Sin in Our Life
1. All people are Sinful before God:
The Universal sinfulness of mankind.
Ps. 14:3 "They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one."
1 Kings 8:46 "If they sin against you--for there is no one who does not sin--and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,"
Proverbs 20:9 "Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin'?"
Romans 1:18-3:20
Romans 3:9-10 "What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one;'"
Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
James 3:2 "For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body."
1 John 1:8-10 "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
2. Does our Ability Limit our Responsibility:
The idea that we are responsible before God only for what we are able to do is contrary to the testimony of Scripture, which affirms both that we "were dead through the trespasses and sins" in which we once walked (Eph 2:1), and thus unable to do any spiritual good, and also that we are all guilty before God. Moreover, if our responsibility before God were limited by our ability, then extremely hardened sinners, who are in great bondage to sin, could be less guilty before God than mature Christians who were stribing daily to obey him. And Satan himself, who is eternally able to do only evil, would have no guilt at all-- surely an incorrect conclusion.
The true measure of our responsibility and guilt is not our own ability to obey God, but rather the absolute perfection of God's moral law and his own holiness (which is reflected in that law). "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48
3. Are Infants Guilty Before they Commit Actual Sins:
Some maintain that Scripture teaches an "Age of Accountability" before which young children are not held responsible for sin and are not counted guilty before God. However, the passages listed in the last post about "Inherited Sin" indicate that even before birth children have a guilty standing before God and a sinful nature that not only gives them a tendency to sin but also causes God to view them as "sinners."
The passages that speak of final judgment in terms of actual sinful deeds that have been done (Romans 2:6-11) do not say anything about thebasis of judgment when there have been no individual actions of right or wrong as with children dying in early infancy. In such cases we must accept the Scriptures that talk about ourselves as having a sinful nature from before the time of birth. Furthermore, we must realize that a child's sinful nature manifests itself very early certainly within the first two years of a child's life, as anyone who has raised children can affirm. Ps. 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies."
What about those who die before they are old enough to understand and believe the Gospel?
Here we must say that if such infants are saved, it cannot be on their own merits, or on the basis of their own righteousness or innocence, but it must be entirely on the basis of Christ's redemptive work and regeneration by the work of the Holy Spirit within them. "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," 1 Timothy 2:5 and "Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" John 3:3.
Yet it certainly is possible for God to bring regeneration (that is, new spiritual life) to an infant even before he or she is born. This was true of John the Baptist, for the angel Gabriel, before John was born said, "for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." Luke 1:15 We might say that John the Baptist was "born again" before he was born! There is a similar example in Psalm 22:10 "On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God." It is clear therefore that God is able to save infants in an unusual way, apart from their hearing and understanding the gospel, by brining regeneration to them very early, sometimes even before birth. This regeneration is probably also followed at once by a nascent, intuitive awareness of God and trust in him at an extremely early age, but this is something we simply cannot understand.
We must however, affirm very clearly that this is not the usual way for God to save people. Salvation usually occurs when someone hears and understands the gospel and then places trust in Christ.
Regarding the children of unbelievers who die at a very early age Scripture is silent. We simply must leave that matter in the hands of God and trust him to be both just and merciful. If they are saved, it will not be on the basis of any merit of their own or any innocence that we might presume that they have. If they are saved, it will be on the basis of Christ's redeeming work; and their regeneration, like that of John the Baptist before he was born, will be by God's mercy and grace. Salvation is always because of his mercy, not because of our merits (see Romans 9:14-18). Scripture does not allow us to say more than that.
4. Are there Degrees of Sin:
Are some sins worse than other? Yes or no...depending on the sense in which it is intended.
a. Legal Guilt:
In terms of legal standing before God...any one sin, even what may seem to be a very small one, makes us legally guilty before God and therefore worthy of eternal punishment!
Genesis 2:17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Romans 5:16 "And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification."
Galatians 3:10 (Paul quoting Deut 27:26) "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.'"
James 2:10-11 "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law."
Therefore in terms of legal guilt, all sins are equally bad because they make us legally guilty before God and constitute us as sinners.
b. Results in Life and in Relationship with God:
5. What happens when a Christian Sins:
a. Our Legal Standing before God is Unchanged:
When a Christian sins, his or her legal standing before God is unchanged. He or she is still forgiven, for "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1.
Why is this?
Salvation is not based on Our Merits, but it is a free gift of God (Romans 6:23), and Christ's death certainly paid for all our sins--past, present, and future-- Christ died "for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3), without distinction.
