Today’s
message is a little different. It is
more like a lecture than a sermon; in fact, I used the material teaching a
course on theology, then revised it slightly for a sermon. I hope it will serve as a model for studying
the Bible’s words. That can be
rewarding. If you don’t have resources
like Vine’s wordbook or Strong’s concordance, you will find the following sites
useful: biblegateway.com or
blueletterbible.org. Each will give you
access to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a variety of translations (including
several in languages other than English).
BACKGROUND:
CORNELIUS PLANTINGA, JR. WROTE
"THE AWARENESS OF SIN USED TO BE
OUR SHADOW. CHRISTIANS HATED SIN, FEARED IT, FLED FROM IT, GRIEVED OVER IT.
SOME OF OUR GRANDPARENTS AGONIZED OVER THEIR SINS; A MAN WHO LOST HIS TEMPER
MIGHT WONDER WHETHER HE COULD STILL GO TO HOLY COMMUNION. A WOMAN WHO FOR YEARS
ENVIED HER MORE ATTRACTIVE AND INTELLIGENT SISTER MIGHT WORRY THAT THIS SIN
THREATENED HER VERY SAL VA TION.
"BUT NOW THE SHADOW HAS FADED.
NOWADAYS, THE ACCUSATION YOU HAVE SINNED 15 OFTEN SAID WITH A GRIN AND A TONE
THAT SIGNALS AN INSIDE JOKE.
"THE NEWER LANGUAGE OF ZION
FUDGES: 'LET US CONFESS OUR PROBLEM WITH HUMAN RELATIONAL DYNAMICS, AND
ESPECIALLY OUR FEEBLENESS IN NETWORKING.' OR, 'I'D JUST LIKE TO SHARE THAT WE
NEED TO TARGET HOLINESS AS A GROWTH AREA.' WHERE SIN IS CONCERNED, PEOPLE
MUMBLE NOW."
I HAVE
TO AGREE WITH PLANTINGA. FOR A LONG TIME I'VE FELT THE DOCTRINE OF SIN TO BE
ONE OF THE MOST NEGLECTED DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. I WANT TO EXPLORE WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT
SIN.
WHY IS
SUCH AN UNDERSTANDING IMPORTANT?
--BECAUSE
AN UNDERSTANDING OF SIN WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND SO MUCH ABOUT THE HUMAN
CONDITION.
--BECAUSE
AN UNDERSTANDING OF SIN WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND WHY WE SEEM, AT TIMES, TO
SUFFER FROM SPIRITUALLY SPLIT-PERS6NALITIES.
--BECAUSE
AN UNDERSTANDING OF SIN WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND THE WONDERS OF THE SALVATION WE
HAVE IN CHRIST.
MY TEXT TO ROOT WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY
IS ROMANS 3:23. SOME OF YOU CAN QUOTE IT
WITHOUT TURNING A PAGE OF YOUR BIBLE.
THERE'S NO DOUBT IT IS A BIG LITTLE
WORD: THIS WORD “SIN.” WE HEARD IT USED
THIS PAST WEEK BY THE PRESIDENT TO DESCRIBE CERTAIN BEHAVIOR IN WHICH HE
ENGAGED, BEHAVIOR WHICH HAS SHOCKED A NATION. QUITE A FEW AMERICANS WOULD AGREE WITH HIS USE
OF THE TERM. [This sermon was preached
during the investigation of President Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky.]
YET, IF WE COULD EAVESDROP OUTSIDE A
CONFESSIONAL WE MIGHT HEAR A SWEET, KINDLY GRANDMOTHER INTONE THE ANCIENT
FORMULA: "FORGIVE ME, FATHER, FOR I HAVE SINNED."
AND, SOMEWHERE, IN SOME CHURCH THIS
MORNING A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER MAY BE LEADING AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD BOY IN
"THE SINNER'S PRAYER."
