‘But what is sin?’ you might ask. The Greek word ha.martiʹ a literally means a “missing of the target.” But under inspiration John gives a broader definition: “Everyone who practices sin is also practicing lawlessness, and so sin is lawlessness [Greek, anomia, denoting contempt for and violation of the law, iniquity, wickedness] . . .

1 John 3:4, 8, 9.

True, we are all sinners. But John is interested in denouncing the deliberate sinner or violator of law, the one “who carries on sin,” who practices it.