Check out these two verses from 1 John:
1 John 1:8
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
1 John 3:2
"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."
The fact that we have sin remaining in our lives does not mean that we lose our status as God's children!
b. Our Fellowship with God is disrupted and Our Christian Life is Damaged:
When we sin, even though God does not cease to love us, he is displeased with us.
Ephesians 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
Here God through Paul tells us that we can but should not grieve Him.
Also, Hebrews 12:6, 9-10 "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." "Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness."
When we sin as Christians, it is not only our personal relationship with God that is disrupted, our Christian life and fruitfulness in ministry are also damaged.
John 15:4 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."
When we stray from fellowship with Christ because of sin in our lives, we diminish the degree to which we are abiding in Christ.
c. The Danger of "Unconverted Evangelicals:
While a genuine Christian who sins does not lose his or her justification or adoption before God, there needs to be a clear warning that mere association with an evangelical church and outward conformity to accepted "Christian" patterns of behavior does not guarantee salvation.
Particularly in societies and cultures where it is easy or even axpected for people to profess to be Christians, there is a real possibility that some will associate with the church who are not genuinely born again. If such people then become more and more disobedient to Christ in their pattern of life, they should not be lulled into complacency by assurances that they still have justification or adoption in God's family. A consistent pattern of disobedience to Christ coupled with a lack of the elements of the fruit of the Holy Spirit such as love, joy, peace, and so forth (Galatians 5:22-23) is a warning signal that the person is probably not a true Christian inwardly, that there probably has been no genuine heart-faith from the beginning and no regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:4 "Whoever says 'I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,'". John is speaking not of a one time occurrance, but of a consistant pattern of life.
6. The Unpardonable Sin:
Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:29-30, Luke 12:10, Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-27, and 1 John 5:16-17
When we examine each of these in their contexts we find that this sin consists of unusually malicious, willful rejection and slander against the Holy Spirit's work attesting to Christ, and attributing that work to Satan. A closer look at the context of Jesus' statement in Matthew and Mark shows that Jesus was speaking in response to the accusation of the Pharisees that "it is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons" (Matt 12:24).
It is only after Jesus clearly explains that what He does is by the power of God (Matt 12:28) and gives a warning to the Pharisees that you are either for or against Him, there is no middle ground (Matt 12:30), that He says that all every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit! (Matt 12:31).
Simplified this means:
1. A clear knowledge of who Christ is and of the power of the Holy Spirit working through Him.
2. A willful rejection of the facts about Christ that his opponents knew to be true.
3. Slanderously attributing the work of the Holy Spirit in Christ to the power of Satan.
In Such a case the hardness of heart would be so great that any ordinary means of brining a sinner to repentance would already have been rejected. Persuasion of truth will not work, for these people have already known the truth and rejected it. Demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit to heal and bring life will not work, for they have seen it and rejected it. In this case it is not that the sin itself is so horrible that it could not be covered by Christ's redemptive work, but rather that the sinner's hardened heart puts him or her beyond the reach of God's ordinary means of bringing forgiveness because it cuts off the sinner from repentance and saving faith through belief in the truth.
This fits well with all the verses listed above except 1 John 5:16-17. This verse seems to suggest a sin that if it is persisted in will lead to death.
This sin seems to involve the teaching of serious doctrinal error about Christ. In the context of asking in faith according to God's will (1 John 5:14-15) John simply tells us that he does not say that we can pray in faith for God simply to forgive that sin unless the person repents--but he certainly does not prohibit praying that the heretical teachers would turn from their heresy and repent and thereby find forgiveness.
7. The Punishment of Sin:
God does punish sin!
Yes, it does serve as a deterrent against further sinning and as a warning to those who observe it. But this is not the primary reason God punishes sin!
The Primary reason that GOd punishes sin is: God's righteousness demand it! So that He might be glorified in the universe that he has created.
Check this out from Romans 3
Romans 3:25 "whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith."...
God put forward as a propitiation...His Son Jesus! But why would God do this?
"This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." To show God's RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!!!
If God had not sent Jesus, God would not be shown to be righteous because He would have passed over sins and not punished them! People could then rightly, accuse God of unrighteousness.
Romans 3:26 "It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
Therefore in the cross we have a clear demonstration of the reason God punishes sin: if he did not punish sin he would not be a righteous God, and there would be no ultimate justice in the universe. But when Sin is punished, God is showing himself to be a righteous judge over all, and justice is being done in his universe.
