Haven of Truth Article – Sin
By Pastor Barry Black“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast.” Hebrews 6.19
In the words of Barney Fife, “Yes, sir, that’s one subject you just can’t talk enough about…sin.”
“First, the bad
news…”
From the moment that Adam and
Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, they became sinners.
Every person born thereafter is born with a sin nature.
That is everyone, with the only exception being our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.
Romans 3.10,23 “As it is written, There is none
righteous, no not one. For all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God.” Sandwiched between those verses
(Romans 3.11-18) is a brief eight verse
description of man’s sin nature. Several other passages in
Scripture describe the sin nature of all mankind: Mark
7.20-23; Romans 1.29-32; 1 Corinthians 6.9,10; Galatians
5.19-21; Colossians 3.5-9.
We are not sinners simply because we sin; we sin
because we are sinners – born with an inherited, imparted
sin nature. Most theologians define sin as “missing the
mark”. Because of our inherited sin nature, we will never
be able to get back to the condition that Adam and Eve knew
before they fell into sin; in other words, no matter what
we do, we will always “miss the mark”. Our attempts at
righteousness are futile – we can never measure up to God’s
righteous standards. Isaiah 64.6 “But we are all as an
unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags…” Because all people are sinners, all people are
potentially capable of falling to any temptation and
therefore engaging in any kind of sinful activity. In the
discipline of Psychology; psychological disorders, defense
mechanisms, etcetera, are quite simply rooted in mankind’s
sin nature.
“Are we hopeless?”
Matthew 5.20 “For I say unto
you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no
case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Wow, at first glance, that seems pretty hopeless -
especially when you read a description of the Pharisees. In
Luke 18.10-12, one Pharisee boasts of fasting,
tithing…wow, if our righteousness must exceed that, we will
all fall short! But the problem was with the Pharisee’s
view of righteousness. But take a closer look at the
Pharisee’s self-righteous perception of himself which Jesus
addresses in Luke 18.9: “And he spake this parable unto
certain which trusted
in themselves
that they
were righteous…”
“A screen door on
a submarine”
Therein is the problem. It is
made evident in modern Christianity when people (well
meaning though they may be) tell a lost person to “turn
from their sins” in order to be saved (i.e. “receive
eternal life”). The problem with that is three-fold. First,
“turning from one’s sins” is not the requirement for
eternal life. Secondly, telling someone to “turn from their
sins” in order to receive eternal life is to put the
spotlight on human effort, and therefore take the spotlight
off of where it belongs - on our Savior and His death,
burial, and resurrection. Third of all, to tell an unsaved
person to “turn from his/her sins” places an impossible
burden upon them simply because a lost person has no power
in and of him/herself to turn from their sins. To try to
produce one’s own righteousness is not the answer.
Romans 10.3 “For they being ignorant of God’s
righteousness, and going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the
righteousness of God.” As you can see when it comes to
eternal salvation, human effort is more worthless than a
screen door on a submarine. To think we can do anything
equal to or better than God’s way (i.e. Christ’s death,
burial, and resurrection) is foolish.
“Oh, but there is
GOOD news!”
However, there is good news!
The bible calls this good news “the gospel”, and it is
defined in 1 Corinthians 15.1-4 “Moreover, brethren,
declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto
you…Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures:
and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third
day according to the scriptures.” That is the gospel,
the good news of eternal salvation in Jesus Christ. The
apostle Paul stated in Galatians 1.6-12 that if
anyone preach any other gospel than that, let him be
accursed. In other words, let God condemn that person. The
good news is given by our Savior in John 3.16, “For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.” Placing our faith in Jesus Christ
gives us eternal/everlasting life. After we believe on
Christ, we begin a wonderful journey in discovering what
Christ has done for us.
“I need to
exchange this please!”
When we believe on Christ as
our Savior, we make the ultimate exchange. We give Him our
sin for which He died; and He gives us His righteousness,
which we could never earn nor deserve.
