Biblical principles of holiness are the basis for defining ____.

• A. righteousness
• B. virtues
• C. ethics
• D. sin

Answer: (D)

Holiness sets God’s standard of moral purity, so anything that falls short of that holy standard is identified as sin. In Scripture, holiness defines what is righteous and acceptable to God, and when conduct, thoughts, or motives violate that standard, they’re labeled as sin. Righteousness is the state of being right with God, which flows from holiness, but the term most directly defined by applying that holy standard to human behavior is sin. While ethics or virtues describe good conduct, they aren’t the category defined by holiness in the same explicit way; sin is the clear category that holiness helps us identify.