Free Reformed Church of Calgary discussion
Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 3
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Chapter 3: The Nature of Sin (weeks 10-13)
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6. Sin is Privation of Good: Sin is not a physical nor spiritual substance. It cannot be a substance, otherwise it would have to be either created by God, or co-eternal with God—both which are impossible. "Sin, accordingly, has to be understood and described neither as an existing thing nor as being in things that exist but rather as a defect, a deprivation, an absence of the good, or as weakness, imbalance, just as blindness is a deprivation of sight" (p. 136). Sin "is a privation of the moral perfection a human ought to possess" (p. 137). The idea of privation goes beyond mere negation. "The fact that a stone does not see is a negation, but that a human should not see is privation, since sight belongs to the essential functions of a human being" (p. 137). Therefore, sin robs mankind of the moral righteousness it ought to possess. However, "it is also clear that sin cannot be adequately described with the concept of privation. Certainly it is not a mere lack, pure nonbeing, but [also] an active and corrupting principle, a dissolving, destructive power" (p. 137). In other words, sin is not just mere nothingness, but it is a real active power, "just as the limp of a cripple is not the absence of walking but a defective kind of walking" (pp. 137-138). Still sin "cannot be described in a way other and more precisely than as privation of the good… it exists solely in relation to the good… it inhabits and corrupts. It will therefore differ in appearance depending on the creatures in which it lodges and the organs and powers it utilizes" (p. 152).
7. Sin is Opposed to Good: Sin does not have its own principle or its own independent existence, but "only originated after and exists only by and in connection with the good. While evil does depend on the good, the reverse is not true" (p. 138). "And just as sin is dependent on the good in its origin and existence, so it is in its operation and struggle. It has power to do anything only with and by means of the powers and gifts that are God-given… In its operation and appearance, sin is always doomed to borrow, despite itself, from the treasury of virtue. It is subject to the unalterable fate—while striving for the destruction of all good—of working simultaneously on its own demise" (p. 139). Sin develops in stages. "A given sin originates step-by-step by suggestion, enjoyment, consent, and execution. In the suggestion is the seed of sin; in enjoyment the nourishment; in consent the completion. In that way sin also develops gradually in a person… [eventually it seeks to destroy] everything that exists, with the entire world as its instrument wars against God and his holy law" (p. 151). In the dong so, sin will unwittingly be destroyed itself.
8. Sin is Ethical-Spiritual: Sin cannot create, nor destroy. "Accordingly, neither the essential character of the angels, nor that of humans, nor that of nature, has been changed as a result of sin. Essentially they are the same creatures before and after the fall, with the same substance, the same capacities, the same powers. Both before and after the fall, humans have a soul and a body, intellect and will, feelings and passions. What has changed is not the substance, the matter, but the form in which these show themselves, the direction in which they function" (p. 139). Humans did not become less human with the entry of sin. But humans became corrupted. "With the same power of love with which human beings originally loved God, they now love the creature. The same intellect with which in the past they sought the things above now frequently, with admirable acuteness and profundity, makes them hold falsehood to be truth. With the same freedom with which they formerly served God, they now serve the world. Substantially, sin has neither removed anything from humanity nor introduced anything into it. It is the same human person, but now walking, not toward God but away from him, to destruction. 'Sin is not some positive essence but a defect, a corruptive tendency; that is, a force that contaminates mode, species, and order in the created will'" (p. 139).
9. Sin Arises From Within Us: When Adam fell, "sin certainly began with a conscious and voluntary act of the will… [Afterwards, sin] corrupted human nature and left [us in] a condition that in all respects is contrary to the law of God. So although sin originated by the will, it does now exist outside of the will and is also rooted in all the other faculties and powers of human beings, in soul and body, in the lower and the higher cognitive and conative capacities (Gen. 6:3; 8:21; Exod. 20:17; Pss. 19:13; 51:5; Jer. 17:9; Matt. 5:28; Mark 7:21; Rom. 7:7, 15–17; 8:7; Gal. 5:7; etc.)" (p. 143). In other words, not all sin is necessarily voluntary (or committed with knowledge). In Leviticus 5:17, for example, it is written: "Now if a person sins and does any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, though he was unaware, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment." Similarly, Numbers 15:27-28 speaks of unintentional sins: "Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one year old female goat for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may be forgiven." However, both sins of volition and those committed unwittingly are still considered sins. Ultimately, they both arise because our nature is corrupted and we instinctively sin.
