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The Doctrine of Sin

 

Dr. Alexander Kurian

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Introduction

1.    Its place in systematic theology and its most vital theme – the relationship between God and humanity
2.    Hamartiology (“hamartia”, 227 times in the NT. Means “missing the mark” and “hitting some wrong mark”;  OT equivalent term is “chata”  used 522 times.
3.    Vitally related to the doctrine of Salvation (Soteriology)
4.    Relevance in the proclamation of the Gospel (Evangelism)
5.    A basic truth  - the beginning point of the Christian message
6.    Liberal theology and contemporary church movements have moved away from the biblical idea of sin (“an offensive doctrine”)
7.    Devaluing of sin - the normalcy and acceptability of sin in our culture (the “celebration of sin”).

The Basic Words for Sin

1.    At least eight words for sin in the OT
2.    A dozen words in the NT: evil, bad, godless, lawless/iniquity, falling short/missing the mark, rebellion/transgression/violation, falling away, guilty, ignorance, go astray, hypocrisy, disobedience etc.

A Basic Definition of Sin

Sin is anything that fails to conform to the holy and perfect character of God (Rom.3:23). The glory of God is the reflection of His character. Sin is the failure to reflect the holy character and obey His righteous laws.

It is lack of conformity to the moral law of God either in act, disposition or state.
Sin is anything in creation that is contrary to the nature of the Creator.
Sin is lawlessness (1 Jn.3:4); a defection from any of God’s standards.
“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 (Oliver Buswell).
Verses to Consider: Lev.19:2; Isa.6:5; Hab.3:16; Psa.51:4; 1John 1:5.

The Basic Characteristic of Sin

Sin makes us self-centered and self-dependent instead of God-centered and God-dependent.  The deeper we get into sin, the deeper we get into independence. The less we need God the more sinful we become, because we are trying to function independently of God. The root of sin is pride, the creature thinking more highly than he ought to think.

The Origin of Sin (Ezk.28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-14)

1.    These passages transcend anything that can be said of an earthly king. The prophetic passages refer both to historical kings and Satan who fully fulfills it. Satan is the one behind these kings. The fall of these kings is an antitype of the previous fall of Satan.
2.    Sin began in heaven, and it began with pride. Lucifer allowed pride to grow in his heart and he tried to make himself equal with God (See the five “I will” statements in Isa.14:13-14).
3.    He forgot that he was a creature, not the Creator. He started acting like the Creator. Only pride could make him claim equality with God.
4.    “I will make myself like the Most High”. His sin was a direct challenge to the power and authority of God. He wanted to govern the universe.
5.     A clear statement of the origin of sin in Ezk.28:15-16: “Unrighteousness was found in you…..And you sinned.”
6.    Satan’s pride and rebellion spread to others in the angelic world. Lucifer led with him other angels who also fell with him (fallen angels or demons. See Matt.12:24; 25:41; Rev.12:7).

Satan and the Fall of Man (Gen.3)

1.    The root of sin is pride and a desire to be independent of God and His commands. We find that in the Garden of Eden.
2.    Satan had tried to make himself equal with God and had failed, so he used the same tactic on Eve because he knew how seductive the temptation is to imagine that we can be like God, having His knowledge and power.
3.    Satan created doubt in the mind of Eve concerning the Word of God and the goodness of God. He even suggested that God was being selfish in keeping His deity to Himself (3:5).
4.    The serpent also promised Eve the opposite of death. Eve was promised godlike status that would erase the Creator/creature distinction (3:4-5).
5.    Why the prohibition in Gen.2:17? It was a test of their obedience and a reminder of the Creator/creature distinction. It reminded them that they could not do whatever they wanted to do whenever they wanted to do it, because they were limited, created beings who owed obedience and loyalty to their Creator. The tree was a reminder of their “creatureliness” in contrast to God.
6.    Adam allowed Eve to be god in his life at that moment when he sinned with her (3:6). Anytime when we allow anything or anyone become more important to us than God, that’s sin.
7.    Satan’s pride and desire for independence from God spread to the angelic world, and then to the human race.

