Sin - What is Sin?

Misconceptions About Sin

• Sin is not just breaking somebody's rules, even God's rules. (Most Westerns today think this way because they are too individualistic in outlook.) Sin is something that is actually nasty.
• Sin is not just a nasty action. (Many of a Roman Catholic or similar background think this way: they have a well developed sense of the nastiness of sin. But do not fully appreciate that it is a personal insult to God. Just like sometimes a child does something naughty out of spite.) Sin involves thumbing the nose at God.
• Sin is not just a thumbing the nose at God. (Many evangelical Christians think this way, and major on Psa.51 "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned." But that is not the ultimate nor the deepest nor the most complete understanding of sin. Since God loves his creation, and his love is infinite, then his concern with sin is also that it harms what he deeply loves.) Sin brings immense harm to his beloved creation.
• Sin is not just harm to creation that we can see. Many Christians today think only about the immediate, visible harm. Sin is also causes harm indirectly and over the longer term.
• Sin is is not just a cause-and-effect relationship, whether direct or indirect. Some Christians do recognise the long-term, indirect impacts of sin, but then fall into a judgemental attitude. Sin also pervades and shapes the very structures of human living and society.
• Sin is not just structural. Some Christians are so intent on changing the sinful structures of society, that they try doing so in their own anger and strength which lets them down. Sin is also all the rest above, especially a thumbing the nose at God.

Kinds of Sin

If I tell a lie, steal, commit adultery, lust after a woman, murder, be angry with my brother without cause, keep a grudge, turn away from God, act selfishly, have a selfish attitude even though I act unselfishly, perpetrate injustice, refuse to give justice - these are all sin, and so are many more things.

Now, I don't want to become all technical, about the difference between sinful acts and deep-rooted sinfulness. Instead, I want to separate out and understand the different kinds of sin and sinfulness. I find Dooyeweerd's aspects useful here.

Explanation of aspects: Aspects are not just categories, but also 'spheres of law', i.e. ways of being lawful or its opposite, ways of being good or bad. Dooyeweerd found fifteen distinct aspects - some mathematical, some governing plants and animals and our biological and emotional life, some cognitive, some social, and some societal. Of the fifteen, nine especially are 'normative', that is, we can live and act either with or against their laws.

Each aspect gives us a different kind of sin:

So sin can be many different kinds. No kind of sin can be reduced to any other, and all are important in the eyes of God. Dooyeweerd held that no one aspect is more or less important than others; all are equally important. Likewise, each kind of sin is equally important. If we think that telling a lie is less important than murder, then let us remember that Jesus chose to characterize the Devil as a liar - someone who distorts truth. Does not James also hold this view, when he says that whatever kind of wrong we do, we are still guilty.

This makes sense, because God intended his creation to be a place of diverse kinds of goodness, all working together like instruments in an orchestra. Any one instrument that goes wrong disrupts the whole.

Remedy for Sin

• Dimension 1: to make us right with himself, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
• Dimension 2: to restore us to effect, joyous life as his children
• Dimension 3: to make us mature, like himself in atttitude, so that we treat his beloved creation aright.

The most important response is repentance.

See Also

This page, "http://www.abxn.org/sin.html", is offered to God as on-going work. Comments, queries welcome.

Copyright (c) Andrew Basden at all dates below. But you may use this material subject to certain easy conditions.

Part of his www.abxn.org pages, that open up discussion and exploration from a Christian ('xn') perspective. Written on the Amiga with Protext.

Created: Last updated: Created: Version 1, 31 October 1998 but never completed; Version 2, 31 March 2013. Last updated: 27 April 2019 link to repentance; rid empty table; new .end, .nav; link to nv/sin and nv/; corrected link.