Nature of Sin

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. “It is proven every human being sins. Sin is often defined as missing the mark. It is a failure to live up to God’s requirements”. When we use the word “sin” many people have very different ideas about what sin actually is. Most people think of sin only as committing very evil crimes.

Others don’t use the word sin when talking about their own deficiencies, but instead refer to their sins as “mistakes”. If we are to know God, it is of utmost importance that we understand His definition of sin and see our condition through the eyes of the Almighty One. “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). “We sin because we have a sin nature. Every human being possesses a sin nature — a corrupt nature inherited from Adam”. Our sin nature separates us from God: “The result of one trespass was condemnation for all men” (Romans 5:18).

Psalm 51:5 states that we all come into the world as sinners: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. ” Ephesians 2:2 says that all people who are not in Christ are “sons of disobedience. ” Ephesians 2:3 also establishes this, saying that we are all “by nature children of wrath. ” If we are all “by nature children of wrath,” it can only be because we are all by nature sinners–for God does not direct His wrath towards those who are not guilty. God did not create the human race sinful, but upright. But we fell into sin and became sinful due to the sin of Adam. Christians have two natures at work in their being — one is the old sin nature, and the other is a new nature controlled by the Spirit”. These two natures are constantly at war with each other. Paul explains that, despite his best intentions, he is still influenced by his sin nature: “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18-19). While our two natures are constantly in conflict, it is not the sin nature that will ultimately control the Christian.

Part of the sanctification process involves dying to the old nature. The Christian will sin, but the Christian will not continue in unrestrained sin: “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you” (Romans 8:9). Sin in the Christian’s life will be followed by remorse and repentance. At Christ’s second coming, when the believer’s body is glorified, the sin nature will be destroyed once and for all. Until then, we are told to resist the sin nature’s temptations.

God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “Sin is a spiritual contagious disease, an illness and an ulcer which has stricken all mankind, both in his soul and his body. Sin has damaged all three of the basic abilities and powers of the soul; the mind, the heart and the will”. Man’s mind became darkened and inclined toward error, thus, man constantly errs – in science, in philosophy and in his practical activity.

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says that this sin – the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit – is not forgiven and will not be forgiven either in this age or in the future. He pronounced these terrible words against the Pharisees who, though they clearly saw that he worked everything according to the will of God and by God’s power, nevertheless distorted the truth. They perished in their own blasphemy and their example is instructive and urgent for all those who would sin mortal sin: by an obdurate and conscious adversity to the undoubted Truth and thereby blaspheming the Spirit of truth – God’s Holy Spirit.

The Bible teaches that “all have sin and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That means all humans have a sinful nature and are capable of doing things which are contrary to the will of God. James said “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins”- James 4:17. Paul says, anything that is not of faith is sin (Roman 14:23) and the Apostle John calls sin lawlessness. With that being said, here we are in the Garden of Eden. God had given Adam specific instructions, before Eve was formed.

Rom 6:22, 23 “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. It is evident that we all sinned and falling short; all but one man Jesus Christ. There was one major difference between Jesus and every other person who’s ever lived – He never sinned. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. As that verse also shows, Jesus went through every type of hardship that we go through. But why do we sin? Are we conceived with a Nature to sin or do we choose to sin? Do children have to be taught to lie or do they have to be taught to tell the truth? Obviously they must be taught to tell the truth because they are liars by nature. David wrote, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” and again “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go forth speaking lies as soon as they be born” (Psalms 51:5, 58:3).

Paul tells us, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Eph. 2:1-3). So we must conclude, according to Scripture, we are conceived under the condemnation of sin and death, with a nature to sin against God and need not be taught to sin.

Sin was passed on to the Human Race when Adam knew Eve and Cain were born. Adam “BEGAT” sons and daughters, and the whole process continued. This seems to agree with what David wrote, “In sin did my mother conceive me” and what Paul said, “We all – were by nature the children of wrath, even as others”. Therefore God says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death PASSED upon all men, for that (in whom) all have sinned”. The 7 Deadly Sins are so-called because they have the ability to “kill grace” – to turn us away from a place where we can receive the grace of Christ.

