The history of humanity as presented in Scripture is primarily a history of man in a state of sin and rebellion against God and of God’s plan of redemption to bring man back to himself.
We will define sin as follows: Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature. Sin is here defined in relation to God and his moral law. Sin includes not only individual acts such as stealing or lying or committing murder, but also attitudes that are contrary to the attitudes God requires of us. We see this already in the Ten Commandments, which not only prohibit sinful actions but also wrong attitudes: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). Here God specifies that a desire to steal or to commit adultery is also sin in his sight. The Sermon on the Mount also prohibits sinful attitudes such as anger or lust (Matthew 5:28). Paul lists attitudes such as jealousy, anger, and selfishness as things that are works of the flesh opposed to the desires of the Spirit (Galatians 5:20). Therefore, a life that is pleasing to God is one that has moral purity not only in its actions, but also in its desires of heart. In fact, the greatest commandment of all requires that our heart be filled with an attitude of love for God: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).
John tells us that “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). When Paul seeks to demonstrate the universal sinfulness of mankind, he appeals to the law of God, whether the written law given to the Jew (Romans 2:17-29) or the unwritten law that operates in the consciences of Gentiles who, by their behavior, “show that what the law requires is written on their hearts” (Romans 2:15). In each case their sinfulness is demonstrated by their lack of conformity to the moral law of God.
Where did sin come from? How did it come into the universe? First, we must clearly affirm that God himself did not sin, and God is not to be blamed for sin. It was man who sinned, and it was angels who sinned, and in both cases, they did so by willful, voluntary choice. To blame God for sin would be blasphemy against the character of God. “His work is perfect; for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Abraham asks with truth and force in his words, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). And Elihu rightly says, “Far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong” (Job 34:10). In fact, it is impossible for God even to desire to do wrong: “God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13).
Yet, on the other hand, we must guard against an opposite error: it would be wrong for us to say there is an eternally existing evil power in the universe like or equal to God himself in power. To say this would be to affirm what is called an ultimate “dualism” in the universe, the existence of two equally ultimate powers, one good and the other evil. Also, we must never think that sin surprised God or challenged or overcame his omnipotence or his providential control over the universe.
Therefore, even though we must never say that God himself sinned or he is to be blamed for sin, yet we must also affirm that the God who “accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11), the God who “does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What are you doing?’ ” (Daniel 4:35) did ordain that sin would come into the world, even though he does not delight in it and even though he ordained that it would come about through the voluntary choices of moral creatures. Even before the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin was present in the angelic world with the fall of Satan and demons. But with respect to humanity, the first sin was that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1 – 19).
Paul explains the effects of Adam’s sin in the following way: “Therefore . . :sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned” (Romans 5:12). The context shows that Paul is not talking about actual sins that people commit every day of their lives, for the entire paragraph (Romans 5:12 —21) is taken up with the comparison between Adam and Christ. And when Paul says, “so [Greek houtos, “thus, in this way”; that is, through Adam’s sin] death spread to all men because all men sinned,” he is saying that through the sin of Adam “all men sinned.”
Sometimes the doctrine of inherited sin from Adam is termed the doctrine of “original sin.” As explained above, I have not used this expression. If this term is used, it should be remembered that the sin spoken of does not refer to Adam’s first sin, but to the guilt and tendency to sin with which we are born. It is “original” in that it comes from Adam, and it is also original in that we have it from the beginning of our existence as persons, but it is still our sin, not Adam’s sin, that is meant. Parallel to the phrase “original sin” is the phrase “original guilt.” This is that aspect of inherited sin from Adam that we have been discussing above, namely, the idea that we inherit the guilt from Adam.
When we first confront the idea that we have been counted guilty because of Adam’s sin, our tendency is to protest because it seems unfair. We did not actually decide to sin, did we? Then how can we be counted guilty? Is it just for God to act this way?