Scripture teaches that it is "not only the sinful act but also the sinful disposition" that is considered evil (p. 132). The "impure thoughts and desires that [arise] in us prior to and apart from our will are sin" (p. 143). This is why in "Genesis 6:5 and 8:21, already God says that every inclination of the thoughts of human hearts is evil from youth on; and elsewhere it is repeatedly stated that God tests the minds and hearts (Pss. 7:9; 17:3; 26:2; 139:23; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; 20:12); that he looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7); that he demands the heart of a person (1 Kings 11:4; 15:13; Isa. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31; Prov. 23:26), since from it flow the springs of life (Prov. 4:23)" (p. 132). With the total corruption of our nature, we have become desensitized to sin. We now sin as naturally as we drink water (cf. Job 15:16). Sin has become enjoyable to us. After all, there "is nobody or nothing that compels the sinner to serve sin" (p. 144). "No one sins out of duty. We seek what seems a pleasure" (Piper, John [JohnPiper]. 16 Nov. 2011, 6:00 a.m. Tweet). Sin "is the will of a weak, finite creature in its revolt against the Creator. It is dependence at war with the Independent One and striving for its own independence" (p. 145).
10. The Spiritual Kingdom of Evil: "The New Testament reveals to us a kingdom (βασιλεια; Matt. 12:26; Mark 3:24; Luke 11:17–18) of evil spirits, a kingdom that is the antithesis of Christ and his kingdom. At the head of it is Satan, a being called by various names: 'devil,' 'Satan,' 'the enemy' (Matt. 13:39; Luke 10:19), 'the accuser' (Rev. 12:10), βελιαρ (Syriac for Belial; worthlessness), 'the evil one' (Matt. 13:19; Eph 6:16; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 John 2:13–14; 3:12; 5:18), 'Beelzebul' (lit. lord of the dwelling, but probably derived from Beelzebub, god of the flies) (Matt. 10:25), 'prince of demons' (Matt. 9:34), 'the ruler of the kingdom of the air' (Eph. 2:2 NIV), 'the ruler of this world' (John 12:31), 'the god of this world' (2 Cor. 4:4), 'the great dragon,' 'the ancient serpent' (Rev. 12:9; 20:2; etc.). Subordinate to him are numerous demons, evil spirits, unclean spirits, and spiritual hosts of wickedness, which are in turn subdivided into various classes and ranks (1 Cor. 15:24; Eph. 6:12; Col. 2:15; Jude 6), surpass each other in wickedness (Matt. 12:45; Luke 11:26), and together form Satan’s messengers (Matt. 25:41; 2 Cor. 12:7; Rev. 12:7, 9). Although there is among them some difference in strength and evil, altogether they are nevertheless pictured as thoroughly corrupt. Always and everywhere they are the adversaries of God, the disturbers of his kingdom, the opponents of Christ, the deceivers of humans, the accusers of God’s children. They live in sin as their natural element. They never appear as the object of God’s love, though they are his creatures. Christ has not assumed their nature. They may never be the object of our love or intercession. For them there is no hope of restoration and salvation" (p. 146). When Satan and the fallen angels sinned, they "were immediately hardened and became consummately evil. Satan was not led astray, but he produced sin—the lie—from within himself (John 8:44) and became all at once confirmed in it. The nature of his sin is such that he is no longer capable of remorse" (p. 148).
11. No Salvation Offered to The Fallen Angels: "In the case of the angels… the nature of sin rules out the way of salvation. Added to this is the fact that the angels are not constituted as a single race. Humans could and did fall in one person; and they can be and are saved in one person. But the devils did not fall 'in' another, but everyone fell by himself individually. Among them there was no covenant of works, and so there is no room for a covenant of grace either. Satanic sin, therefore, for all its similarity to human sin, is nonetheless totally different in origin, character, and consequences. It bears an absolute character: Satan is the supreme revelation of evil… In Satan, God gave sin every opportunity to show what it is and what it can do. And sin has made the highest and best, the most noble and greatest creature in God’s creation subservient to itself… [Yet even] for all his power, Satan is finally subservient to God’s glorification" (p. 148). We should learn a grave lesson from what happened to Satan. If even the most splendid and highest creature can be forever ruined and ensnared by sin, we (who are created lower than angels, cf. Hebrews 2:7) are all the more vulnerable and susceptible to its dangers. We must never trifle with sin!
