Q. 14. What is sin?
A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.
“But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 3:21-24, NRSV)
Sin is a breach of nature, a death of the soul, a disquiet of the heart, a weakening of power, a blindness of the sense, a sorrow of the spirit, a death of grace, a death of virtue, a death of good works, an aberration of the spirit, a fellowship with the devil, an expulsion of Christianity, a dungeon of hell, a banquet of hell, an eternity of hell. - Meister Eckhart
We are too Christian really to enjoy sinning, and too fond of sinning really to enjoy Christianity. Most of us know perfectly well what we ought to do; our trouble is that we do not want to do it. - Peter Marshall
What is wrong with the human race? Scripture tells us our basic problem is sin. The human condition is characterized by attitudes, actions, emotions, and human character which distort the image of God in which we are created. Therefore, as humans, we fail to live in the ways God desires, we treat God and others in ways that are not loving and just, and we hold attitudes in which our own self-interests are primary. We have lost, distorted, perverted, or broken the “image of God.” We do not now reflect God in our lives. We no reflect the image of God to others through our lives. We have taken hold of our own agendas and we live with our primary intention being to go our own ways instead of seeking God’s ways for our lives.
In the New Testament, the writings of Paul conveys the picture of humans as sinners. For Paul, the power of sin is very real. It affects every person “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). It relates to the origins of the human race, “sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin” (Rom. 5:12), brings alienation and estrangement from God (Eph. 4:18), and leads ultimately to death, “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). The power of sin is so strong that it is ultimately only God’s actions in Jesus Christ that can overcome it and break its effects, “Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all” (Rom. 5:18).
The bad news about sin is that “all have sinned” and all are guilty (Rom. 3:23, 5:12). The worse news is that it leads to death (Rom. 6:23). Yet this is not the final biblical word. There is hope. For “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23) and “in hope we were saved.” (Rom. 8:24)
Sin is like ice in our pipes—our spiritual lives have been “frozen.” There is only one solution, and that is repentance to clear the blockage and restore the flow of the Holy Spirit. - Billy Graham “To deny the reality of sin or struggle in our lives is to deny God the opportunity of working through our weakness.” - Rebecca Manley Pippert
“Every one of us who can say, ‘I am a pardoned sinner,’ knows very well that this can never mean that I do not sin anymore, ‘I am holy, or better, though somewhat crassly, I have been cleansed by moral chemistry,’ No, we know only too well the things that still lurk in our hearts. We know that the wolves still go on howling in the cellars of our life.” - Helmut Thielicke
As Paul understands it, Sin is a power at work in the world. And Sin's work is to deliver Death. Death to justice. Death to freedom. Death to peace. Death to human dignity. Death to the life that God wills for all of creation. Death! Death! Death! Such is the work of Sin. The feeble little sins we commit have the painful consequences we find in terms of lost relationships, lost opportunities and the accumulation of the burden of guilt are merely the side effects of the power of Sin in the world.
Paul is clear. Humankind is enslaved by Sin. Paul is not just trying to ruin our day and life by telling us how deprived we are, Paul knows there is hope. “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 5:20-21)
Today’s Lectionary Readings
Morning Psalm: 104
Evening Psalm: 93
Jeremiah 2:1-13, 29-32
Romans 1:16-25
John 4:43-54
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