We are going to continue our walk through the Articles of Faith for the Church of the Nazarene. Let’s try to remember what we have learned so far. The first article was
I. The Triune God
II. Jesus Christ
III. The Holy Spirit
IV. The Holy Scriptures
Last week, in discussing the term ‘inerrant,’ as it relates to the Bible, I pointed out a few passages that non-Christians might look at and say that these were errors. However, I believe that God was actively involved in every aspect of the writing of His Word and I do not believe that He would allow anything that would change the fundamental understandings that we come to by reading His Word.
This morning, we are going to move to our fifth Article of Faith, which is:
V. Sin, Original and Personal
Here is the description of this 5th tenet of our faith:
We believe that sin came into the world through the disobedience of our first parents, and death by sin. We believe that sin is of two kinds: original sin or depravity, and actual or personal sin.
We believe that original sin, or depravity, is that corruption of the nature of all the offspring of Adam by reason of which everyone is very far gone from original righteousness or the pure state of our first parents at the time of their creation, is averse to God, is without spiritual life, and inclined to evil, and that continually. We further believe that original sin continues to exist with the new life of the regenerate, until the heart is fully cleansed by the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
We believe that original sin differs from actual sin in that it constitutes an inherited propensity to actual sin for which no one is accountable until its divinely provided remedy is neglected or rejected.
We believe that actual or personal sin is a voluntary violation of a known law of God by a morally responsible person. It is therefore not to be confused with involuntary and inescapable shortcomings, infirmities, faults, mistakes, failures, or other deviations from a standard of perfect conduct that are the residual effects of the Fall. However, such innocent effects do not include attitudes or responses contrary to the spirit of Christ, which may properly be called sins of the spirit. We believe that personal sin is primarily and essentially a violation of the law of love; and that in relation to Christ sin may be defined as unbelief.
Wow. That was quite a mouthful. This morning, I am going to not only show you the scriptural basis for these statements, but I will also attempt to simplify most of them for you as well.
I am not going to retell the story of the Fall, which you can find in Genesis 3. Suffice it to say that God made mankind in His image and He saw that it was good. However, man chose to disobey God and ‘fell’ from grace. When man disobeyed God, he brought sin into the world. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned
Before we go any further, I want to give you an easy definition of ‘sin.’ In the statement from the Manual that I read, it described sin as disobedience, which it is. However, I think a more accurate definition would be ‘selfishness.’ Sin is doing what you want to do rather than submitting to what God wants you to do. It is also not doing what God wants you to do because you don’t want to.
So, when Adam and Eve sinned, they caused a change in their DNA that has been transmitted to every one of their descendants, including you and me. Their decision not only changed them, but it changed the world around them so that death, disease, and decay began to occur to the entire world in which we live. This sin that I am talking about is called “original sin” because it emanated from our original ancestors.
You will hear many people in the world that they believe that man is basically good. Genesis 6:5 says:
The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.
If you think that man is basically good, you haven’t seen the news lately, or ever. You also haven’t taken a good hard look inside your own heart.
The next thing that our statement on sin says is that original sin is still at work within the believer until and unless they are baptized by the Holy Spirit. That baptism only takes place when you have completely surrendered to God’s will in and for your life.
Paul told the Corinthians that they were still in the flesh and were not ready for the meat of the Word of God. This is because they had not surrendered to God’s will. They had accepted that Jesus had died for their sins and had been forgiven, but they were still completely unable to stop sinning because the Holy Spirit was not given complete control. It is only after you surrender that you have any chance of not sinning. That is when He conquers the original sin that pervades our every thought and gives us the ability to choose against our own will.
Let’s move on to personal sin. This is where we differ from Calvinists.
First of all, I want you to notice that it states ‘a morally responsible person.’ This means that someone with a handicap that makes them unable to truly grasp the rights and wrongs of their actions are not culpable, or not held accountable. God is a just, loving God that would not condemn someone who is incapable of understanding His law.
We state that personal sin is a “voluntary violation” of a known law of God by a morally responsible person. In other words, it is something that you choose to do, knowing it is not what God would have you do and against the law of love that Jesus gave us.
The Apostle Paul tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” There has only been one exception and that is Jesus Christ our Lord. Everyone else that has ever lived has sinned.
This is what separates us from the Calvinists, who say that you can’t ever go a day without sinning. They believe that every evil thought is a sin. While we still agree that our thoughts should begin to align with the thoughts of our Lord, if Satan puts an evil thought in your mind and you thrust it away from you and do not dwell on it or act on it, you have not sinned. Sin, under our definition, is a voluntary act against God. Until we have gone to heaven, we will be bombarded by thoughts that are not necessarily our own. Satan can place things in our path or in our minds, but we do not have to succumb to them or be in bondage to them. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. This is the meaning behind that statement. Don’t give in to those thoughts.
If I see a pretty girl on the streets and I think, ‘she’s a very pretty girl,’ I have not sinned. However, if I begin to focus on her and allow my mind to go places it shouldn’t go, then I have lusted and broken the law of love. The initial thought is not the sin. It is in dwelling on that thought or in acting on it that breaks God’s law. The Calvinists believe that every incorrect thought is a sin. Well, of course you can’t go a day without sinning, under that description!
If you have ever searched the internet for a specific image, then you have most likely been the victim of those that purposely link pornographic images to everyday things so that you will be forced to look at them. Seeing that by mistake is not a sin. Purposely looking for those images is.
God judges our motives and the intent of our heart. 1 Corinthians 4:5 says:
Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.
Did you intend to sin? That is a voluntary act against God. Every one of us has sinned. Over the next few weeks we will be looking at the remedy for sin, so I am not going to go further on that subject today. However, I do want to tell you that there is a remedy. 1 John 1:9 says
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus Christ is our remedy. If you have believed on Him, you will be saved…
(Prayer)
*All scriptures are in NRSV unless otherwise stated.