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13. Different Degrees of Sin — According to Degree of Knowledge: "Sin does indeed presuppose some knowledge of the law. A person without any moral sense would not be responsible but would also cease to be human (Rom. 2:14–15), and in fact sin is usually accompanied by some sense of guilt. Nonetheless, the standard of sin is not the consciousness of guilt but the law of God. There are sins that are concealed not only from others but also from ourselves (Job 11:4f.; Pss. 19:13; 90:8) or are only later recognized and confessed as guilt (Pss. 25:7; 51:5). Often ignorance itself is sin, and the consciousness of sin weakness to the degree that sin has been pursued for a shorter or longer period (Amos 2:11f.; Hosea 4:6; Mic. 3:1; 6:8; Prov. 24:12; Eccles. 5:1)… [Nonetheless] though ignorance can never make up for sin itself, it does frequently, when unintentional, conduce to exoneration. Paul writes that he was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an oppressor, but adds that he received mercy because he acted in ignorance (1 Tim. 1:13). In the same way, Scripture repeatedly speaks of the sins of Jews and Gentiles as having been done in ignorance (Luke 23:34; Acts 3:17–19; 13:27; 17:30; Eph. 4:18; Heb. 5:2; 1 Pet. 1:14; 2:25). Those sins are not thereby stripped of their culpable character… for in Romans 1–3; 5:12f.; Ephesians 4:17–19; Colossians 3:5–7; 1 Corinthians 15:9; 1 Timothy 1:13, 15; and other places, we are taught otherwise. Still, sins committed in ignorance are distinct from sins that arise from hardness of heart" (pp. 150-151).
14. Different Degrees of Sin — According to the Object, Subject, Circumstance, and Intensity: "And just as sins differ in degree and extent depending on whether they were committed out of ignorance and weakness or intentionally out of wickedness, so they also differ in terms of the object against which they are directed. Sins committed against the first table of the law are more grave than those against the second (Matt. 22:37–38). Or they differ in terms of the subject who commits them: the more richly gifted a person is, the more the guilt of his or her sin increases (Matt. 11:21; Luke 12:47–48; John 9:41; 15:22, 24). Or they differ in terms of the circumstances under which they are committed: the person who steals because he is poor is less guilty than the person who steals out of avarice (Prov. 6:30; Isa. 26:10). Or they differ in terms of the degree to which people give in to sin: those who commit adultery in thought and word are culpable but increase their judgment when they proceed to complete the sin by action (cf. Matt. 5:28)" (p. 151).
15. Different Degrees of Sin — But All Sins are Equally Deserving of Death: The Roman Catholic Church teaches a distinction between mortal sins and venial sins (a distinction that is rejected by the Reformed). "According to this distinction, there are sins that cause people to lose the grace received and make them deserving of death [i.e., mortal sins], and others, such as an idle word, overly boisterous laughter, spontaneously arising desire, outbursts of temper or anger, a very small theft, and so on, that do not entail the loss of grace, are not so much against as outside of the law, and are essentially pardonable [i.e., venial sins]. The distinction [according to Roman Catholics] is based on the fact that Scripture speaks of various sins and punishments (Matt. 5:22; 7:3; 23:23; Luke 6:41; 1 Cor. 3:12–15), sometimes links death to them (Rom. 1:32; 6:23; 1 Cor. 6:9; James 5:20; 1 John 3:14), yet in many cases continues to recognize believers as such, even though they make many mistakes (Prov. 24:16; Matt. 1:19; Luke 1:6; James 3:2); further, on the consideration that there are curable and incurable diseases, and that there are minor insults that do not destroy a friendship" (p. 153).
