Went by 1, not half filled with sin (7)
I believe the answer is:
elapsed
'went by' is the definition.
('elapse' can be a synonym of 'go by')
'half filled with sin' is the wordplay.
'half filled' becomes 'ed' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'with' is an insertion indicator.
'sin' becomes 'lapse' (I've seen this before).
'ed' placed around 'lapse' is 'ELAPSED'.
'1 not' is the link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for elapsed that I've seen before include "Expired" , "slipped away" , "Pleased to have passed" , "Passed, of time" , "Pleased (anag.)" .)