What is a three-letter word that starts with s and that polite people do not talk about publicly? Well, a generation or two ago it would have been that word that just came to the mind of some. Now, however, it is a different one. I am thinking of the word sin.
Many people think that sin is as out-of-date as a horse-and-buggy or a rotary phone. Yet, that is not the view of the Bible. In fact, at the core of the saving work of Jesus Christ we are forgiven of our sin on the ground of his death (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 12:11).
This raises an important query. In fact, it is the question asked and answered by The New City Catechism (#16): “What is sin?” The answer given is this: “Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, rebelling against him by living without reference to him, not being or doing what he requires in his law—resulting in our death and the disintegration of all creation.”
In this response we see three descriptions of what sin is, followed by two disastrous effects that show its destruction.
To start we consider the Descriptions.
The
Descriptions Of Sin
Sin is the outright refusal to worship God since a person thinks God is not good, which is what is entailed in “rejecting” him. Related to this is the unwillingness to worship God as the one and only true God since we think he is not worthy of such. This is what is captured by the idea of “ignoring God.” Rejecting and/or ignoring God can be a whole life direction (Rom. 1:18-31) or it can be the occasional outlook of a Christian who believes God is worthy of worship as the one and only true God. Yet, there are times when they still reject or ignore him (Rom. 7:19-24; James 4:7).
Next, sin involves a heart of insurrection against God: “rebelling against him by living without reference to him….” Rebellion is: “Open resistance to lawful authority…[the act of] a person who treats…[an] authority with contempt, in not obeying his proclamation…and refusing to attend [to] his sovereign [power] when required….”[1] The fact that God has created us means it is right that we all should submit to, trust in, and obey him. When we do not do this, it is appropriate to say we rebel against God (Rom. 1:18-23).
Finally, we
discover that sin is “not being or doing what he requires in his law.” This is
what we discover in 1 John 3:4: “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also
practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” To give more detail, what this last
description sets forth is the following:[2]
- “Sin is when a person does not conform unto or when they go beyond the law of God….” (1 John 3:4)
- “The law of God…teaches we are to act in perfect holiness from a heart of faith to the glory of God.” (Matthew 5:48; Romans 1:5; 3:23; 1 Corinthians 10:31)
Sin is what happens when we think, act, or relate in a way that does not match what God desires, in the way he desires, for the purpose he desires.
The
Disastrous Effects Of Sin
According to God’s Word, sin is no small thing. It results in our separation from God, our brokenness, and it leads to even greater brokenness as time passes (Gen. 2:16-17; Rom. 6:23). This is what is meant by, “resulting in our death.”
What is more, sin leads to creation being under a curse—i.e. it is broken: “…and the disintegration of all creation” (Gen. 3:14-19; Rom. 8:20-22).
When we understand what sin is and its disastrous effects, we must see it is important to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior for forgiveness of sin (Col. 1:14) and we also must sever sin and kill it at the root (Rom. 8:13).
Joyfully Killing Sin With You,
Tom
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