While it is true that there are different degrees of sin, the Reformed firmly taught that "all sins, except the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, can be forgiven and are actually forgiven to believers, but that they are all inherently deserving of death" (p. 153). It appears that "the whole of Scripture is opposed to this division [of mortal and venial sins]. The law is an organic whole (James 2:10). Whoever violates one commandment is in principle guilty of violating all of it (Matt. 5:17–19). It claims us totally—with heart and mind, soul and body (Matt. 22:37). To the law nothing is immaterial and small: cursed is the person who does not keep all that is written in the book of the law (Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10). Even the slightest violations of the law—an upsurge of anger, an impure desire, a redundant confirmation, an idle word (Matt. 5:22, 28, 37; 12:36; Eph. 5:4)—are sins equal, in principle, to sinful deeds and therefore to sin as lawlessness, hostility against God… Sin is not a quantity that… can be counted on one's fingers and weighted in a scale" (p. 154).
Side note: This doctrine is really succinctly summarized by the Westminster Shorter Catechism. "Q. 83. Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous? A. Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. Q. 84. What doth every sin deserve? A. Every sin deserveth God’s wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come."
16. The Unpardonable Sin: "Even among us humans here on earth there is a sin that cannot be forgiven: the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. With death, that is, with the peculiar dispensation in which we live here on earth, the forgiveness of the sins of all human beings ends" (p. 148). "There is no reference to it in the Old Testament, though [it must be recalled that] for the sins committed 'high-handedly' [Num. 15:30] no sacrifice was instituted in the law, because it set aside the law itself (cf. Heb. 10:28). Jesus is the first to speak of it (Matt. 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10)… the context makes clear that the sin against the Holy Spirit has to consist in a conscious, deliberate, intentional blasphemy of the—clearly recognized yet hatefully misattributed to the devil—revelation of God’s grace in Christ by the Holy Spirit" (pp. 155-156). It is a reversal of good and evil (cf. Isaiah 5:20).
"The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit… does not simply consist in unbelief, nor in resisting and grieving the Holy Spirit in general, nor in denying the personality or deity of the Holy Spirit, nor in sinning against better knowledge and to the very end without qualification… It then consists in a conscious and deliberate attribution of what has been clearly perceived as God’s work to the influence and activity of Satan, that is, in a deliberate blaspheming of the Holy Spirit, a defiant declaration that the Holy Spirit is the spirit from the abyss, that the truth is a lie, that Christ is Satan himself. Its motivation, then, is conscious and intentional hatred against God… [it is] putting God in the place of Satan and Satan in the place of God. Its character is no longer human but demonic… it rules out all remorse, scorches the conscience shut, definitively hardens the sinner, and in this way makes his sins unpardonable" (p. 156). There are several other passages of Scripture that seem to speak of this sin (e.g., Hebrews 6:4-8; 10:25-29; cf. 2:3; 4:1; 12:15–17; also 1 John 5:16). All these passages speak of "sins that leave a person completely hardened and are therefore inherently unpardonable. Factually and materially they coincide with the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit" (pp. 156-157).
Side note: For those that would like to study this topic more, there is a 20-minute sermon by Dr. John Piper (from 1984) that discusses this issue further. Dr. Piper is careful in his exegesis and he takes the same view as Herman Bavinck—that the unpardonable sin is the sin that leaves a person completely hardened and forever unrepentant. It was only after I first listened to this sermon that I began to understand the unpardonable sin correctly. The full audio (as well as written transcript) is available here.
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In this particular sermon, he explains in very plain terms the terrible nature of sin. I thought I would share some of the highlights from the sermon with all of you (as it relates to our study in Bavinck).
In overcoming temptation, "Joseph was sensible [that] he had naturally a corrupt heart, that tended to betray him to sin; and therefore he would by no means be in the way of temptation; but with haste he fled, he ran from the dangerous place" (Edwards, Jonathan. The Works of Jonathan Edwards. Volume 2. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1974. p. 227).
We must recognize the vileness of sin. Edwards warns that "we ought to use our utmost endeavours to avoid sin… Sin is an infinite evil, because committed against an infinitely great and excellent Being, and so a violation of infinite obligation: therefore however great our care be to avoid sin, it cannot be more than proportionable to the evil we would avoid. Our care and endeavour cannot be infinite, as the evil of sin is infinite; but yet it ought to be to the utmost of our power; we ought to use every method that tends to the avoiding of sin. This is manifest to reason.—And not only so, but this is positively required of us in the Word of God. Josh. 22:5, 'Take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your soul.' Deut. 4:15, 16, 'Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves, lest ye corrupt yourselves.' Chap. 12:30, 'Take heed to thyself, that thou be not snared,' etc. Luke 11:36, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness.' 1 Cor. 10:12, 'Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.' Deu. 4:9. 'Take heed to thyself, keep thy soul diligently.' These and many other texts of Scripture, plainly require of us the utmost possible diligence and caution to avoid sin" (pp. 227-228).
