The Fact of Sin

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18).

All unrighteousness is sin (I John 5:17-20). Every Christian is conscious of the doctrine of sin. Within the last 100 years, Christendom has lost consciousness of the sovereignty of God. The guilt and condemnation of sin and modern technology have brought about many changes in the world in which we live. Man can remove himself from the system no more than he can remove himself from the air that he breathes. Nevertheless, Christians must guard lest a system changed by technology change their attitude about eternal realities.

Doctrine is a tremendous word. It comes from a Greek word meaning teaching—either that which is taught or the act of teaching. A child of God is capable of understanding doctrine. The Pastoral Epistles stress sound doctrine. The present age of rejecting sound doctrine is described in II Timothy 4:3-4—“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

John climaxed doctrine’s importance and gave us II John 9-11—“Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates for his evil deeds.” Doctrine is a statement of Christian experience. His doctrine can never be equated or final. Christians can always improve their knowledge of doctrine, but in this life, they can never finalize any great doctrinal truth. Someone stated that doctrine without duty is a tree without fruit, and duty without doctrine is a tree without roots. Genuine fruit proceeds from doctrine. Plucked fruit may survive for a time, but it is not independent of the tree. Likewise, correct living proceeds from correct thinking, and right thoughts are right doctrine.

Without the historical Christ and personal love for Him, the broad theology of our day will reduce itself to a dream, powerless to rouse sleeping assemblies. Current, predominant lethargy and complacency has resulted from the absence of doctrinal teaching.

The Bible does not condemn theological progress, but it does define its limits. One must abide in the doctrine of Christ (II John 9-11). A Christian must not break with truths learned in the past. The teaching of Christ must be maintained. A theology which is simply old is dead. A theology which is simply new is false. Every instructed person has things old and new in his treasure (Matt. 13:52). No interpretation which eliminates the Person and Work of Christ from Christianity is true. No doctrine that eliminates great truths previously taught is true. All new discoveries by science are within a completed creation. All new discoveries made in the Scriptures are found within a completed revelation of the word of God.

Modern liberalists claim that God is not a person distinct from us, that our life is a part of His. They say any conception whatever of God is foolish and that theology is the death of religion. They say that we should not seek to know God but merely feel His presence. They claim that Jesus had a practical, not a theoretical, knowledge of God.

One who correctly refuted the liberalistic claims said the following: Liberals mean by the word practical—no knowledge of God which is also practical but a practical knowledge that is not theoretical; that is, a knowledge which gives no information about objective reality, a knowledge which is no knowledge at all. The relation of Christ to the Father was not vague and impersonal. It was relation to a Person, whose existence was just as definite and as much a theoretic knowledge as the existence of the sun and moon that God created and sustains.

Most religionists reject the truth of God’s absolute sovereignty. Like the philosophers in Paul’s day (Acts 17:22-32), they talk about God’s eminence but fail to rise above that to His transcendence. Nevertheless, He is the sovereign God of the universe.

The liberalist statement that Christianity is a life, not a doctrine, makes light of doctrine. To many, that assertion has the appearance of godliness. Contrarily, careful examination of the statement proves it is deadly heresy. It is subject to historical examination. Someone has said that at the foundation of every corporation is the incorporation document in which objects of the corporation are set forth. Similarly, the beginnings of Christianity constitute a definite, historical record—the coming of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, and His coming again. These truths constitute doctrine. That historical record has been preserved for God’s people for all ages. It can be neither added to nor taken from.

Doctrine is the foundation of the Christian faith. Isaiah said, “If they do speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” (Is. 8:20). Peter said, “Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God…” (I Peter 4:11).

The doctrine of sin is discussed in Romans 1:18-32. Sin must always be considered in its relation to God’s sovereignty and providence. Too often men say that God permits sin. However, when God gives people up, it is not a mere permission but God’s positive withdrawal. God positively withdraws all restraint. But He does not infuse an evil principle into those who continue to pursue and fulfill that which is already in their hearts.

All unrighteousness is sin. He who commits sin transgresses the law: “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (I John 3:4). Observe the two words, “sin” and “law.” The Greek word for “sin” is hamartia, and the Greek word for “law” is nomas. In this case, hamartia refers to transgression of the law. John used it in the sense of no law or disobedience to God’s standard. God’s standard is His holy law. He is His own law. The two Greek words hamartia (sin) and anomia (lawlessness) are coextensive. Whatever one is, so is the other.