THAT THE PRESIDENT MIGHT USE THE WORD
TO DESCRIBE HIS BEHAVIOR IS UNDERSTANDABLE. BUT CAN THE GRANDMOTHER REALLY MEAN
THAT SHE, TOO, IS GUILTY OF SIN? IS THAT EIGHT-YEAR-OLD WHOSE MOST NOTORIOUS
CRIME TO DATE MAY HAVE BEEN PAINTING DRACULA FANGS ON HIS SISTER'S BARBIE DOLLS
ALSO A SINNER?
WHAT DO WE CHRISTIANS MEAN WHEN WE TALK
ABOUT SIN.
DEFINITIONS ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY
HELP ASSURE THAT WE ARE ALL SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE.
BIBLICAL
TERMS RELATED TO SIN.
SEVERAL BIBLICAL WORDS ARE RELATED TO
THE CONCEPT OF SIN.
WORDS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT:
CHATA WITH
ABOUT 522 OCCURANCES THIS IS AN IMPORTANT WORD FOR SIN. THE BASIC IDEA IS THAT
OF MISSING THE MARK; MISSING THE MARK AND HITTING SOME OTHER MARK. HERE’S CHARLES RYRIE: ‘THE IDEA IS NOT MERELY
A PASSIVE ONE OF MISSING, BUT ALSO AN ACTIVE ONE OF HITTING.'
EXODUS 20:20
JUDGES 20:16
RA IS
USED SOME 444 TIMES. IT CARRIES THE BASIC
MEANING OF BREAKING UP OR RUIN; IT IS OFTEN TRANSLAED AS "EVIL".
GE 3:5 "FOR GOD KNOWS THAT WHEN
YOU EAT OF IT YOUR EYES WILL BE OPENED, AND YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, KNOWING GOOD AND
EVIL."
GE 38:7 BUT ER, JUDAH'S FIRSTBORN, WAS
WICKED IN THE LORD'S SIGHT; SO THE LORD PUT HIM TO DEATH.
PASHA
CONTAINS THE IDEA OF REBELLION. IT IS OFTEN TRANSLATED AS 'TRANGRESSION'.
ISA 1:2 “HEAR, 0 HEAVENS! LISTEN, 0 EARTH! FOR THE
LORD HAS SPOKEN: "I REARED CHILDREN AND BROUGHT THEM UP, BUT THEY HAVE
REBELLED AGAINST ME.
TAAH THE WORD MEANS TO WANDER AWAY, TO GO ASTRAY.
THE SIN IS DELIBERATE, NOT ACCIDENTAL. SEE PS 58:3, ISA. 53:6. EZEK 44:10
SUMMARY OF THE IDEAS FOUND IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT VOCABULARY FOR SIN:
1. SIN MAY TAKE A VARIETY OF FORMS AND
THE VARIED VOCABULARY HELPED THE ISRAELITE ANALYZE THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF
HIS PARTICULAR SIN.
2. SIN IS CONTRARY TO A NORM WHICH GOD
HAS ESTABLISHED IN HIS LAW; SIN IS DISOBEDIENCE.
3. OT EMPHASIS IS ON THE POSITIVE
COMMISSION OF WRONG. BUT THE ESSENTIAL IDEAS OF WRONG DONE AND GOOD NOT DONE
ARE BOTH PRESENT.
WORDS USED FOR SIN IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT:
KAKOS As AN ADVERB THE WORD OFTEN REFERS TO PHYSICAL
DISEASE; AS AN ADJECTIVE ID USUALLY INDICATES MORAL BADNESS. MATT 21:41; ACTS 9:13; ROMANS 12:9; I TIM.
6:10 [HENCE THE REFERENCE TO SIN AS A
DISEASE HAS SOME JUSTIFICATION.)
PONEROS THE
BASIC TERM FOR EVIL. MATT 7:11; 12:39; ACTS 17:5; ROM 12:9; 2 JN 11. SOMETIMES
USED OF SATAN AND EVIL SPIRITS.
ASEBES BASIC
MEANING IS GODLESS. ROM 4:5, 5:6 USE THE TERM FOR THE UNSAVED. SOMETIMES APEARS WITH OTHER WORDS FOR SIN.