In response, three things may be said: (1) Everyone who protests that this is unfair has also voluntarily committed many actual sins for which God also holds us guilty. These will constitute the primary basis of our judgment on the last day, for God “will render to every man according to his works” (Romans 2:6), and “the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done” (Colossians 3:25). (2) Moreover, some have argued, “If any one of us were in Adam’s place, we also would have sinned as he did, and our subsequent rebellion against God demonstrates that.” I think this is probably true, but it does not seem to be a conclusive argument, for it assumes too much about what would or would not happen. Such uncertainty may not help very much to lessen someone’s sense of unfairness.
(3) The most persuasive answer to the objection is to point out that if we think it is unfair for us to be represented by Adam, then we should also think it is unfair for us to be represented by Christ and to have his righteousness imputed to us by God. For the procedure that God used was just the same, and that is exactly Paul’s point in Romans 5:12 – 21: “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). Adam, our first representative sinned, and God counted us guilty. But Christ, the representative of all who believe in him, obeyed God perfectly; and God counted us righteous. That is simply the way in which God set up humanity to work. God regards humanity as an organic whole, a unity, represented by Adam as its head. And God also thinks of the new race of Christians, those who are redeemed by Christ, as an organic whole, a unity represented by Christ as head of his people.
In addition to the legal guilt that God imputes to us because of Adam’s sin, we also inherit a sinful nature because of Adam’s sin. This inherited sinful nature is sometimes simply called “original sin” and sometimes more precisely called “original pollution.” I have used instead the term “inherited corruption” because it seems to express more clearly the specific idea in view.
Our nature includes a disposition to sin so that Paul can affirm that before we were Christians “we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3). Anyone who has raised children can give experiential testimony to the fact that we are all born with a tendency to sin. Children do not have to be taught how to do wrong; they discover that by themselves. What we must do as parents is to teach them how to do right, to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
Scripture in many places testifies to the universal sinfulness of mankind. “They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt; there is none that does good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3). David says, “No man living is righteous before you” (Psalm 143:2). And Solomon says, “There is no man who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46).
In the New Testament, Paul has an extensive argument in Romans 1:18 – 3:20 showing that all people, both Jews and Greeks, stand guilty before God. He says, “All men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one”‘ (Rom. 3:9-10). He is certain that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). James, the Lord’s brother, admits, “We all make many mistakes” (James 3:2), and if he, as a leader and an apostle’s in the early church, could admit that he made many mistakes, then we also should be willing to admit that of ourselves.
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 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.” “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). The passages that speak of final judgment in terms of actual sinful deeds that have been done do not say anything about the basis 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. (David says, in another place, “The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth,” Psalm 58:3.)
But then what do we say about infants who die before they are old enough to understand and believe the gospel? Can they be saved? Here we must say that if such infants are saved, it cannot be on their own merits, or based on 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. “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). “Unless one is born anew, 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, “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: David says, “Since my mother bore me you have been my God.” It is clear, therefore, that God can save infants in an unusual way, apart from their hearing and understanding the gospel, by bringing regeneration to them very early, sometimes even before birth. This regeneration is probably also followed at once by an intuitive awareness of God and trust in him at an extremely early age, but this is something we simply cannot understand.
Particularly relevant here is the case of the first child Bathsheba bore to King David. When the infant child had died, David said, “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). David, who through his life had such great confidence that he would live forever in the Lord’s presence, also had confidence that he would see his infant son again when he died. This can only imply that he would be with his son in the presence of the Lord forever. This passage, together with the others mentioned above, should be of similar assurance to all believers who have lost children in their infancy, that they will one day see them again in the glory of the heavenly kingdom.
Are some sins worse than others? The question may be answered either yes or no, depending on the sense in which it is intended. In terms of our 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. Adam and Eve learned this in the Garden of Eden, where God told them that one act of disobedience would result in the penalty of death (Genesis 2:17). And Paul affirms that “the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation” (Romans 5:16). This one sin made Adam and Eve sinners before God, no longer able to stand in his holy presence.