2 Corinthians 5.21 “For he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.”
When Jesus died on the cross, He died between
two criminals (Matthew 27.38-44; Mark 15.27,28; Luke
23.39) both of which deserved their punishment. Jesus
had done nothing to deserve punishment (Luke
23.40,41). One of the criminals mocked and would not
believe on Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God (Luke
24.39). In fact at one point both were both in
unbelief (Matthew 27.38-44). However, something
happened to one of them. He said to Jesus, “Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”
(Luke 24.42). Jesus responded, “…Today thou
shalt be with me in paradise” (Luke 24.43).
One criminal refused to believe; the other realized that
Jesus was exactly who he said He was, and believed on Him.
Both were sinners, undeserving of God’s grace and mercy (as
are we). One refused to believe (as do many). One believed
and received eternal life, and the righteousness of God in
Christ (as I have, and I hope you have). Paul put it this
way and said concerning Abraham:
Romans 4.3-5 “…Abraham believed God, and it was counted
unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
So when we believe on Christ for eternal life, one of the
many things that happen is that God places Christ’s
righteousness to our account. From that moment on, when God
sees us, He sees us through the righteousness of His Son,
Jesus Christ! And one way that the Apostle Paul describes
us, we are “accepted in the beloved”
(Ephesians 1.6).
“The
deceitfulness of sin”
Once we receive eternal life
(and the righteousness of God in Christ); the debt of sin
has been paid in full. However, for the rest of our life,
we will be faced with sin – its desires, and ensuing
consequences. The writer of Hebrews encourages us: “But
exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest
any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of
sin" (Hebrews 3.13). Temptation and sin are
deceitful for several reasons. One of which is that we
think that we can be an exception to the rule, or that we
can get by with it, or that we won’t get caught or it won’t
effect me the way it does everyone else. Or perhaps we may
think that we can sin and not suffer the consequences
(Galatians 6.7,8). Another reason that temptation
and impending sin is so deceitful is that over a period of
time we are conditioned or “desensitized” by it. As the
serpent kept enticing Eve, the fruit likely seemed more
pleasant each time (Genesis 3.1-6), and God’s
warnings eventually became more faint than a whisper. I am
reminded of a phrase from the 1734 poem by Alexander Pope
entitled, An Essay on Man, (Epistle II):
Vice (sinful behavior) is
a monster of so frightful mien (appearance),
As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
“Now wait a minute…would a Christian do THAT?”
The problem of the remaining
sin nature in the life of the believer is twofold. First
there is the problem that all sinners have – saved or lost
– and that is the problem of giving in to the desires of
our sinful nature. Some hold to the view that when a person
receives eternal life at salvation, then the desire to sin
is either completely severed (eradicated), or that it at
least becomes much weaker since the person has been born
again. Often when a Christian falls to temptation, it is
common to hear others make statements such as: “Well if
he/she was ‘really saved’ they wouldn’t have done that
(committed a particular sin)” (as if there could possibly
be a difference between being saved and being “really
saved”). Herein lies the dilemma concerning eternal
salvation, and a Christian falling to the pull of
temptation and sin. There are a few possibilities. Either
the person was not saved to begin with, or the person lost
his/her salvation (as if any amount of sin could be
committed to cause that). The first possibility can only be
determined as to whether the person has placed his/her
faith in Christ. If they have placed their faith in Christ,
then they have eternal salvation. Eternal salvation cannot
be “lost” by any sin, or any amount of sin (which takes
care of the second possibility).
Another possibility is that the person is saved, but their
sin nature has not yet been eradicated (i.e. cease to
exist). This would create a somewhat intermediate state of
eternal salvation, and then the eradication of the sin
nature would become a requirement, or at least a “step”
towards eternal salvation. This would nullify the Biblical
doctrine of salvation by grace through faith apart from
works of any kind (Ephesians 2.8,9). Think about
it – if any of the above possibilities are true; then at
death a person will stand before God only to find out that
either they were saved but lost it, or that they were never
saved in the first place! No room for assurance or security
with either of those!
There is at least one more possibility, and it is the most
likely of any; in fact, the only biblical possibility. This
possibility is the biblical doctrine of carnality in the
believer. We will deal with this further in another
article.
Barry D. Black is Pastor of Anchor Bible Church
Their website is: www.anchorbible.org
Barry’s e-mail address is: barry@anchorbible.org