Sin is a difficult issue to discuss because for most people it is a difficult thing to define. For many people sin is simply doing what is wrong. For others the donation of something as “wrong” is even a little irksome to them; sin in these cases is often defined as a transgression of certain laws, cultural norms, or taboos. If we see sin as transgression than the debate begins to swirl around the qualifiers of sin. People begin to ask questions like, “is abortion wrong? is an active homosexual lifestyle wrong? how about drinking? or dancing? or speeding?” It can become very messy very quickly and the bottom line or what is “sin” rapidly degenerates into a subjective standard of what makes someone of something not “nice” or not “charitable.” Sin becomes a qualitative projection of what an individual deems as bad. When sin is subjective, and every individual defines what it is and is not, the standard for “good” also becomes subjective.This standard of good becomes equally narcissistic. Every individual is free to place themselves at the center of what is “good” and judge others as “bad.” Can you see where this might lead to trouble?
Sin in the context of Christ
The Biblical understanding of Sin is more than just a transgression of an external code, but rather sin is a state of being. Sin at its core addresses a relationship; it deals with the broken human relationship with God. Sin is present in every place that God’s will is rejected and another will is put in command. The heart of the Christian doctrine of Original Sin is two-fold:
- It is a recognition that humans seem inclined to go their own way rather than God’s way.
- It is in affirmation of Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”
Left in our own hands our relationship with God is a mess. We are lost in a maze of narcissistic treachery, and have no hope of getting out. The Bible teaches that the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23), and so we find ourselves dead and in a broken relationship with our Creator. We are without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). This is why Christians who by the world’s standards may be very “good people” can declare they are indeed “false and full of sin” as one Charles Wesley hymn puts it.
This is where the message of the Christian Gospel come in. As Christians we believe that in the person of Jesus Christ God dwelt with us in all our brokenness, so that we might dwell in God in all God’s fullness; Christ has beaten down death by death and the Kingdom of God is here. Let me expound a bit more about this. We believe Jesus Christ was God clothed in flesh. He entered into our broken world and assumed all of the brokenness we have, even to the point of death. He did this so that we might be joined with Him. To become a Christian is to enter back into a right relationship with God by being joined into Christ. Just as Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, also we are raised with him. While we were lost in a maze of narcissistic treachery Jesus came and led us out.
This is truly good news, and because it is good news the doctrine of Sin is also good news.I am glad to be able to declare that I am “false and full of sin.” I rejoice when I look at myself and can declare that I am sinful and unclean.
Let me say that again just so it’s clear.
The Doctrine of Sin is Good News
You may rightly ask, “why?” The answer is simple: if I did not believe I was sinful I would have to conclude that I myself was the best hope the world had. When I fell I would have no hope of rising again, because I would not believe in a way of life that was better than my own. If there was evil in the world I could not overcome I would have no other option but to despair, because there would be nothing greater than me or better than me to overcome it. Because I am sinful I know there is a way that is greater than me. Sin declares to me that my relationship with this world and with God falls short, it falls short of something better. Sin declares there is a way beyond my own subjective justification and it assures me that I am not the resurrection, I am not the life, I am not the way, I am not the truth, and I am not the life. Thanks be to God!
This understanding of sin changes everything. Confession is more than an acknowledgement that we have done something wrong, it is a declaration that there is something right. Repentance is not simply feeling guilty about how we have disfigured our lives, but a turning back to the right figure of Christ and the Kingdom of God. When we pray the Lord’s prayer we are not just repeating ancients words, but attesting a present kingdom in the process of realization, and a reality that does not include evil we can be delivered into. When we profess the Creed we do not simply state what happened centuries ago, but declare the present state of affairs where Christ sits enthroned, and we have a hope in his reign.
Moving forward: finding metamorphosis not throwing moral fits
Just because you have hope in Christ does not mean it is always mean its easy. Jesus in John 8 declared. “go now and leave your life of sin.” Often times Christians, desiring to take this command seriously, can get caught trying to create new lists of do’s and don’ts. We expect that because Christ has taken hold of a person’s life we must now make sure that they look and play the part. We get caught up in the old cycle of setting a standard by which people must now follow, and there are some lines that don’t get crossed. We want to make sure that people recognize the proper way to be sexual, and we call this straight. We want to make sure that we vote for the right kinds of people, and we call this being pro-life. We want to make sure we bring the wild forgiveness and jubilee Jesus proclaims and call this social justice. If you listen to Christians long enough you may even begin to get the feeling that being a Christian requires that you are straight, pro-life, involved in social justice, and any number of other bandwagons of morality we might find ourselves on.
Unfortunately these bandwagons have a tendency to fight. One group may be so concerned with doing social justice that they begin to look down on those concerned with being pro life. Others who are concerned with making sure people are straight wind up saying some pretty sinful things.
But remember the doctrine of sin is good news. If being straight means your sex life is in proper order, I have yet to meet someone straight. If being pro-life means you value life the way God values life, I have yet to meet anyone who is pro-life. If being active in social justice means that your all your resources are aligned to the values of the kingdom of God, I have yet to see social justice anywhere. Indeed we are all “false and full of sin” the very values we uphold condemn us, and it is that standard that condemns us that gives us hope. It is in Christ that sin is overcome, any attempt at a realized morality must start with a actualized hope. That hope is Christ and in him, and him alone is the way to metamorphosis from sin and into life.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In