The Imputation of Sin

1.    Adam’s sin was charged or imputed (“imputare” means to reckon, to charge to one’s account) to the whole human race; to every person (Rom.5:12). It is the inherited sin – the sinful state into which all people are born (Psa.51:5; Eph.2:3). His intellect is blinded (2 Cori.4:4); his emotions are degraded (Rom.1:21, 24, 26); his will is enslaved to sin (Rom.6:20; 7:20).
2.    It is like a charge account. We accumulate a debt on our account which must be paid in full to clear our account. When Adam sinned, God posted a debt of sin to the account of every person who would ever be born, because Adam is the representative of the human race. He was given a position of headship by God. Adam and Eve passed on their spiritual genes (the sin nature) to their children.
3.    This leads us to the doctrine of the original sin – the sinful state and condition in which men are born. It is derived from the original root of the human race – Adam. It is present in every individual; it is the corruption of our whole nature. After Adam and Eve sinned they could only propagate after their kind. Their children were sinners by birth – the transmission of inherited sin (Gen.4:1; Psa.51:5; Rom.5:12).
4.    The result of the original sin is Total Depravity – total corruption by sin. Every facet of human nature has been polluted, defiled, and contaminated by sin (Jer.17:9. Heart is the seat of our being). We have the potential within us to do anything when it comes to sin. It affects all people and affects all aspects of man’s being. It just does not express itself the same way in everyone. Man fails the test of pleasing God (Rom.1:28: “adokimos” means “not standing the test”). There is nothing in anyone that can commend him before God. Man’s relative goodness will never qualify him to earn meritorious or salvational favor before God. There is nothing within us to commend us to God or cause him to accept us (Eph.2:1, 3).
5.    Sin is natural and automatic in a child. In the infancy stage all that is lacking is information and opportunity for sin to express itself. It may need knowledge and time to work the sin stuff out.
6.    In our sinful condition, the human race has been cut off from its life source and is dead (Gen.2:17; Eph.2:1; 1 Cor.15:22; Rom.6:23).

The Consequences of Sin: Death (Rom.6:23)

1.    Death means separation and not the cessation of our existence. The Bible talks about three kinds of death all of which have come about as a consequence of sin.
2.    Spiritual death. It is separation from the life and fellowship of God (Gen.2:17; Eph.2:1). All of us are born spiritually dead.
3.    Physical death. This is the most familiar manifestation of death. It is the separation of the spirit from the body. The proof that we are all sinners is the fact that we all die.
4.    Eternal death (second death). It is separation from God for eternity in the place of punishment called hell (Rev.20:11-15). Though God is all-present, in hell there is no righteous provision of His goodness and there is no experience of His benevolence. In hell people are eternally locked in their sin. Locked away in total evil forever and the total absence of Gods goodness. That is hell. Spiritual death can be reversed by salvation, and physical death will be reversed by resurrection. But there is no reversal of eternal death.

Sin’s Devastation on the Creation

1.    Sin spoiled every part of God’s good creation. When Adam sinned God cursed the ground (Gen.3:17-18). Animal and plant life were affected. Nature would resist man. They will be on a collision course. The disturbances and destructiveness of nature is due to sin. Animals would become wild and ferocious; plant life would produce weeds to hinder productivity. The natural world groans under the weight of sin (Rom.8:22).
2.    All creation anxiously long for the day of restoration. The creation itself will be set free from its slavery to corruption (Rom.8:19-21).

The Cure for Sin

1.    God has a remedy for this terrible disease called sin. The cure for sin is in the atonement of Jesus Christ. This is the good news of the Gospel.
2.    Disease demands a cure. It will not go away by itself. A competent and caring physician has to do the treatment.
3.    God cannot ignore sin. It should be atoned for. Sin must be addressed in a way that is acceptable to the one who has been offended.
4.    Christ is the only one acceptable to God who can pay the terrible price that sin demanded.
5.    Atonement is paying what must be paid to settle the claim. God will never leave the guilty unpunished (Nahum 1:3).
6.    God did not lessen the penalty for sin. He did allow a substitute to bear the penalty for guilty sinners. A substitute is someone who goes in the place of another person. When Adam and Eve sinned, they had their own substitute in mind. It was a fig leaf substitute, which was completely unacceptable to God. God responded by slaying an animal to clothe them. The only substitute that God accepts, and that will properly atone for sin, is the shedding of blood (Lev.17:11). Blood is the only means of atonement that satisfies God’s righteous retribution against sin (Heb.9:22). No sinner dared to approach God and seek forgiveness without an acceptable substitute.
7.    Jesus Christ is our substitute. The atonement of Christ is substitutionary (Mk.10:45; 2 Cori.5:21). Our guilt was transferred to him. He died in our place. Only the sinless Son of God could stand up in God’s court for us and say, “Your Honor, I would like to take the penalty for these guilty ones”. We can’t depend on another sinner to help us out. Jesus is the only one without any spot or blemish. Moreover our substitute had to a Man, one of us. But He had to a perfect man. Jesus Christ is the perfect God-man, the sinless Lamb of God who would be the perfect atoning sacrifice for sin. He had no sin of His own to pay for. He died for me.