If we understand sin correctly, we will avoid it at all costs, and everything that tends towards it. "If we were duly sensible of the evil and dreadful nature of sin, we should have an exceeding dread of it upon our spirits. We should hate it worse than death, and should fear it worse than the devil himself; and dread it even as we dread damnation. But those things that men exceedingly dread, they naturally shun; and they avoid those things that they apprehend expose to them. As a child, that has been greatly terrified by the sight of any wild beast, will by no means be persuaded to go where it apprehends that it shall fall in its way" (p. 228).
God shows us mercy, but we should not abuse it. "Every sin naturally carries hell in it! Therefore, all sin ought to be treated by us as we would treat a thing that is infinitely terrible. If any one sin, yea, the least sin, do not necessarily bring eternal ruin with it, this is owing to nothing but the free grace and mercy of God to us… And shall we be guilty of such a vile abuse of God’s mercy to us, as to take encouragement from it, the more boldly to expose ourselves to sin?" (p 228).
We must set aside everything that exposes us to unnecessary temptation. After all, "we are to pray we may not be led into temptation, certainly we ought not to run ourselves into it… Christ commanded to separate from us those things that are stumbling-blocks, or occasions of sin, however dear they are to us. Matt. 5:29, 'If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee.' Verse 30, 'And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off'… If there be any practice that naturally tends and exposes us to sin, we must have done with it; though we love it never so well, and are never so loth to part with it; though it be as contrary to our inclination, as to cut off our own right hand, or pluck out our own right eye; and that upon pain of damnation, for it is intimated that if we do not, we must go with two hands and two eyes into hell fire" (p. 229).
We careful not to think of ourselves to be stronger than we are. "Whoever knows himself, and is sensible how weak he is, and his constant exposedness to run into sin—how full of corruption his heart is, which, like fuel, is ready to catch fire, and bring destruction upon him—how much he has in him to incline him to sin, and how unable he is to stand of himself—who is sensible of this, and has any regard of his duty, will he not be very watchful against everything that may lead and expose to sin? On this account Christ directed us, Matt. 26:41, 'To watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation.' The reason is added, the flesh is weak! He who, in confidence of his own strength, boldly runs the venture of sinning, by going into temptation, manifests great presumption, and a sottish insensibility of his own weakness. 'He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.' Prov. 28:26. The wisest and strongest, and some of the most holy men in the world, have been overthrown by such means. So was David; so was Solomon… If such persons so eminent for holiness were this way led into sin, surely it should be a warning to us. 'Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall'" (p. 229).
Sin easily arises from within us. "Men come into the world with many strong and violent lusts in their hearts, and are exceeding prone of themselves to transgress; even in the safest circumstances in which they can be placed. And surely so much the nearer they are to that sin, to which they are naturally inclined; so much the more are they exposed" (pp. 229-230). Given that we are prone to sin, we must make every effort to minimize unnecessary temptation.
Like Bavinck, Edwards also places the root of sin in the imagination. It is "those things that tend to feed lusts in the imagination, are of this kind.—They lead and expose men to sin. Those things that have a natural tendency to excite in the mind the imagination of that which is the object of the lust, certainly tend to feed and promote that lust. What can be more evident, than that a presenting of the object tends to stir up the appetite? Reason and experience teach this.—Therefore, all things, whether words or actions, which have a tendency and expose to sin, tend also to raise in the mind imaginations of what the lust tends to. It is certainly wrong to feed a lust, even in the imagination. It is quite contrary to the holy rules of God’s words. Prov. 24:9, 'The thought of foolishness is sin.' Matt. 5:28, 'Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery.' A man, by gratifying his lusts in his imagination and thoughts, may make his soul in the sight of God to be a hold of foul spirits, and like a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. And sinful imaginations tend to sinful actions, and outward behaviour in the end. Lust is always first conceived in the imagination, and then brought forth in the outward practice. You may see the progress of it in Jam. 1:15, 'Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin.'—Such things are abominable in the sight of a pure and holy God. We are commanded to keep at a great distance from spiritual pollution; and to hate even the very 'garment spotted with the flesh.' Jude 23" (p. 230).