None of them are discreet acts: they are all “inner dispositions and modes of behavior from which individual sins flow”. In no particular order, they are: Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. A few notes about these will clarify their nature. “Lust is not merely sexual, though sexual lust captures the sense of it quite nicely: the Deadly Sin of Lust is disordered desire of any type – something early theologians saw as the primal sin”. Similarly, Gluttony is not just about food, but about consuming for the sake of consumption, habitual excess. Greed is very similar: wealth for wealth’s sake.

Pride’s definition is more well-known: self-centeredness, or the inability to refrain from putting oneself before others. These are not actions, but dispositions: they are not even things that we can will ourselves to do, but things outside of our will that twist our application of our will. I cannot simply choose not to be greedy; rather, my greed influences my will, justifying my greedy actions and thus limiting my will. “If we are to make informed choices in life, the seven deadly sins present us with biased fact sheets. This is one of the things that make sin so utterly sinful: we do not choose evil, but rather see evil as good. I’m sinful, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Sure, constant discipline can help me to control my outward expressions of the 7 deadly sins, but even if I manage to keep them all inside, they’re still in there. On our own, there’s nothing we can do about sin. Through his life and death, Christ has defeated sin. We are no longer guilty for sin, even though we continue to commit sins: by identifying with Christ, we identify with His sinlessness. To put it another way, Christ is the representative of all humanity – and because our representative is sinless, in the sight of God, so are we.

Good news! The effects of sin (suffering and death) are no longer permanent; we look forward to being resurrected, just like Christ was, into a new world where God will “wipe away every tear”, and there will be no more mourning or death (Revelation 21:4). We are counted as righteous now (even though we aren’t), and one day we will have new natures like Christ’s, and so will actually be righteous. That’s not to say that I’ll ever be perfect in this life; but it is to affirm that my sinful nature does not flare up as often as it did five years ago.

It is to suggest that, by the power of Christ in me through the Holy Spirit, I can do good! This is a very important issue to be dealt with by Christian Ethics, counseling, and pastoral care. If we are completely incapable of doing good, yet are justified by Christ anyway, then should we even try to do good? Without a doctrine of sanctification, in which we assert that Christ has in some sense overcome sin in us, and that the Holy Spirit enables us to do good, then there is no rationale for judgment on one hand or ethics on the other. Humankind is sinful, there is no doubt. We all commit sins of commission and omission, and have twisted impulses and understandings, and face temptations and deceptions of all sorts, and are completely incapable of setting aside this sinful nature on our own”. But God is making us like Him, even now, and our present sufferings under the sinful nature are not worthy of comparison to the glory that will be revealed in us. “An overstated doctrine of sin tells us that we are worms whom God loves; God tells us that we are glorious, like His Son, and that we ought to, and can, learn to act like it. ”

References:

1. Robert Thompson, The Nature of Sin (Trumpet Ministries, Inc. 2011), page 73
2. Alan Jacobs, Original Sin: A Cultural History (Reed Business, Inc. 2009) page 124
3. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
4. Anna Kingsford, Concerning The Nature of Sin (Kissinger Publishing, LLC. 2010) page 226
5. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
6. Anthony Roukema, The Bible and the Future (Gale ECCO. 2010) page 79
7. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999
8. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
9. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
10. Josephine Hart, Sin (Create Space. 2009) page 10
11. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
12. . Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
13. . Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
14. . Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
15. . Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
16. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
17. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
18. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
19. Josephine Hart, Sin (Create Space. 2009) page 223
20. Josephine Hart, Sin (Create Space. 2009) page 224
21. Josephine Hart, Sin (Create Space. 2009) pages 224-225
22. Holy Bible, King James Version (American Bible Society, 1999)
23. Alan Jacobs, Original Sin: A Cultural History (Reed Business, Inc. 2009) page 23
24. . Anna Kingsford, Concerning The Nature of Sin (Kissinger Publishing, LLC. 2010) page 510