In Christ,
David
The Universal sinfulness of mankind.
Ps. 14:3 "They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one."
1 Kings 8:46 "If they sin against you--for there is no one who does not sin--and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,"
Proverbs 20:9 "Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin'?"
Romans 1:18-3:20
Romans 3:9-10 "What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one;'"
Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
James 3:2 "For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body."
1 John 1:8-10 "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
2. Does our Ability Limit our Responsibility:
The idea that we are responsible before God only for what we are able to do is contrary to the testimony of Scripture, which affirms both that we "were dead through the trespasses and sins" in which we once walked (Eph 2:1), and thus unable to do any spiritual good, and also that we are all guilty before God. Moreover, if our responsibility before God were limited by our ability, then extremely hardened sinners, who are in great bondage to sin, could be less guilty before God than mature Christians who were stribing daily to obey him. And Satan himself, who is eternally able to do only evil, would have no guilt at all-- surely an incorrect conclusion.
The true measure of our responsibility and guilt is not our own ability to obey God, but rather the absolute perfection of God's moral law and his own holiness (which is reflected in that law). "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48
3. Are Infants Guilty Before they Commit Actual Sins:
Some maintain that Scripture teaches an "Age of Accountability" before which young children are not held responsible for sin and are not counted guilty before God. However, the passages listed in the last post about "Inherited Sin" indicate that even before birth children have a guilty standing before God and a sinful nature that not only gives them a tendency to sin but also causes God to view them as "sinners."
The passages that speak of final judgment in terms of actual sinful deeds that have been done (Romans 2:6-11) do not say anything about thebasis of judgment when there have been no individual actions of right or wrong as with children dying in early infancy. In such cases we must accept the Scriptures that talk about ourselves as having a sinful nature from before the time of birth. Furthermore, we must realize that a child's sinful nature manifests itself very early certainly within the first two years of a child's life, as anyone who has raised children can affirm. Ps. 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies."
What about those who die before they are old enough to understand and believe the Gospel?
Here we must say that if such infants are saved, it cannot be on their own merits, or on the basis of their own righteousness or innocence, but it must be entirely on the basis of Christ's redemptive work and regeneration by the work of the Holy Spirit within them. "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," 1 Timothy 2:5 and "Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" John 3:3.
Yet it certainly is possible for God to bring regeneration (that is, new spiritual life) to an infant even before he or she is born. This was true of John the Baptist, for the angel Gabriel, before John was born said, "for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." Luke 1:15 We might say that John the Baptist was "born again" before he was born! There is a similar example in Psalm 22:10 "On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God." It is clear therefore that God is able to save infants in an unusual way, apart from their hearing and understanding the gospel, by brining regeneration to them very early, sometimes even before birth. This regeneration is probably also followed at once by a nascent, intuitive awareness of God and trust in him at an extremely early age, but this is something we simply cannot understand.
We must however, affirm very clearly that this is not the usual way for God to save people. Salvation usually occurs when someone hears and understands the gospel and then places trust in Christ.
Regarding the children of unbelievers who die at a very early age Scripture is silent. We simply must leave that matter in the hands of God and trust him to be both just and merciful. If they are saved, it will not be on the basis of any merit of their own or any innocence that we might presume that they have. If they are saved, it will be on the basis of Christ's redeeming work; and their regeneration, like that of John the Baptist before he was born, will be by God's mercy and grace. Salvation is always because of his mercy, not because of our merits (see Romans 9:14-18). Scripture does not allow us to say more than that.
4. Are there Degrees of Sin:
Are some sins worse than other? Yes or no...depending on the sense in which it is intended.
a. Legal Guilt:
In terms of legal standing before God...any one sin, even what may seem to be a very small one, makes us legally guilty before God and therefore worthy of eternal punishment!
Genesis 2:17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Romans 5:16 "And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification."
Galatians 3:10 (Paul quoting Deut 27:26) "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.'"
James 2:10-11 "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law."
Therefore in terms of legal guilt, all sins are equally bad because they make us legally guilty before God and constitute us as sinners.
b. Results in Life and in Relationship with God:
5. What happens when a Christian Sins:
a. Our Legal Standing before God is Unchanged:
When a Christian sins, his or her legal standing before God is unchanged. He or she is still forgiven, for "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1.
Why is this?
Salvation is not based on Our Merits, but it is a free gift of God (Romans 6:23), and Christ's death certainly paid for all our sins--past, present, and future-- Christ died "for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3), without distinction.