We must always be on guard and to turn to God for gracious deliverance in times of temptation!
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1. Sin which men account small brings God’s great wrath on men;
2. The giving way to a less sin makes way for the committing of a greater sin;
3. It is sad to stand with God for a trifle;
4. Often there is more danger in the smallest sins; Quote: “Greater sins do sooner startle the soul, and awaken and rouse up the soul to repentance, than lesser sins do. Little sins often slide into the soul, and breed, and work secretly and undiscernibly in the soul, till they become so strong, as to trample upon the soul, and to cut the throat of the soul.”
5. The saints have chosen to suffer greatly rather than commit the least sin, [Joseph would be an example here; Brooks under this point also tells the story of Marcus Arethusius, minister of a church in the time of Constantine, very stirring.]
6. The soul can never stand under the guilt and weight of sin when God sets it home upon the soul;
7. There is more evil in the least sin than in the greatest affliction.
“Oh”, writes Brooks, “how this should make us tremble, as much at the least spark of lust as at hell itself; considering that God the Father would not spare his bosom Son, no, not for the least sin, but would make him drink the dregs of his wrath!”
I once years ago preached on the descriptive phrase in Romans 7:5, “the motions [passions] of sin”. Paul teaches us in Romans 7 how the true Christian learns to fear the motions of sin and to be sorry for them and long to be all way delivered of them, never mind cleansed from them. Thank God for Jesus coming to this earth to seek and to save sinners and for the gospel fact that in and through Him, where sin abounds grace does much more abound! The grim details of the nature of sin don’t compare to the infinitely glorious details and gracious facts of the nature of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ the Saviour of sinners! “Lord help me to show my true love and devotion to You, as worked by Your Spirit and Word, in a way that I neither desire nor dare to trifle with any sin, and ever pray in spirit and truth Psalm 139:23-24.”
Thanks for your reflections and isn’t it wonderful how one meditative thought and reflection can lead to more and more and more?! To God be the glory for great things He has done for undeserving guilty sinners like us, whoever repents and believes.
With appreciation, pho
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As we learn more about sin, I wanted to share an important word of caution from Thomas Boston:
"Beware of drawing an excuse for your sin from the providence of God; for it is most holy, and is in no way any cause of any sin you commit. Every sin is an act of rebellion against God; a breach of his holy law, and deserves his wrath and curse; and therefore cannot be authorised by an infinitely-holy God, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity without detestation and abhorrence. Though he has by a permissive decree allowed moral evil to be in the world, yet that has no influence on the sinner to commit it. For it is not the fulfilling of God's decree, which is an absolute secret to every mortal, but the gratification of their own lusts and perverse inclinations, that men intend and mind in the commission of sin."
From: Boston, Thomas. An Illustration of the Doctrines of the Christian Religion, with Respect to Faith and Practice, upon the Plan of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, Comprehending a Complete Body of Divinity. Vol. 1. London: W. Baynes, 1812. pp. 210-211.
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1. Many Names for Sin: In volume 2, in our study of God's attributes, we learned about the various names that are ascribed to God. Each name is a descriptor that teaches us something deeper about who God is. Likewise, here, we learn about the various names that inspired Scripture gives to sin. These names collectively reveal the extent of sin's horror and offence. "The wide assortment of names that Scripture uses for sin describe its appalling character and many-sided development. חַטָּאת is the word for sin as an act that misses its mark and consists in a departure from the right way; עָוֶל or עָו̇ן describes it as injustice, twistedness, wrongness, as a deviation from the right direction; פֶשַׁע indicates a crossing of set boundaries, as an act of breaking the covenant relation to God, as apostasy and rebellion; שְׁגָגָה as a wrong act that occurred unintentionally, by mistake; רֶשַׁע as godless, deviant, guilty conduct. It is further described by אָשָׁם as guilt or offense; by מַעַל as unfaithfulness, infidelity, betrayal; by אָוֶל as nothingness; by שָׁוֶא as falseness; by נְבָלָה as folly; by רַע as an evil; and so on. The main Greek words are ἁμαρτια, ἁμαρτημα, ἀδικια, ἀπειθεια, ἀποστασια, παραβασις, παρακοη, παραπτωμα, ὀφειλημα, ἀνομια, παρανομια. They speak for themselves and describe sin as deviation, injustice, disobedience, violation, apostasy, lawlessness, guilt… By far the majority of these names describe sin as 'deviation, a violation of the law' (pp. 129-130). "In humans every sin is a turning away from God, disobedience, rebellion, anarchy, lawlessness, and at the same time… a turning toward a creature, idolatry, pride, self-seeking, sensuality. And because the creatures to which humans can turn are so numerous, sin in their case can also assume a wide variety of forms. There are as many kinds of sin as there are different commandments, duties, virtues, and moral goods" (p. 152).