ENOCHOS MEANS
GUILTY AND USUALLY REFERS TO GUILT WORTHY OF THE DEATH PENALTY. MT 521-22
HAMARTIA THIS
IS THE MOST FREQUENTLY USED WORD FOR SIN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
HAMARTIOLOGY IS THE TRADITIONAL TERM
FOR THE STUDY OF THE DOCTRINE OF SIN. CHARLES RYRIE COMMENTS: "WHEN
A WRITER WANTED ONE INCLUSIVE WORD FOR SIN, HE USED THIS ONE. THE METAPHOR BEHIND THE WORD IS MISSING THE
MARK, BUT, AS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THIS IS NOT ONLY A NEGATIVE IDEA BUT
INCLUDES THE POSITIVE IDEA OF HITTING SOME WRONG MARK. NWHEN IT IS USED IN THE GOSPELS IT ALMOST
ALWAYS OCCURS IN A CONTEXT THAT SPEAKS OF FORGIVENESS OR SALVATION." MATT 1:2, JN 1:29; ACTS 2:38, Ro 5:12, JAMES
1:15; REV 1:5.
ANOMOS
FREQUENTLY TRANSLATED AS 'INIQUITY".
THE WORD LITERALLY MEANS LAWLESS. USED OF THE ANTICHRIST (2 THESS 2:10).
HYPOCRISIS—THE
WORD INCORPORATES THREE IDEAS: TO INTERPRETNFALSELY AS AN ORACLE MIGHT DO. IT SUGGESTS AN EFFORT TO PRETEND AS AN ACTOR
DOES; AND TO FOLLOW AN INTERPRETATION KNOWN TO BE FALSE. OF COURSE, WE GET THE WORD HYPOCRITE FROM
THIS TERM; ONE WRITER SAYS, “HYPOCRITES
FIRST DECEIVE THEMSELVES INTO MAKING WRONG RIGHT; THEN THEY DECEIVE
OTHERS."
THERE ARE OTHER WORDS FOR SIN USED IN
THE NEW TESTAMEN T BUT THIS IS ENOUGH TO INTRODUCE THE KEY IDEAS.
SUMMARY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
VOCABULARY:
1. THERE IS ALWAYS A CLEAR STANDARD
AGAINST WHICH SIN IS COMMITTED.
2. ULTIMATELY ALL SIN IS A POSITIVE
REBELLION AGAINST GOD AND A TRANSGRESSION OF HIS STANDARDS.
3. EVIL MAY ASSUME A VARIETY OF FORMS.
4. MAN'S RESPONSIBILITY IS DEFINITE AND
CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD.
TOWARD
A DEFINITION OF SIN
DALLAS SEMINARY’S CHARLES RYRIE SAID,
"SIN IS MISSING THE MARK, BADNESS, REBELLION, INIQUITY, GOING ASTRAY,
WICKEDNESS, WANDERING, UNGODLINESS, CRIME, LAWLESSNESS. TRANSGRESSION,
IGNORANCE, AND FALLING AWAY."
BAPTIST THEOLOGIAN AUGUSTUS STRONG
SAID, "SIN IS LACK OF CONFORMITY TO
THE MORAL LAW OF GOD, EITHER IN ACT, DISPOSITION, OR STATE."
TWENTIETH CENTURY THEOLOGIAN OLIVER
BUSWELL OFFERRED THIS DEFINITION: "SIN MAY BE DEFINED ULTIMATELY AS
ANYTHING IN THE CREATURE WHICH DOES NOT EXPRESS, OR WHICH IS CONTRARY TO, THE
HOLY CHARACTER OF THE CREATOR."
NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICAN THEOLOGIAN A.
A. HODGE SAID SIN IS "ANY AND EVERY WANT OF CONFORMITY WITH THE MORAL LAW
OF GOD, WHETHER OF EXCESS OR DEFECT, WHETHER OF OMISSION OR COMISSION. SIN IS
ANY WANT OF CONFORMITY OF THE MORAL STATES OR HABITS AS WELL AS ACTIONS OF THE
HUMAN SOUL WITH THE LAW OF GOD."
THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH DEFINES SIN AS "THE PURPOSEFUL DISOBEDIENCE OF A
CREATURE TO THE KNOWN WILL OF GOD.'
IN THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
THERE IS A FAMOUS PRAYER OF CONFESSION IN WHICH THE CONGREGATION ASKS FOR
PARDON, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT “WE HAVE DONE THOSE THINGS WE OUGHT NOT TO
HAVE DONE AND LEFT UNDONE THOSE THINGS WHICH WE OUGHT TO HAVE DONE."
WITHIN-THAT SIMPLE STATEMENT IS A
TWOFOLD UNDERSTANDING OF HOW SIN EXPRESSES ITSELF. ON THE ONE HAND, IT
EXPRESSES ITSELF ACTIVELY IN WHAT HAVE OFTEN BEEN CALLED "SINS OF
COMISSION". IT ALSO EXPRESSES ITSELF PASSIVELY IN WHAT HAVE BEEN CALLED
"SINS OF OMMISSION."
LET ME OFFER A WORKING DEFINITION: SIN
1S THAT IMPULSE WITHIN THE HUMAN PERSONALITY, ROOTED IN ESTRANGEMENT FROM GOD
AND DEMONSTRATED IN THE PERSISTENT TENDENCY TO DO THOSE THINGS WE OUGHT NOT TO
DO AND TO LEAVE UNDONE THOSE THINGS WE OUGHT TO DO.
[THIS IS A FAR DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING
OF SIN THAN THE SUGGESTION MADE BY A POPULAR TELEVISION PASTOR THAT SIN IS
FUNDAMENTALLY “LACK OF SELF-ESTEEM.”]
IT IS IMPORTANT TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN
SIN AND SINS. SIN IS THE CONDITION; SINS
ARE THE EXPRESSION OF THAT CONDITION AND MAY VARY FROM CASE TO CASE.
HOW THAT IMPULSE EXPRESSES ITSELF IN
MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN, AND, IN TURN, IN FAMILIES AND NATIONS EXPLAINS MUCH
OF WORLD HISTORY.
CONCLUSION
FOCUSING ON THE ISSUE OF SIN MAY SEEM
LIKE A DOWNER TO SOME OF YOU.
TO SOME DEGREE YOU ARE RIGHT. WE DO NOT LIKE LOOKING AT THE DARK SIDE OF
HUMANITY. WE PREFER TO LOOK FOR SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, OR PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS
BEHIND WARS, MURDERS, DIVORCES, CRUELTY, RACISM, AND THE CATALOG COULD GO ON
AND ON. WE PREFER TO AVOID HAVING TO
ADMIT THE PROBLEM LIES WITHIN EACH OF US—THAT WE ARE ALL INFECTED WITH SIN,
THAT WE HAVE ALL MISSED THE MARK, THAT WE ARE ALL REBELS AGAINST GOD.
YET, THE VERY FACT THAT THE GREAT
PROBLEM OF HUMANITY CAN BE DESCRIBED AS IN TERMS OF SIN OUGHT TO GIVE US A
SENSE OF HOPE.
JOHN ALEXANDER POINTS OUT THE POSITIVE
TRUTH OF RECOGNIZING SIN AS OUR PROBLEM:
"SIN IS THE BEST NEWS THERE IS,
THE BEST NEWS THERE COULD BE IN OUR PREDICAMENT.
"BECAUSE WITH SIN, THERE'S A WAY OUT
THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY OF REPENTANCE.
“YOU CAN'T REPENT OF CONFUSION OR
PSYCHOLOGICAL FLAWS INFLICTED BY YOUR PARENTS—YOU'RE STUCK WITH THEM. BUT YOU
CAN REPENT OF SIN. SIN AND REPENTANCE ARE THE ONLY GROUNDS FOR HOPE AND JOY. THE GROUNDS FOR RECONCILED, JOYFUL
RELATIONSHIPS. YOU CAN BE BORN AGAIN."
YOU SEE, WE MUST NOT BE AFRAID TO
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR GREAT PROBLEM IS SIN. FOR GOD HAS PROVIDED THE SOLUTION TO
THAT PROBLEM.