Check out these two verses from 1 John:
1 John 1:8
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
1 John 3:2
"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."
The fact that we have sin remaining in our lives does not mean that we lose our status as God's children!
b. Our Fellowship with God is disrupted and Our Christian Life is Damaged:
When we sin, even though God does not cease to love us, he is displeased with us.
Ephesians 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
Here God through Paul tells us that we can but should not grieve Him.
Also, Hebrews 12:6, 9-10 "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." "Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness."
When we sin as Christians, it is not only our personal relationship with God that is disrupted, our Christian life and fruitfulness in ministry are also damaged.
John 15:4 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."
When we stray from fellowship with Christ because of sin in our lives, we diminish the degree to which we are abiding in Christ.
c. The Danger of "Unconverted Evangelicals:
While a genuine Christian who sins does not lose his or her justification or adoption before God, there needs to be a clear warning that mere association with an evangelical church and outward conformity to accepted "Christian" patterns of behavior does not guarantee salvation.
Particularly in societies and cultures where it is easy or even axpected for people to profess to be Christians, there is a real possibility that some will associate with the church who are not genuinely born again. If such people then become more and more disobedient to Christ in their pattern of life, they should not be lulled into complacency by assurances that they still have justification or adoption in God's family. A consistent pattern of disobedience to Christ coupled with a lack of the elements of the fruit of the Holy Spirit such as love, joy, peace, and so forth (Galatians 5:22-23) is a warning signal that the person is probably not a true Christian inwardly, that there probably has been no genuine heart-faith from the beginning and no regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:4 "Whoever says 'I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,'". John is speaking not of a one time occurrance, but of a consistant pattern of life.
6. The Unpardonable Sin:
Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:29-30, Luke 12:10, Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-27, and 1 John 5:16-17
When we examine each of these in their contexts we find that this sin consists of unusually malicious, willful rejection and slander against the Holy Spirit's work attesting to Christ, and attributing that work to Satan. A closer look at the context of Jesus' statement in Matthew and Mark shows that Jesus was speaking in response to the accusation of the Pharisees that "it is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons" (Matt 12:24).
It is only after Jesus clearly explains that what He does is by the power of God (Matt 12:28) and gives a warning to the Pharisees that you are either for or against Him, there is no middle ground (Matt 12:30), that He says that all every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit! (Matt 12:31).
Simplified this means:
1. A clear knowledge of who Christ is and of the power of the Holy Spirit working through Him.
2. A willful rejection of the facts about Christ that his opponents knew to be true.
3. Slanderously attributing the work of the Holy Spirit in Christ to the power of Satan.
In Such a case the hardness of heart would be so great that any ordinary means of brining a sinner to repentance would already have been rejected. Persuasion of truth will not work, for these people have already known the truth and rejected it. Demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit to heal and bring life will not work, for they have seen it and rejected it. In this case it is not that the sin itself is so horrible that it could not be covered by Christ's redemptive work, but rather that the sinner's hardened heart puts him or her beyond the reach of God's ordinary means of bringing forgiveness because it cuts off the sinner from repentance and saving faith through belief in the truth.
This fits well with all the verses listed above except 1 John 5:16-17. This verse seems to suggest a sin that if it is persisted in will lead to death.
This sin seems to involve the teaching of serious doctrinal error about Christ. In the context of asking in faith according to God's will (1 John 5:14-15) John simply tells us that he does not say that we can pray in faith for God simply to forgive that sin unless the person repents--but he certainly does not prohibit praying that the heretical teachers would turn from their heresy and repent and thereby find forgiveness.
7. The Punishment of Sin:
God does punish sin!
Yes, it does serve as a deterrent against further sinning and as a warning to those who observe it. But this is not the primary reason God punishes sin!
The Primary reason that GOd punishes sin is: God's righteousness demand it! So that He might be glorified in the universe that he has created.
Check this out from Romans 3
Romans 3:25 "whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith."...
God put forward as a propitiation...His Son Jesus! But why would God do this?
"This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." To show God's RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!!!
If God had not sent Jesus, God would not be shown to be righteous because He would have passed over sins and not punished them! People could then rightly, accuse God of unrighteousness.
Romans 3:26 "It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
Therefore in the cross we have a clear demonstration of the reason God punishes sin: if he did not punish sin he would not be a righteous God, and there would be no ultimate justice in the universe. But when Sin is punished, God is showing himself to be a righteous judge over all, and justice is being done in his universe.
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 4:48 PM
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