2. The Law of God — Before the Mosaic Law: "Scripture consistently views sin as lawlessness (ἀνομια, 1 John 3:4); its norm [i.e., the standard against which it is compared] is the law of God" (p. 130). Therefore, to understand the nature of sin, we must first appreciate the law of God. "In different periods this law appeared in different forms" (p. 130) For Adam, the moral law was summarized by the prohibition from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:16-17; recall chapter 2, point #22, side note #2 where we learned that Adam's first sin was tantamount to breaking all Ten Commandments). "Adam’s trespass has made all of us sinners and subjected all to death… [Also, it follows that if] sin and death existed from Adam to Moses (Rom. 5:13–14), there must also have been a law—perhaps not a positive law that was audibly proclaimed by God as in paradise and on Mount Sinai, but still a law that then obligated people personally and rendered them guilty [because without a law, there is no sin]. That is also clearly stated by Paul in Romans 2:12–26. The Gentiles, who did not have the Mosaic law, nonetheless sinned and are lost apart from the law (ἀνομως) because they are a law to themselves and their own conscience accuses them. There is a revelation of God in nature, a revelation both religious and intellectual in content, which is sufficient to strip them of all innocence (Rom. 2:18f.; 1 Cor. 1:21)" (p. 130). Therefore, it appears that the law, as it existed from Adam to Moses (and as it was given to the Gentiles), was known through general revelation (cf. Rom. 1:20; 2:15). The universal knowledge of God's law is evidenced by each individual's conscience, and also by the moral standards held by common society.
3. The Law of God — As Given with the Mosaic Law: While societal standards of morality may frequently be aligned with God's law, "it does not follow that it is always in agreement with it. Frequently the conscience of Christians is only in part conformed to God's law… The essential character of sin, after all, is determined not by what was customary or sometimes done in Israel, but by the divine law" (p. 133). Divine law was formally expressed by the Mosaic law as given through special revelation. "This law, embedded as it was in the entire economy of salvation, contained not only moral but also civil and ceremonial commandments. In a sense, therefore, sin was a much broader concept than it is for us today, inasmuch as it also included everything that was contrary to civil legislation and Levitical purity. Consequently, [the idea of] sin was expanded and broadened" compared to the earlier dispensations of history (p. 133). Regardless of whether the sin is great or small, "it is sin only because it is contrary to God and his law (Gen. 13:13; 20:6; 39:9; Exod. 10:16; 32:33; 1 Sam. 7:6; 14:33; 2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 51:4; Isa. 42:14; Jer. 14:7, 20; etc.)" (p. 135). The penalty for breaking the law was clearly defined. Those "those who deliberately sinned and had intentionally broken the covenant had to be removed from the fellowship of God and his people" (pp. 133-134).
