Notes on the Nature of Sin, Part One

What follows below is something I wrote up for our elder training this past spring.  It summarizes thoughts on the nature of sin that have slowly come together over the years. Alot of the ideas below are influenced by Sinclair Ferguson, Tim Keller, Richard Lovelace, Jack Miller, et al. 

Notes on the Nature of Sin & Idolatry: Part One

Introduction:  Sin is notoriously hard to define; in fact, some theologians say that since evil is by definition absurd, explanations of it will always be impossible.  In any case, we can summarize Scriptural teaching on sin and one of its primary expressions, idolatry.

Towards a Definition of Sin.

One classic biblical definition of sin is to say that sin is breaking God’s law; or, as the WCF puts it, “sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of God’s law.”  Sin always violates God’s moral standards that are communicated to us in his Word, witnessed to by the order of creation and human conscience.  We break God’s moral law in thought, word, deed, in sins of omission and commission.  But, while sin is never less than breaking God’s law, it is much more than this.

One way we can more deeply grasp sin is to understand that sin has an internal root that bears external fruit in our lives. External sins involve more obvious expressions of rebellion against God and his order: murder, adultery, verbal cruelty, preening self-righteousness.  Such external sins are the fruit of more internal, root sins of the heart, mind and human personality.  For example, the root sin of anger can produce, if unchecked, the fruit sin of murder.  Therefore, if we’re going to understand sin we need to understand its root as much as is possible.

Sin, at its root, is the natural human disposition against God that is a blend of pride, unbelief and self-reliance.  Lovelace, following Luther, argues that unbelief is logically primary: unbelief that God is good and good to me, and therefore unbelief that God’s word to me is reliable, true, trustworthy. (Or, to put it the opposite way, sinful unbelief is actually the belief that God is not good, trustworthy, or just – see Genesis 3.1-6.  I discussed this more in a post a while back here). But note that already inherent in this unbelief are a host of other sins.  Unbelief contains an inherent self-reliance or self-trust (Jer. 17.7-9): every time we disbelieve in God we are automatically believing in or ultimately trusting ourselves and our goodness, judgment, knowledge more than God’s. This, of course, is incredibly arrogant – thus, unbelief also partakes in the sin of pride.  Perhaps these three parts of sin – unbelief, self-reliance and pride – are best thought of as perspectives on the heart of sin as it operates in fallen human beings.