On the other hand, some sins are worse than others in that they have more harmful consequences in our lives and in the lives of others, and, in terms of our personal relationship to God as Father, they arouse his displeasure more and bring more serious disruption to our fellowship with him.
Scripture sometimes speaks of degrees of seriousness of sin. When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, he said, “he who delivered me to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11). The reference is apparently to Judas, who had known Jesus intimately for three years and yet willfully betrayed him to death. Though Pilate had authority over Jesus by his governmental office and was wrong to allow an innocent man to be condemned to death, the sin of Judas was far “greater,” probably because of the far greater knowledge and malice connected with it.
In the Sermon of the Mount, when Jesus says, “Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19), he implies that there are lesser and greater commandments. Similarly, though he agrees that it is appropriate to give a tithe even on the household spices that people use, he pronounces woes on the Pharisees for neglecting “the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith” (Matthew 23:23). In both cases Jesus distinguishes between lesser and greater commandments, thus implying that some sins are worse than other sins in terms of God’s own evaluation of their importance.
In general, we may say that some sins have more harmful consequences than others if they bring more dishonor to God or if they cause more harm to ourselves, to others, or to the church. Moreover, those sins that are done willfully, repeatedly, and knowingly, with a calloused heart, are more displeasing to God than those that are done out of ignorance and are not repeated, or are done with a mixture of good and impure motives and are followed by remorse and repentance.
On the other hand, sins committed with “a high hand,” that is, with arrogance and disdain for God’s commandments, were viewed very seriously: “But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people” (Numbers 15:30).
According to Scripture, however, all sins are “mortal” in that even the smallest sin makes us legally guilty before God and worthy of eternal punishment. Yet even the most serious of sins are forgiven when one comes to Christ for salvation.
The distinction that Scripture makes in degrees of sin does have positive value. First, it helps us to know where we should put more effort in our own attempts to grow in personal holiness. Second, it helps us to decide when we should simply overlook a minor fault in a friend or family member and when it would be appropriate to talk with an individual about some evident sin. Third, it may help us decide when church discipline is appropriate, and it provides an answer to the objection that is sometimes raised against exercising church discipline, in which it is said that “we are all guilty of sin, so we have no business meddling in anyone else’s life.” Though we are all indeed guilty of sin, nonetheless, there are some sins that so evidently harm the church and relationships within the church that they must be dealt with directly. Fourth, this distinction may also help us realize that there is some basis for civil governments to have laws and penalties prohibiting certain kinds of wrongdoing (such as murder or stealing), but not other kinds of wrongdoing (such as anger, jealousy, greed, or selfish use of one’s possessions). It is not inconsistent to say that some kinds of wrongdoing require civil punishment but not all kinds of wrongdoing require it.
Although God’s punishment of sin does serve as a deterrent against further sinning and as a warning to those who observe it, this is not the primary reason why God punishes sin. The primary reason is that God’s righteousness demands it, so that he might be glorified in the universe that he has created. He is the Lord who practices “steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:24).
Paul speaks of Christ Jesus “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, through faith” (Romans 3:25). Paul then explains why God put forward Jesus as a “propitiation” (that is, a sacrifice that bears the wrath of God against sin and thereby turns God’s wrath into favor): “This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins” (Romans 3:25). Paul realizes that if Christ had not come to pay the penalty for sins, God could not be shown to be righteous. Because he had passed over sins and not punished them in the past, people could rightly accuse God of unrighteousness, the assumption being that a God who does not punish sins is not a righteous God. Therefore, when God sent Christ to die and pay the penalty for our sins, he showed how he could still be righteous, he had stored up the punishment due to previous sins (those of Old Testament saints) and then, in perfect righteousness, he gave that penalty to Jesus on the cross. The propitiation of Calvary thereby clearly demonstrated that God is perfectly righteous: “it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).
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.