Sin and redemption go hand in hand. They stand or fall together. Because of sin, God provided redemption for His people. Sin and redemption become the measurements of each other. When sin is minimized, redemption automatically becomes impoverished. Little knowledge of redemption today is the result of little recognition of sin. God’s law is the only standard by which everything should be measured. Sin is transgression of the law.

The word “sin” is used in more than one sense in the Scriptures. Almost every commentary describes sin as any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God. That is a meaningful statement, but it does not fully explain sin.

The primary meaning of the word “sin” is to miss the mark. That is the most comprehensive term for divergence from moral rectitude. The word “sin” is used three different ways in Scripture: (1) in the sense of a principle or course of action, (2) as a governing principle of power, or (3) in the sense of a sinful act or deed. Sin is a principle or course of action. An evil principle began in the heart of Adam that resides in the heart of every person born into this world (Jer. 17:9). All have sinned; there is none righteous.

Sin obviously exists. Its existence can be proved by the revelation of Scripture. It can also be verified apart from any knowledge of the word of God. God reveals sin to men by the Holy Scriptures, Jesus Christ, and general revelation. God also discloses sin by general revelation, apart from the Scriptures and Jesus Christ. The wrath of God is revealed. Unclean lives lived by men today are the result of their turning from the light unveiled in creation.

Death exists, but it did not until Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden. Death is the consequence of sin: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). The whole creation groans because it is under God’s wrath. Every person who dies manifests the reality of sin.

The word “sin” is used as a governing principle of power: “Knowing this that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin, for he who has died is freed from sin” (Rom. 6:6-7). Sin is an organized power. Although the members of the body are the expression of it, there is a principle or seat of sin in the heart.

The word “sin” is used in the sense of a sinful deed or act. It can be either a word or deed. Sin is sinful because it is unlike God; consequently, it is ungodly. God’s holy character is the only standard by which moral value may be accurately judged. God is holy; He is the only standard by which moral value may be accurately judged. God is holy; He is the only standard for measurement.

Persons who disregard God have no moral standard left but the social standards of the day. Immorality among men is the consequence of indifference toward God’s absolute sovereignty. The greater one’s appreciation for God’s holiness, the more heinous sin is to him. Men in general would prefer no discussion of sin. General attitude assumes that it is wiser to leave the monster of sin to work in the dark and dwell on attractive virtues of life.

God describes sin as transgression—oversteps the boundaries; iniquity—that which is altogether wrong; sin—misses the mark; error—disregards right and goes astray; wickedness—works out an evil nature or principle; ungodliness—lacks fear of God; evil—opposes all things of God; disobedience—unwilling to be guided by God’s will; unbelief—fails to trust God; lawlessness—has contempt for Divine law; and universal—no one is exempt.

Sin is a fact, an obvious reality. It is universal: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). The first word of this text shows that this is the conclusion to an argument made by the apostle. The word “for” directs attention to previous statements: The knowledge of sin comes by the law (Rom. 3:20). Salvation comes only through righteousness provided by God (Rom. 3:21). Men cannot be saved by their righteous acts. They are filthy rags (Is. 64:6).

All sinned. In the Greek, this is in the timeless aorist tense. That is, all have always been sinners. They sinned in Adam (Rom. 5:12). Paul was speaking of the solidarity of all mankind in Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden. There has never been a time among mankind that they were not all sinners.

The statement “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) issues from man’s fallen, depraved condition. All sin signifies the original act of sin. Falling short denotes the sinful habit—an act flowing from the fall. When men fall short, they do not value the glory of God. Those persons of whom Paul spoke in Romans 1:21 did not glorify God as God and placed no value in His name or attributes. They valued themselves above God; therefore, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. They did not retain God in their knowledge. God gave them up to a reprobate mind, a mind void of proper discernment or reason.

The fact of sin is beyond argument. The Bible addresses all men as sinners. Psalm 14 tells us that the fool says there is no God, that none seek after God, and that all are gone astray. Prior to the flood, the imaginations of men’s hearts were continually evil (Gen. 6:5). The heart is deceitful and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9). Before his martyrdom, a saint of the past wrote his wife the following note: “Beware of the devil, beware of the world; but most of all, beware of the deceitfulness of your own heart.” Everyone would do well to heed that warning.

