Sin...what is it?

Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden, sin has profoundly altered every single aspect of human life. Do you really, truly understand what sin is? Here is a small excerpt from an essay I wrote on the topic of Sin. Email me if you’d like the full the essay:


Where to begin with the question of sin? The Bible declares that we are made in the image of God, yet it also declares that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God (Rom 3:23), and yet at the same time we are morally culpable for our actions. In this short essay we will look at answering the following; What is sin- original, social, and actual. My views and direction on sin, and what are the practical, ministerial implications of this understanding and position regarding sin. Let’s first begin with a definition of this term we are examining: sin.

According to Hoekma, sin is a perverse way of using God given gifts and powers. (Hoekma, 113-132). This is a way of looking at sin as the taking of God’s good creation and disrupting that image. Much like what we see happen prior to and then after Genesis 3:15; pre curse and post curse creation. Nothing is the same after the fall of man. Plantinga also has an interesting definition of sin; sin is the willful breaking of shalom. (Plantinga, 10) Shalom in the Bible means “universal flourishing, wholeness and delight- a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts are fruitfully employed.” (Plantinga, 10) In other words, shalom is the way things are supposed to be. Sin is then the breaking of shalom in a willful manner, which is a result of the disruption of the image of God in men to begin with. Plantinga goes on to say that, “sin outstrips other human troubles by perverting special human excellences.” (Plantinga, 3) I think that last statement gets to the heart of the effect on our imago Deo; our excellences in God’s image are perverted. Still present, but perverted. This is much like a giant Maple tree that has grown crooked, still a Maple tree but not as useful for shade as it otherwise would have been. We still reflect our God image, but is has been stained.


But sin does not have to defeat us: we know what sin is! And our gracious and loving God sent His son to save us from ourselves. 1 John 4:10 states, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His son to be a propitiation for our sins.” God does not want us to be defeated, although we are stained from birth through original sin. God not only sent his son, but we are also able through scripture and study to assess sin and assign it characteristics that allow us to comprehend and avoid it. Hoekema lists the multiple facets of the nature of Sin in chapter 9. I feel that an understanding of sin’s nature is valuable in learning how to deal with it. First, sin does not have an independent existence. This stresses that sin in actuality is the perversion of something which was good, a defect. Augustine called it the deprivation of that which is good. The reason that sin cannot be independent is evident in that it can be conquered. If sin were actually a substance, an actual part of the essence of man, then how would we be able to conquer it? It is this understanding that allows man, through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ to break free from sin and to change course. Sin is not a physical aspect of man, it is a perversion of the direction of man.(Hoekma, 169)

Secondly, sin is an essence that is related to God and the will of God. If there is no God, there is no sin. As we see all through scripture, it is the law (the Law of God) that brings consciousness to sin. Rom 3:20 declares that “…through the law we become conscious of sin.” Rom 7:7 states it as follows, “Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what it was to covet if the law had not said ‘Do not covet’”. (Hoekma, 171) The law gives us understanding, knowledge that at the end of the day, all is sin acted out by us and is against God.


Third, sin has its source in the heart. (Hoekma, 171) I understand the implication here. Sin is essence, not physical. What is the heart? It is the emotion of man. The spring of both the good and evil that man is capable of. Mat 15:19 states. “For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murders, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony and slander.” This also leads to the 4th and most interrelated point on sin, sin includes actions and thoughts. The “lust of the flesh” that is spoken of in Galatians 5:16 encapsulates in the word ‘flesh” the entire human nature. (Hoekma, 172) It is our innermost being that is marred, that is perverted. Plantinga reinforces sinful thoughts as sin by delineating further that just assuming that you are offending God in some way is evidence of sin. (Plantinga, 22)

Lastly, at the root of all sin is pride. In some fashion we want to be like God. (Hoekma, 173) That was the overriding impulse in Gen 3:5 with the fall of man. Augustine sums it up in this manner:
And what is the origin of our evil will but pride? For “pride is the beginning of sin.”(Ecclus 10:13) And what is pride but the craving for undue exaltation? And this undue exaltation, when the soul abandons Him to whom it ought to cleave as its end, and becomes a kind of end to itself.” (Hoekma, 173)

Plantinga sums it up very nicely, going on to paraphrase Niebuhr and the idea of security. This also is a version of pride as we (man) are looking to gain what we want when we want it:

At bottom, says Reinhold Niebuhr, we human beings want security. We feel restless and anxious in the world because we are both finite and free, both limited and unlimited. We are persons of seemingly endless possibilities and of immense power, but we are also creatures utterly dependent on the good offices of our Creator. So we live on the edge of finitude and freedom, anxious lest we miss opportunities and anxious anew when we have exploited them…but our anxiety as Niebuhr observes, is only the context for sin, not its cause. Our base problem is unbelief. Failing to trust in the infinite God, we live anxiously, restlessly, always trying to secure and extend ourselves with finite goods that can’t take the weight we put on them…Unbelief says Niebuhr, yields anxiety, which yields alternating pride and sensuality. (Plantinga, 61)

This is the baseline and I agree with this assessment.