4. The Law of God — As Clarified by Jesus: Contrary to popular opinion, Jesus did not come to abolish the law or to lessen the charge of sin (Mt. 5:17-18). Rather, "the concept of sin and the sense of sin is sharpened and deepened by Jesus. Precisely by moving away from human ordinances and going back to the law of God in the Old Testament, he again makes that law known to us in its spiritual character (Matt. 5), reducing it to one spiritual principle, namely, love (Matt. 22:37–40) and communicates it to us as a single whole (cf. James 2:10). Judging by that law, he unmasks hypocrisy (Matt. 23), breaks the bond between the ethical and the physical (Mark 7:15), goes back to the heart as the source of all sin (Matt. 15:18–19)… Against the backdrop of the revelation of God’s grace in the gospel, sin stands out all the more darkly. The law remains the source of our knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20; 7:7), but when that law is read in light of the gospel, sin becomes manifest in all its hideousness. Then it becomes evident that it is a power that makes its servants into slaves (John 8:34; Rom. 6:20), a power that finds its strength in the law (1 Cor. 15:56), is rooted in the flesh with its desires (Rom. 7:18; James 1:14), and can only be broken and overcome by Christ (John 8:36; Rom. 8:2)… Accordingly, the Mosaic law [reaches] its goal and end in Christ (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 3:24): the believer may be exempt from its yoke of servitude and stand in freedom (Rom. 6:14; 7:4; 10:4; Gal. 2:19; 3:13; 5:18); still, that freedom does not cancel out the ethical content of that law but rather confirms it (Rom. 3:31). The just requirement of the law is above all fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:4). That Spirit, after all, renews the heart and teaches us to search out, know, and fulfill what God’s will is (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 5:10; Phil. 1:10)… Throughout Scripture, therefore, the essential character of sin consists in lawlessness (ἀνομια, 1 John 3:4), in violating the law that God has revealed in his Word" (pp. 135-136). The law (and consequently the definition of sin) has not changed: the "law of the covenant of works still obligates every human to absolute obedience; it has been incorporated by Christ into the covenant of grace and has been completely fulfilled and now still remains as a rule of gratitude for believers" (p. 140).
5. Sin is Lawlessness: The standard of sin is God's law alone. It is not determined by the church, nor the state, nor by moral law, nor by self, nor by humanity as a whole, nor by social instincts (pp. 140-141). "God is also the only Agent who has absolute authority over us and can bind and obligate us in our conscience… it is [God's] moral law that is the standard of all sin… It is this moral law—which was implanted in humans at their creation, had its post-fall effect in their conscience, was announced on Mount Sinai, and remains a binding rule of life for Christian believers as well—that is the source of the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20; 4:14; 5:20; 7:7)" (p. 141). For the Christian, sin takes on a whole new meaning. "Christian faith is needed to rightly know sin, but that faith also looks back toward the law, discovers its spiritual character, and thus receives insight into the true nature of sin (p. 141)
Side note #1: As Christians, we become more attune to sin because we come to learn more about God's holiness. It is not uncommon for Christians to (subjectively) feel more sinful over time because they become more aware of their personal sin as it is exposed to them by God's Word and Spirit, despite the fact that they are (objectively) more sanctified as God's children. As Jonathan Edwards aptly expressed of himself: "I have had a vastly greater sense of my own wickedness, and the badness of my heart than ever I had before my conversion. It has often appeared to me, that if God should mark iniquity against me, I should appear the very worst of all mankind" (Edwards, Jonathan, Faust, Clarence, and Thomas Johnson. Jonathan Edwards: Representative Selections. New York: Hill and Wang, 1962. p. 70; cf. Psalm 130:3).
Indeed, B.B. Warfield, the "Lion of Princeton," described a certain (paradoxical) optimistic misery of the Christian! "We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only 'when we believe,' it is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live… Though blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, we are still in ourselves just 'miserable sinners.' 'Miserable sinners' saved by grace, to be sure. But 'miserable sinners' still deserving in ourselves nothing but everlasting wrath… There is emphasized in this attitude the believer’s continued sinfulness in fact and in act and his continued sense of his sinfulness. And this carries with it recognition of the necessity of unbroken penitence throughout life. The Christian is conceived fundamentally, in other words, as a penitent sinner… We are sinners, and we know ourselves to be sinners lost and helpless in ourselves; but we are saved sinners, and it is our salvation which gives the tone to our life—a tone of joy which swells in exact proportion to the sense we have of our ill-desert. For it is he to whom much is forgiven who loves much and, who loving, rejoices much… But that is not all that is to be said: it is not even the main thing that must be said… The spirit of this Christianity is a spirit of penitent indeed, but overmastering exultation… The attitude of the 'miserable sinner' is not only not one of despair; it is not even one of depression; and not even one of hesitation or doubt; hope is too weak a word to apply to it… It is an attitude of exultant joy… Only this joy has its ground not in ourselves but in our Savior" (Warfield, Benjamin Breckinridge. The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield. Vol. 7. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1981. pp. 113-114).