Wrong views of sin
Sin is only something very bad such as a crime. Think of how the Pharisees spoke of ‘sinners’. The answer is, therefore, respectability. Just do not do it in the street and frighten the horses.
Sin is a bodily problem. This ancient Greek idea is still around in different forms. The answer is, therefore, hard work, a certain diet, cold showers and may be some self-flagellation.
Sin is the triumph of the lower nature. Some believe sin is simply the result of the struggle between the lower and the higher or better nature. The answer is, therefore, education.
Sin is just an inevitable part of being human. As human beings we are limited. Sin is simply a part of that. The answer is, therefore, in politics. We cannot be rid of sin but at least we can curb its worst effects.
Sin is an illusion. In various ways it is suggested that sin does not exist. For certain reasons we feel guilty, we have a bad conscience, but there is no such thing as sin. The answer is, therefore, psychiatry or psycho-analysis. You just need to get rid of your hang ups.
Sin is selfishness. It is certainly the assertion of self over against God that is part of the problem, but is it the whole of it? The answer is, therefore, altruism. Do what you can to help others. But if a man steals to feed his family that is altruistic but is it not also sinful?
Sin is only deliberately wrong acts. Some simply say we all have free will and every time we choose to do what we know is wrong rather than what we know is right, that is sin. We start with a clean slate but we copy others and, like them, do wrong. Only conscious, deliberate acts can be sin. The answer is, therefore, rules. We must try and keep the law.
The right view of sin
Sin is a moral evil. Sin is evil. Sickness and death are evil too, but sin is a particular kind of evil - moral evil. The actual words the Bible uses for sin show this. It talks of missing the target or deviating from the right way; of moral perversion; of revolt or rebellion; of breaking the law. Sin is not simply weakness or a fault or something that just happens. It is active opposition to God for which each individual is responsible.
Sin is an absolute moral evil. Clearly some sins are worse than others. However, all sin is sin. Each sin, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is nevertheless an absolute moral evil. Sin is not a lesser degree of goodness but positive evil. Every action or thought is either good or bad. It is black or white. There are no shades of grey.
Sin is what God declares to be sinful. What makes a thing sinful? Is it just your conscience or the values of your culture? No, it is God who decides. What he loves and commands is good. What pleases him is right. All else is sin. Anything we think or say or do not in conformity to his will is sin.
Sin involves both guilt and pollution. To be guilty is to be deserving of condemnation or to be liable to punishment for breaking the law. It refers to our relationship to justice or to law’s penalty. It can refer both to an inherent quality and to the obligation we have to satisfy justice and pay the penalty. It is possible to remove this latter by a substitutionary atonement and that is just what happens when a person trusts in Christ and his death. Pollution refers to the way we are not only guilty but inherently corrupt. All sinners have a corrupt nature.
Sin has its seat in the heart. Right at man’s centre, in his soul, and extending to every part of him, there is sin. From the heart it affects mind, will, attitudes, even the body.
Sin does not consist only in outward acts. It is our sinful state that leads us into sinful acts and sinful habits. It is not just acts that are sinful but words and thoughts and attitudes too. It is not just to do with what we commit but what we omit. In the words of the catechism "Sin is any failure to conform to God’s Law in act attitude or nature."
The remedy cannot, therefore, be any of those suggested above. Sin is deep seated and life controlling not just a physical or outward problem. Rules and laws can never save us. We are both guilty and polluted before God. We need to be cleansed inwardly and outwardly. We need not just education but total renewal. This can be ours through trusting only in the Lord Jesus Christ and his death in place of his people.
This was an Opening Bat for Grace Magazine
