Doctrine of Sin

Give a definition of sin in your own words.

Why do some people in our world not like to label sin as sin?

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Definition of Sin - Any lack of conformity to the perfect will and character of God.

Origin

Perfection - Adam and Eve

In the beginning, there was no sin in the world, and Adam and Eve lived in a perfect relationship with their Creator.

Through Adam and Eve’s disobedience, sin entered the world and immediately began to have devastating effects on creation.

Curse and Death

After the sin of Adam and Eve, God cursed the earth because of it, and life became very difficult for human beings in a cursed and fallen creation.

Sin necessarily brings death; Adam and Even grew old and died (this would not have happened if they had not sinned).

Sin brings death because it is fundamentally opposed to God, who is the giver and source of all life. This death is physical (All human beings die) and also spiritual (all sinners are condemned to eternal punishment if they do not repent and place their faith in Jesus).

Question: What do you think about this statement? God created Satan and sovereignly ordained for the entrance of sin into His good creation?

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Effects

Romans 5

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—”

Romans 5:15 “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.”

Romans 5:17 “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)”

Romans 5:18 “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sin Nature

Because of sin in the world, every human being is born with a sinful nature.

This sinful nature means that we are all prone to sin; we have a natural bent toward sin that we cannot overcome by our own strength.

Because of our sinful natures, it is impossible for any human being to live a life that is free from sin or be totally pleasing to God.

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Question: How does our sinful nature explain the struggle inside of us when we try to do good, to obey, or to be nice to people we don’t like?

Total Depravity

The concept of “total depravity” means that we are completely fallen - that every part of our lives (and our world) is tainted and infected by sin.

Total depravity does not mean that we are all as bad as we could possibly be, but that sin has touched every part of our existence.

Total depravity points to the fact that we stand completely guilty before the Holy God and deserve only judgment from Him.

Propitiation

“Propitiation” refers specifically to the removal of wrath against sin.

Jesus as the propitiation for our sins; He literally bore God’s wrath against sin when it was poured out on Him at the cross.

Christians and Sin

The penalty of sin, for Christians, was truly paid by Jesus on the cross.

In Christ, the power of sin is gone from the lives of believers; they are no longer slaves to sin, but are ruled by God’s Holy Spirit.

Christians begin to have new pleasures; their desires begin to conform to the desires of God, and they cease loving sin like they used to.

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Question on Total Depravity: If every aspect of who we are is affected by sin and therefore depraved, what does that imply about our ability to save ourselves?

Question on Propitiation: How does the reality of propitiation (and the need for it) teach us about the character of God (both His love and His holiness)?

Question on Christians and Sin: What kind of attitude should a genuine Christian have toward his or her sin?

Sin’s Defeat

Why should the eternal future you have ahead of you in Christ encourage you?

So What?

In what ways should a deeper understanding of the doctrine of sin lead you to a greater appreciation of God’s grace?