Overwhelming data proves that man is a fallen creature. Every person has some sense of right and wrong: “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things” (Rom. 2:1). The sense of right and wrong is necessary to judge another’s actions.

Man’s complex drives, urges, and impulses demonstrate that he is a fallen creature. Before the fall, Adam’s drives, urges, and impulses were perfectly balanced. His desire for food, love, and self-preservation before the fall was harmonious. However, when he fell, these were contaminated with sin, perverted, and corrupted. Since then, man’s drive for food, self-preservation, and his urge for love are imbalanced.

Sin is a fact whether it is dormant in a slumbering volcano of man’s nature or evidenced in the devastating lava of man’s fiery passions. Sin is there, and the evil passion of an individual will manifest itself in hot lava of thoughts and deeds.

The reality of sin has many witnesses. The law of God has been given to discover the fact of sin (Rom. 3:20). The law is a standard to measure man’s shortness. It is the scale for man to weigh his deficiency. The law is a looking glass to show man his sinfulness, a stethoscope to show the condition of man’s heart, a rule to evidence man’s crookedness, an officer which demands man’s condemnation, and a judge to condemn man to death for his disobedience.

Scripture declares the fact of sin. The word of God is the highest court of appeal. Sin is a grievous malady, contaminating the whole man. Isaiah described man as rotten from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet (Is. 1:5-6). Sin is an obscuring cloud that hides the face of God from man (Is. 59:2). It is a crouching beast (Gen. 4:7). It is a binding cord (Prov. 5:22), a rest destroyer. Sin is a written record, an accusing witness (Is. 59:12). Sin is a sum of addition—sin added to sin.

The coming of Jesus Christ reveals the fact of sin. During the personal ministry of the Lord, many of His followers confessed their sin as they beheld His holiness. The very presence of Christ brought confession of sin, as a revelation of God’s holiness in the Old Testament caused saints to confess their sins. When Isaiah saw the LORD high and lifted up, he said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Is. 6:5). Daniel confessed that he and his people had sinned (Dan. 9:5). New Testament saints recognized their sin and confessed it. Unsaved men, like Pharaoh, Balaam, and Judas confessed their sin; but their admission was no manifestation of repentance.

Sin is against God. It is a state of delusion and deception. It is not a mere act. There can be no act apart from a principle. Sin is the source from which the act proceeds. Sin is a quality of being. There is no sin separated from a sinner, and there is no act apart from an actor. The fact that man sins verifies that he is a sinner. One who knows what he should do and does not do it evidences that he is a sinner (James 4:17). In that case, the act of sin is not involved; nevertheless, his disobedient heart proves he sinned. Although his sin is not manifested, it comes from the source or principle of his being.

Sin is a state of the heart (Jer. 17:9). Sin that cannot be known by men is not a sin of act. Many sins are committed of which others know nothing. They are in the heart. Sin is represented as existing in the soul prior to one’s consciousness of it. Paul said sin lay dormant in his heart until the commandment came, causing him to become conscious of sin lying within (Rom. 7:9). A momentary act of sin cannot dwell or reign in the heart, but the principle of sin does. Therefore, an act of sin and the principle of sin are distinct.

Sin has no thesis in itself, only an antithesis. Sin has no proposition to promote. For instance, the primary figure of the word antichrist is Christ. The secondary figure is “anti.” Antichrist is opposed to Christ. Sin has no proposition to project for consideration. False religions have no proposition to promote; they are opposed to the truth of God. Sin covers its deepest intentions, while it masquerades as good. The goal of every sin is to deceive. No one can reflect on the character of sin unless he does so in relation to God.

Sin’s penalty is death—“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). There are three kinds of death: (1) physical, (2) spiritual, and (3) eternal. Physical death is separation of the soul from the body. This happens if a person gets killed in an accident. Spiritual death is separation of the soul from God. Eternal death is separation of body and soul throughout eternity without hope. Eternal life is union of both soul and body with God throughout eternity (Luke 16:19-31).

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The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE—UPDATED EDITION is the source of all Scripture quotations in this message, unless otherwise noted.