Jesus Understands

When I saw this picture and verse it really jumped out at me. The picture is very cool but I LOVE this verse. In many ways this one verse sums up the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ. John starts the verse with an admonition to his readers not to sin. Ideally, we should repent from sinning and follow Jesus. But in reality this cannot completely happen. We are human. We are sin, and we are sinful through and through. The Lord knows this, and loving us as he does, He sent His Son Jesus to live among us: fully human AND fully divine. He was tempted in every way that we are and yet avoided sin. And when the time came for Jesus to lay down His life to atone for our sins, he did so willingly; and now with the full experience of having lived as a man, he can relate to our failings and our circumstance. His atoning death not only justified us in the Lord, but through grace and faith we receive eternal salvation through a Mediator that understands through experience our human condition! What a wonderful God we serve!

The History of St. Valentine

I love Valentine's Day! Mainly because I was born on Valentine's Day, and the fact that I have my birthday on a holiday has been a tremendous source of joy for me since I was a kid. Also, my Valentine's Day birthday is also the reason for my second middle name (yes I said second middle name), Valentino. That said, the history of St. Valentine is really interesting...and much more meaningful than cute little cupids, cards, and chocolates.

In 270 A.D., marriage had been outlawed by the emperor of Rome, Claudius II. Claudius issued this decree because he thought that married men made bad soldiers since they were reluctant to be torn away from their families in the case of war. Claudius had also outlawed Christianity in this time period because he wished to be praised as the one supreme god, the Emperor of Rome. Valentine was the bishop of Interamna during this period of oppression. Valentine thought that the decrees of Rome were wrong. He believed that people should be free to love God and to marry. Valentine invited the young couples of the area to come to him. When they came, Valentine secretly performed services of matrimony and united the couples.

Valentine was eventually caught and was brought before the emperor. The emperor saw that Valentine had conviction and drive that was unsurpassed among his men. Claudius tried and tried to persuade Valentine to leave Christianity, serve the Roman empire and the Roman gods. In exchange, Claudius would pardon him and make him one of his allies. St. Valentine held to his faith and did not renounce Jesus Christ. Because of this, the emperor sentenced him to a three-part execution. First, Valentine would be beaten, then stoned, and then finally, decapitated. Valentine died on February 14th, 270 A.D.

While in prison, waiting for his sentence to be carried out, Valentine fell in love with the jailer's daughter, the blind girl named Asterius. During the course of Valentine's prison stay, a miracle occurred and Asterius regained her sight. Valentine sent her a final farewell note. He signed his last note, "From Your Valentine." Even today, this message remains as the motto for our Valentine's Day celebrations.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

Reading Scripture For All It's Worth

I love reading Scripture. We should daily and regularly read and meditate on the Word of God. Time spent in the Word is profitable to our well being (1 Tim 4:7-8), refreshing to our Spirit (Ezekiel 37: 1-10), and a safeguard against spiritual attack (John 16:33). Anyone can read scripture and glean from it the truth of what is written and also the deeper understanding of what the Spirit places on the heart of the reader. That said, the best way to truly understand the deeper meaning of the Word is to understand the historical context in which it was written. Now, you don’t have to be a theologian or a seminary student in order to arrive at the deeper meaning of Scripture. Reading the scripture simply for what it is does not take away from the simple truth of God. But, for those of you that wish to arrive at a deeper understanding of the Word without going to graduate school, here are a few simple steps that will help you set the historical context of Scripture.


A. The Historical Context

Historical Context is a process by which we form a tentative and informed reconstruction of the situation the author is addressing. What is the author's relationship with the churches addressed? What is its past history? What are the kinds of questions addressed? What is the culture or the city addressed like? What was Greco-Roman culture as a whole like? Here are some steps to take (this is not an exhaustive list as I am primarily referring to the Epistles (Letters of Paul, John, Peter, Jude, James, Hebrews, etc.):

1. First, for background information, consult Bible Dictionary articles, introductions to commentaries, or special articles and monographs on the letter you are interpreting

2. Read the entire letter through in one sitting at least once. This is getting an idea of the letter at the “big picture” level.

3. As you read the entire letter, take notes on:

a. information revealed about the recipients: Jew and/or Gentile, free or slave, rich or poor, faithful or unfaithful to the gospel.

b. author’s attitude toward the audience. Is he affirming, rebuking, or both?

c. information bearing on the situation of the letter. What is the problem(s) or joys prompting Paul to write? Is there a specific issue or is the letter general?

d. the logical divisions and argumentation of the letter

4. The, repeat the above steps in more detail in relation to the specific verse or passage you are working on.

These simple steps, combined with faith, belief and prayer will help you to set the historical context of Scripture and hopefully draw you towards a deeper relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.