Has the ‘notion of sin’ been lost? (sin part 2)

In March, USA Today published a religion story entitled, “Has the ‘notion of sin’ been lost?”  It’s an interesting article that surveys Americans’ understanding of sin and how some churches are dealing with it (from Mark Driscoll’s and Tim Keller’s attempts to make sense of sin in secular settings (Seattle and New York respectively) to Joel Osteen’s apparent glossing over sin).  The fact of the matter is, however, as the article states, most people still recognize some degree of sinfulness.  However, the article deals primarily with acts of sin – not necessarily with our sinful natures.

The Heidelberg Catechism helpfully asks:

Q.  Then where does this corrupt human nature come from?

A.  From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise.  This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners – corrupt from conception on.

I have often asked my students this question:  Are we sinners because we sin or do we sin because we are sinners?  Typically we think in terms of the first option (we are sinners because we sin), but biblically-speaking the latter is more accurate; we sin because we are sinners – we have “poisoned natures.”

Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be (sin part 1)

At the time that John Calvin was forced out of Geneva by the city council, he was in the midst of preaching through the Bible.  On his return three years later, he returned to the pulpit and picked up preaching at the exact spot he had left off.  It hasn’t been (quite) three years, but it has been awhile so let me pick up where I left off with the Heidelberg Catechism:

Q.  Did God create people so wicked and perverse?

A.  No.  God created them good and in his own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that they might truly know God their creator, love him with all their heart, and live with him in eternal happiness for his praise and glory.

Q.  Then where does this corrupt human nature come from?

A.  From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise.  This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners – corrupt from conception on. 

Q.  But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil?

A.  Yes, unless we are born again, by the Spirit of God. 

This set of questions deal with the sharp reality of the brokenness of this world.  I believe it was G.K. Chesterton who stated that the sin – our depravity – is the only scientifically verifiable doctrine.  We all recognize that the world is “not the way it is supposed to be (a title of Calvin Seminary president Neal Plantinga’s classic work on sin).  We know it globally as we hear of wars and rumors of wars; we know it as we hear of the human destruction caused by earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters.  We know it personally as well – unfulfilled desires at work, relationships broken and distorted, families torn apart.  (Just survey the headlines briefly to get a sense of the brokenness of the world: http://news.bbc.co.uk.)

The law…the tutor of Christ – LD2 (Lord’s Day 2)

In order to be cured of a sickness we need to recognize that we are sick. One does not go the pharmacy for a prescription or go in for surgery unless they know that they are in need of medicine or are in need of medical attention. The same is the case for us spiritually. We won’t look for a Savior, we won’t look for a salve for our sins unless we know that we are spiritually we sick – we need a cure.

Physically we may have symptoms of a sickness or disease but we can often stubbornly ignore these things or learn to live and cope with them. However, when we visit our doctors for a check up they point out those symptoms and diagnose the sickness or disease. The symptoms that we may have learned to ignore have been highlighted so that we realize that we are in need of medical help. Spiritually, we have symptoms that tell us that things are not well. We experience pain, brokenness, alienation, longings, etc. but we learn to live with them or we assume that these are just part of being human – it’s the way things are. However, God has provided, like the medical doctor, the Law that highlights our sin-sick soul so that we realize our need for help. The law reveals our sickness for what it is and points to our need for a cure. The Heidelberg puts it this way:

Q. How do you come to know your misery?
A. The law of God tells me.

Q. What does God’s law require of us?
A. Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22—
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind
and with all your strength.
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
All the Law and the Prophets hang
on these two commandments.

Q. Can you live up to all this perfectly?
A. No.
I have a natural tendency
to hate God and my neighbor.

The Law of God sets a high standard; with our sin-sick soul we are unable to fulfill the law. The point is not, however, that we remaining sulking in our sin. Instead, the law shows our need and points to the cure – Jesus Christ. As Paul writes in Galatians 3:24 “the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ” (NASB).

The law is for our own good for without it we would continue living thinking that everything is just okay. Praise God that he provided the Law so long ago to point us to both the Physician (Jesus Christ) and the Cure (Jesus Christ).

What is your only comfort?

Q. What is your only comfort
in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own,
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—
to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven:
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him,
Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
assures me of eternal life
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
from now on to live for him.

Certainly the most familiar words from the 450 year old document come from this first quesion and answer – and for good reason! There is so much here to be packed that we could camp out here for a long, long time. In fact that’s just what I did for awhile during college. In a time of uncertainty in my life and deep worries, I turned to this Q&A for deep comfort. I memorized the lines: “I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” That phrase I turned into a breath prayer. Throughout the day I would pray it repeatedly – “I am not my own, but I BELONG to you Lord and you are faithful.” In this way, my heart did find comfort.