THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN ARE COMPLEX –
THE UNDERSTANDING OF SIN IS SIMPLE
I have come to the conclusion that my concept of sin will determine all the rest of my theology.
By effecting a relevant merger between the historic concepts of the “duplex” and the “triplex” we have been able to more clearly understand the necessary functions of the human species and the unique characteristics of those human functions.
As we have discovered, the moral aspect of the heart is different from the amoral aspects of the soul, even though all three functions, i.e., mind, emotions, and will, are present and active in both.
The deciding factor which always divides the amoral soul functions from the moral spirit or heart function is the Word of God. Look again at Hebrews 4:12:
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit. . .
God created man in His own image and in His own likeness, (Gen. 1:26; 5:1; 9:6). It is God who is Spirit, manifesting Himself through His Word, either written, declared or Living, that is the governing principle of morality in your heart. That God, Himself, is able to write His laws upon your heart and reveal His thoughts to your heart is a fact that is impossible to fully understand or describe. . . but that is exactly what happens.
Your heart is the receiver which is quickened by the Word of God. Your spirit is in the likeness of the Spirit of God and through it He communicates His moral desires for you. Your capacity to perceive God’s communication with you through your spirit or heart was the one link that was not lost through the fall of Adam in the “Garden of Eden.” It is the spark which was not extinguished midst all the chaos.
As God’s Spirit fans that spark, hopefully into a flame of obedience, through the power of conviction, you are faced with a choice. Will you pursue what He is revealing – or reject?
Moral issues are always centered around the point of choice (volitional or willful act) and determined by the Word of God, either written or communicated through a messenger.
What does all of that have to do with the subject of sin?
God has a wonderful plan for you that will enable you to live a victorious, positive Christian life. In order for you to fully realize that provision, and become all that He has ever had in mind for you to become, then it will be extremely helpful for you to understand the differences between the amoral functions of the body and soul, and the moral functions of the heart. The more you become familiar and comfortable with those distinctions and interactions, the more you will probably catch yourself saying, “Oh, this is good – now I understand!”
Before moving on, let’s take another quick look at our diagram:
The idea that sin is a conscious and moral act of the will is consistent with the entire teaching of the New Testament:
No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. . . Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin. . . (I John 3:6-9, NIV)
Down through the years, theologians, for varying reasons, have defined and redefined the term “sin” – usually to clarify or to counterbalance some current or popular thought on the subject. There are those today who are of the persuasion that “sin” is any deviation from the absolute perfection, whether known or unknown, voluntary or involuntary.
Historically, the result of adhering to a definition that calls something sin that is not sin, usually opens the door to actual sinning. If there is not a clear distinction between the amoral body and soul functions and the moral function of the heart, then you are forced to agree that every amoral thing human beings do is “sin”, because, ideally, it could be better. It then falls short of an absolute standard of perfection.
To make everything sin, is in effect, to make nothing sin. You are then saddled with the task of trying to determine grades of sins. If forgetting to keep an appointment or return a phone call, or exercising faulty judgment in highway traffic, or having to wear glasses because you have strained eyesight, or any other such infirmities or limitations are sins, then there is no qualitative distinction possible between such things which are termed “sin” on the one hand and lying, cheating or sexual promiscuity on the other. The door is then left open wide to sin of all sorts.
(Take a minute and go back now, and re-read the Scripture from I John 3:6-9 that was cited above.)
This scripture is rendered meaningless if “sin” is to include all the amoral body and soul imperfections and deviations from absolute perfection, whether known or unknown, voluntary or involuntary.
Sin, then, has to do with how you respond to the Word of God which comes to your heart or spirit through the communication of God’s Spirit to you. It involves your intellect as you perceive the message, and your emotion as you feel oughtness, and your volition or will as you decide your response.
If you voluntarily transgress a known law or Word of God, to you it is sin – a willful transgression against a known law of God.
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. (Jas. 4:17 NIV)
Therefore, for our study, “sin” will be considered as an act as well as a nature of the heart involving the moral capacities of the mind, emotions, and will. Why is all of this so important? As we previously stated -- because your concept of sin will determine the rest of your theology.
Sin, as an act, is fundamentally a matter of choice, of intention, and of purpose.
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (I John 3:4 KJB)
*SIN AS AN ACT*
1. A willful transgression against a known Law of God. (James 4:17 NIV)
*Which brings about*
2. Separation from God. – “But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.”(Isaiah 59:2 NASB)
Most people agree, regardless of denomination or congregational affiliation, that God’s children can and do live without continually committing volitional acts of sin.
It is only those who regard faults, mistakes, temptations, lack of knowledge, etc., as sin who believe that Christians cannot live without sinning. There is far more agreement with regard to the question of living without sin than is generally supposed.
Actually, this entire question of continually sinning as a Christian is a moot question where the Christian is seeking to do with the whole body, soul and spirit the entire will of God and to live a life that would be pleasing to the Lord and make Jesus smile. There is a realization that God cannot condone in the heart of the believer that which He condemns in the heart of the disbeliever.
Overwhelming agreement throughout the Christian community is also given to the idea that there are really two aspects to this subject of sin. There are not only the acts of sin, but there is also the sinful nature behind the acts of sin that needs to be addressed. The acts of sin are behavioral expressions based on the prompting and direction of a sinful nature.
The nature, of which we speak, is usually referred to as “original sin”, inherited through the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden:
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. (Romans 5:12 NIV)
The two-fold aspects of sin require a two-fold remedy from God.
The next two chapters will deal with those remedies.
Next Week: The Born-Again Life