even though we must never say that God Himself sinned or He is to blamed for sin, yet we must also affirm that the God who "accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will" (Eph. 1:11), the God who "does according to His will in the host of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, "What are You doing?" (Daniel 4:35) did ordain that sin would come into the world, even though He does not delight in it and even though He ordained that it would come about through the voluntary choices of moral creatures.
The Bible seems to indicate that sin originated in heaven with the angels!
Jude 6
"And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day."
When did this even happen? Most Bible scholars believe that Isaiah 14:12—16 describes this moment in heaven!
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart; I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying; Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms?"
The sin of PRIDE seems to be the cause, for Jude 6 tells us that the fallen angels "kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation." They were not satisfied with their lot, with the government and power entrusted to them. If the desire to be like God was their peculiar temptation, thus would also explain why they tempted man on that particular point.
Genesis 3:4
"Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

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WITH RESPECT TO THE ORIGIN OF SIN IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND, THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT IT BEGAN WITH THE TRANSGRESSION OF ADAM IN THE GARDEN, AND THEREFORE WITH A PERFECT VOLUNTARY ACT ON THE PART OF MAN.
Romans 5:12—16
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-—For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
By that first sin, Adam became the bond-servant of sin. That sin carried permanent pollution with it, and a pollution which, because of the solidarity of the human race, would effect not only Adam, but all his descendants as well. From that unholy source, sin flows on as an impure stream to all the generations of men, polluting everyone and everything with which it comes in contact. It is exactly this state of things that made the question of Job so pertinent...WHO CAN BRING A CLEAN THING OUT OF AN UNCLEAN? NOT ONE!
The first sin of man was a typical sin, that is, a sin in which the real essence of sin clearly reveals itself. The essence of sin lay in the fact that Adam placed himself in opposition to God, that he refused to subject his will to the will of God, to have God determine the course of his life; and that he actively attempted to take the matter out of God’s hand, and to determine the future for himself.
Man, who had absolutely no claim to God, and who could only establish a claim by meeting the condition of the covenant of works, cut loose from God and acted as if he possessed certain rights as over God. The idea that the command of God was really an infringement on the right of man seems to have been present already in the mind of Eve, when, in answer to the question of Satan, she added the words, "Neither shall ye touch it." (Genesis 3:3) She evidently wanted to stress the fact that the command had been rather unreasonable. Starting from the pre—supposition that he had certain rights as over against God, man allowed the new center, which he found in himself, to operate against his Maker. This explains his desire to be like God and his doubt of the good intention of God in giving the command. Naturally different elements can be distinguished in his first sin. In the intellect it revealed itself as unbelief and pride, in the will as the desire to be like God, and in the affections, as an unholy satisfaction in eating the forbidden fruit.

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It is important to insist on the historical truthfulness of the narrative of the fall of Adam and Eve. Just as the account of the creation of Adam and Eve is tied in with rest of the historical narrative in the book of Genesis, so also this account of the fall of man, which follows the history of man’s creation, is presented by the author as straightforward, narrative history. The New Testament authors look back on this account and affirm that "sin came into the world through one man" (Romans 5:12) and insist that "the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation" (Romans 5:16) and that "the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning (2 Cor. 11:3).
We should also note that all sin is ultimately irrational.
It really did not make sense for Satan to rebel against God in the expectation of being able to exalt himself above God. Nor did it make sense for Adam and Eve to think that there could be any gain in disobeying the words of their Creator. These were foolish choices. The persistence of Satan in rebelling against God even today is still a foolish choice, as is the decision on the part of any human being to continue in a state of rebellion against God. It is not the wise man but "the fool" who says in his heart, "There is no God." (Psalm 14:1). It is the "fool" in the book of Proverbs who recklessly indulges in all kinds of sins (Pro. 10:23; 12:15; 14:7; 18:2). Though people sometimes persuade themselves that they have good reasons for sinning, when examined in the cold light of truth on the last day, it will be seen in every case that sin ultimately just does not make sense.
GOD DOES AND WILL PUNISH SIN! Although God’s punishment of sin does serve as a DETERRENT against further sinning, and as a WARNING to those who observe it, this is not the primary reason why God punishes sin. The primary reason is that God’s righteousness demands it, so that He might be glorified in the universe that He has created.
Judgment on sin has effected the human being in three areas:
(1) PHYSICAL DEATH.
Physical death is the separation of the soul and body. It is represented in the Scriptures as a part of the penalty of sin.
Genesis 2:16,17
"And the Lord God commanded the man saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
In the prayer of Moses recorded in Psalm 90:7—11, we find these words:
"For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified. You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh. The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You so is Your wrath."

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Romans 5:12
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinner--."
For the Christian, however, death is long a penalty, since Christ has endured death as the penalty for sin. To him it becomes a sleep as to the body and gateway as to the soul through which he enters into full communion with the Lord.
(2) SPIRITUAL DEATH.
Spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God. The penalty denounced in Eden which has fallen upon the race is primarily this death of the soul. By it man lost the presence and favor of God, also the knowledge of and desire for God. Because of this he needs to be made alive from the dead.
John 5:24
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."
(3) ETERNAL DEATH
Eternal death is simply the culmination and completion of spiritual death. It is the eternal separation of the soul from God together with the accompanying remorse and outward punishment.
Matthew 25:41
"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
2 Thessalonians 1:7—10
"...when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed."