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Chapter 2
THE PROBLEM
The Fact Of Human Sin (1) The Fall And Its Effect On The Race. (2) The Twofold Nature Of Sin. (3) Carnality Within The Believer. (4) Pauline Portraitures Of Indwelling Sin.
(1) The Fall and Its Effect on the Race
Humanity has problems many and various, but its cardinal problem is the fact of human sin. Sin is the foulest monster that ever entered the fair universe of God. It is the root of every other ill. It originates in the devil. Its first cause was human disobedience. Its end is death (Rom. 6:23). Sin is a Biblical term and has to do with man in his relationship Godward. All else of difficulty in the human race has its roots there. The law speaks of crime; society is familiar with vice; but the Word of God brings us face to face with the awful fact of sin.
For its sin, the Bible never regards the human race as merely unfortunate, although of course there are indications on all its pages of the divine pity. The Bible always treats of man as guilty, and distinctly culpable, therefore destined to punishment. 1. The fact of sin's presence is attributed to the fact of a fall. See Gen. 8; Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:21, 22; 1 Tim. 2:13-15. The first of these Scriptures records the awful fact, while the other three emphasize the fact and indicate the wider result.
2. The effect of that fall is regarded as extending to the entire race. See Gen. 5:3; 6:5; 8:21; Job 14:1-4; 15:14; Psa.51:5; Prov. 22:15; Jer. 17:9; Matt. 15:19; Mark 7:21-23; John 3:6; Rom. 5:19; Rom. 8:5-8; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 2-3. This depravity is seen in more detailed fashion as follows:
The understanding is darkened (Eph. 4:18; 1 Cor. 2:14).
The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9).
The mind and conscience are defiled (Gen. 6:5; Titus 1:15).
The will is enslaved (Rom. 7:18).
The race is in bondage to Satan, sin, and death (John 8:31-36; Heb. 2:14,15).
In view of all this, we face the problem, how may a fallen and depraved soul find its way into favor with, and likeness to, God?
(2) The Twofold Nature of Sin
According to the plain teaching of the Word of God, the nature of sin is twofold, being first an inward defilement from which acts of transgression springs; then an act of transgression having its source in the evil nature within.
The order of human recognition when the soul is seeking deliverance is, of necessity, inverted: the transgressor, naturally being burdened with the thought of acts of sin committed for which he feels guilty, seeks forgiveness. Ere long, however, the emphasis shifts to something interior, namely, the inward nature, for it is by reason of the corrupt inward nature that the outward acts were produced, and it will continue to produce more sinful acts unless some adequate provision can be made to the contrary.
The cry of the penitent sinner is "I have done . . ." The cry of the convicted believer is "I am ..." Examples of this may be seen in:
(a) Psalm 51. Read carefully the entire Psalm, remembering its background (i. e., 2 Sam. 11, 12). After a whole year of soul darkness the prodigal king is finding his way back to God, and this Psalm is to be regarded as the spiritual pathway which he trod. Note the contrasted confessions of verse 4 and verses 5-10. One is the confession of sin committed, while the other is the confession of sin inherited.
(b) Isaiah 6. Read the first eight verses, remembering that before us here is not an ungodly man bemoaning his lost condition, but a prophet of the Lord who has already been made conscious of some measure of divine grace. He is now brought face to face with the inward corruption of his nature; hence he gives his despairing confession, verse 5, "I am undone ... I am unclean . . ." With the prophet now it is not a question of sinful action but of inward condition; that corrupt nature which not even the forgiving grace of God can remove.
Sin, then, is to be viewed in a twofold aspect which for want of a better expression, has been termed actual and original.
The Salvation Army is definite in its teaching here, being careful to insist on this dual presentation of evil. Say they:
Man is sinful in two ways:
He has a sinful nature. He is born with an inclination or tendency to evil. His heart is wrong; he prefers his own way to God's way. This depravity or disposition to sin affects every part of man's being, and it renders him unable, by his own efforts, to deliver himself (Psa. 51:5; Rom. 7:17; Eph. 2:3). He commits sinful acts. Those, although the outcome of his sinful nature, are yet done by his own choice. All men are thus themselves guilty of transgressing God's law (Rom. 3:12, 23) (Handbook of Salvation Army Doctrine, p. 53).
1. Sin is an outward manifestation, that is, the act of sin committed. Sin is committed in one of three ways: We may think-sinning in thought. We may speak -- sinning in word. We may act-sinning in deed. A person cannot commit actual sin except in one of these three directions. The same may be said of sins of omission; they could be omissions only in one of these three ways. Actual sin, being the result of inbred sin, is related to it as the fruit is related to the root; or as an eruption on the skin is related to a poisoned blood stream; it is the effect of an underlying cause. Hence in general Scripture usage, actual transgression is set forth in plural nouns, such as sins, iniquities, etc., in contrast with the singular nouns sin and iniquity, except where the context is so plain that their importance, could not possibly be misunderstood.
2. Sin is an inward quality, that is , sin inherited. That inward condition which has resulted from the fall of our first parents from original righteousness, and, as a corruption of nature, has come down from Adam his posterity. This corruption is therefore as old as the race itself and is to be regarded as a unit of moral evil. The acts of sin which are termed "the works of the flesh" (Gal. 5:19-21) are many and diverse, but all are seen to come from one and the same root (see Mark 7:21-23; James 1:15). For centuries numerous theological names have been used for this inward sin principle, such as "original sin," "inbred sin " and "indwelling sin." These are not the exact phraseologies of Scripture; yet they come as near as possible to it, and may be regarded as embodying in convenient fashion what the
Scriptures have to teach.
(3) Carnality Within the Believer
That the terms "original sin," "inbred sin," etc., are not exact Scriptural phrases we have already seen; yet as convenient expressions they are not to be rejected since they come to us having the sanction of long general usage within the church. As we continue the study of the principle which they represent, it soon becomes clear that this baneful thing which contaminates the inner nature of the sons of Adam, producing such disastrous results, is not confined to the soul without saving grace, but even after conversion is found within the regenerate also. In every unsanctified believer lurks the germ of indwelling sin. We quote from Wesley: "Is there, then, any sin in him that is in Christ? Does sin remain in one that believes in Him? Is there any sin in them that are born of God, or are they wholly delivered from it?" By sin I understand inward sin; any sinful temper, passion, self-will, love of the world, in any kind or degree; such as lust, anger, peevishness; any disposition contrary to the mind which was in Christ. As this position 'There is no sin in a believer, no carnal mind, no bent to backsliding,' is thus contrary to the Word of God, so it is to the experience of His children. These continually feel a heart bent to backsliding; a natural tendency to evil; a proneness to depart from God and cleave to the things of earth. They are daily sensible of sin remaining in the heart -- pride, self-will, unbelief; and of sin cleaving to all they speak and do, even their best actions and holiest duties. Yet at the same time they know they are of God; they cannot doubt it for a moment. They feel His Spirit clearly witnessing with their spirit that they are children of God. They rejoice in God through Jesus Christ, by whom they have now received the Atonement. So that they are equally assured that sin is in them, and that Christ is in them the hope of glory. But can Christ be in the same heart where sin is? Undoubtedly He can, otherwise it could never be saved therefrom. Where the sickness is, there is the physician, 'Carrying on the work within, striving till He cast out sin.' Christ indeed cannot reign where sin reigns; neither will He dwell where it is allowed. But He is and dwells in the heart of every believer who is fighting against all sin: although it be not yet purified according to the purification of the sanctuary" (Sermon, "On Sin in Believers"). This teaching of Mr. Wesley on remaining sin within the justified believer is the emphatic pronouncement of the Word of God, and this pronouncement is emphasized through the centuries by the creeds of the churches, which we shall quote.
1. The Scriptures plainly teach that there is remaining carnality in the justified child of God. This is implied in the numerous records of individuals who have found God's saving grace, as later we shall see; but meanwhile we call attention to some outstanding Scripture passages which set forth this truth in a distinct and more general sense. In the Pauline Epistles, written not to worldlings but to believers, expressions such as the following are used: "Sin," a singular noun, is used in Rom. 6 at least seventeen times; "our old man," "the old man," Rom. 6:6; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3 9; "the body of sin," Rom. 6:6; "the body of the sins of the flesh," Col. 2:11; "sin that dwelleth in me," Rom. 7:17; "the body of this death" Rom. 7:2,4; "the law of sin and death," Rom. 8:2; "the carnal mind," Rom. 8:7; "the flesh," Rom. 8:8, 9, 12,13; Gal. 5:17; "filthiness" 2 Cor. 7:1. But Paul is not the only Scripture writer to recognize this indwelling evil within the believer and to give it distinctive names, for its slimy trail may be traced in other portions of the Word of God: "Iniquity" -- Psa. 51:5; Isa. 6:7; "sin"-- Psa. 51:5; Isa. 6:7; "filthiness"-- Ezek. 36:25; "bent to backsliding" Hos. 11:7; "the stony heart" -- Ezek. 36:26; "unrighteousness"-- l John 1:9; "the sin which doth so easily beset us"-- Heb. 12:1; "superfluity of naughtiness"-- James 1:21; "ye double minded" James 4:8. Added to these expressions, which the student should memorize, are the following passages which should be carefully read: Psa. 51:6-10. Isa. 6:5-7; 1 Cor. 3:1-4; Gal. 5:16-21.
2. Universal experience confirms this. We offer here two proofs of this general statement:
(a) From the creeds of the churches. So evident is this fact of retained carnality within the believer that practically all the churches, whether Catholic or Protestant, admit it in their creeds. The Council of Trent (1546).---"But this Holy Synod confesses and is sensible that in the baptized there remains concupiscence, or an incentive to sin." The Helvitic Confession (1566), Swiss churches. "But even in the regenerate there remains some infirmity. The flesh strives against the Spirit to the end of life (Rom. 7:14; Gal. 5:17)." The Formula of Concord (1580), Lutheran; Reformed Church of Germany. "And they that believe, according to the spirit of their mind, have perpetually to struggle with their flesh; that is, with the corrupt nature; which inheres in us till death." The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), German. "The sinful nature with which I have to struggle all my life long." The Confession of the Church of France. Prepared by Calvin. "Even after baptism it is still of the nature of sin. ... It is a perversity always producing fruits of malice and rebellion" (Art. XI). The Belgic Confession (1561), Churches of the Netherlands. "Nor is it [original sin] by any means abolished or done away in baptism, since sin always issues from this woeful source as water from a fountain." The Church of England (Art. IX). "And this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerate." The Church of Scotland (Art. XIII). "And from this comes that continual battle between the flesh and the Spirit in God's children." The Irish Church (Art. XXIV). "This; corruption of nature doth remain, even in those that are regenerated." The Baptist Church. Dr. Augustus Hopkins Strong of the Rochester Theological Seminary may be considered a good representative. He declares: "Although in regeneration the governing disposition of the soul is made holy, there still remain tendencies to evil which are unsubdued" (Systematic Theology, p. 869). The Presbyterian Church. The Westminster Confession of Faith: "There remaineth still some remnants of corruption in every part, whence arises a continual war." The Salvation Army "We believe that after conversion there remains in the believer inclination to evil and roots of bitterness" (Handbook of Salvation Army Doctrine, p. 2). The Church of the Nazarene. This may be taken as representative of the holiness bodies in general today: "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 is inclined to evil, and that continually; and that it continues to exist with the new life of the regenerate..." (Manual of the Church of the Nazarene).
(b) From the testimonies of men. Personal experience, and the experience of our immediate acquaintances, will confirm this without going farther afield.
(4) Pauline Portraitures of Indwelling Sin
We have already noted the Scripture passages which will form the basis of the present study and shown them as being peculiar to Paul, but purpose to take them up again with a view to entering more intelligently into the Pauline conception of indwelling sin by noting the various figures which he uses concerning it. Sin, to Paul, is no plaything. It is regarded as foul and loathsome, and foreign to our nature, yet in such absolute possession that unless some method can be found for its removal there is no hope for the race. His epistles give us a sevenfold portraiture of it.
1. Sin as a dominating tyrant. "S-i-n," a singular noun of three letters, in contrast to "s-i-n-s," the plural noun of four letters (Rom. 6, 7). Read through these two chapters and note the dominating fact of indwelling sin producing the despairing cry of chapter 7:14-20. Here "sin" is personified and regarded as a tyrant, possessing, indwelling, outworking, and driving to despair. Note by way of contrast the indwellers of Rom. 7:20 and Gal. 2:20, and the respective results. On the one hand we have sin as master, a tyrant in control; while on the other hand we have Christ living within the soul by purchased right and as the fruit of love.
2. Sin as a hereditary evil. "Our old man," "the old man" (Rom. 6:6; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9). This expression is distinctly Pauline. Only by Paul, and only in these three passages, is the expression used. This intruder into our nature is declared to be "old." This may be for two reasons:
(a) From the fact of its age. It is far older than the individual. It is "ours" because it was born with us (Psa. 51:5); it has entrenched itself in our personality and worked its wickedness through us (Rom. 7:17). Nevertheless, its origin reaches far back, for it is as old as the race itself (Rom. 5:12). "Coeval with our being, and as old as the fall" (Notes on New Testament, Rom. 6:6, Wesley). Here, then, is a hereditary transmission from our fallen first parents through each successive generation. It is a racial contamination in which every child of Adam is involved.
(b) From the fact of its nature. It is a strong and impressive way of representing that depravity which has spread itself through our entire humanity, leaving no part unaffected.
3. Sin as a unitary evil. "The body of sin" (Rom. 6:6). "The body of the sins of the flesh" (Col. 2:11). Here is another expression of Pauline origin, having reference not to the human body but to the sin principle in its totality. Paul had a high estimate of the human body, and regarded it as being destined, not for "destruction," as is this "body of sin," but for "redemption" (Rom. 8:23), and meanwhile to be "the temple of the Holy Ghost" (1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 2 Cor. 6:16). This "body of sin," however, is deeper. It is the "body" in the sense that it is the totality, the root cause, the source of evil. All evil in any life, whether of thought, word or deed, is from the same central source. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these things come from within. . ." (Mark 7:21-23). They are the outward stream from that inward source, "the body," or totality of indwelling sin. Consequently, sin is to be viewed as an unitary principle which was injected into human nature and must be removed from the nature, if it is ever to be removed at all, by a single, decisive act.
4. Sin as a body of death. "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death" (Rom. 7:24). As has been pointed out by other writers, the allusion here is to one of the modes of capital punishment in the Roman Empire. The Romans were cruel people and had no pity for their criminals. Various modes of execution were practiced.
(a) That of crucifixion, which has become familiarized by the death of our Lord.
(b) That of impalement, the throwing of the doomed man onto a huge spike.
(c) That of the attachment of the corpse. The condemned man was fastened to the dead body and made to inhale the death stench as decomposition worked itself out. Each of these figures the Apostle Paul uses and spiritualizes. As to crucifixion, "I am crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20). As to impalement, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh..." or more literally. "an agony of impalement" (2 Cor. 12,7). But here he used the third figure and shows how carnality is like the corpse fastened to the man. It is not actually a part of him, and yet it clings to him. It is a body of death from which he longs to be free.
5. Sin as a downward drag. "The law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2). That downward drag in the nature which is contrary to "the law of the Spirit of life."
6. Sin as an inward enmity. "The carnal mind" (Rom. 8:5-8; 1 Cor. 3:1-4). Here are strangely repulsive words, having about them something decidedly unwholesome. The word "mind" indicates a propensity, a principle, or a disposition. The word "carnal" means fleshly. It is not only characterized by the vulgar, coarse and vile, but also by the thought of earthliness and weakness in contrast to the mind of the Spirit. Therefore it is a propensity, a disposition, a tendency working within man, having the weakness of human degeneracy and the wickedness of Satanically wrought depravity. Concerning this carnal mind, the apostle states that it is "enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Carnality is an ungovernable rebel which even the law of God cannot control.
7. Sin as a corruption of the moral nature. "The flesh" (Rom. 8:8; Gal. 5:16-21). Concerning this word flesh there has been much controversy. Bible dictionaries and lexicons give the word as having at least six different meanings. (See, for example, Young's Analytical Concordance; The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia; Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible; Biblico-Theological Lexicon, etc.). The word will be seen to have numerous definitions until finally this is reached: "The seat and vehicle of sin"; or, "the sinful condition of human nature in and according to its bodily manifestations"; or, "applied to the carnal nature." By a mere glance at these books of reference, two things will be seen concerning this word:
(a) That in the original, more than one word is used for the word which has been translated flesh.
(b) That in the Epistles Paul takes one of these words and uses it to indicate a distinct and emphatic meaning. Writing on the word "flesh" as it occurs in Gal. 5:17, "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh," one writer says: "The word 'flesh' does not mean the body. The word in the Greek is sarx, signifying the carnal mind. It has been observed that Paul adopts the word sarx to describe carnality; and the word soma to speak of the body. In this instance it is sarx and not soma. A strong proof of this interpretation is seen in the fact that God has no quarrel with the body. The Spirit does not lust against the body. Sin is not in the body, as it does not exist in any form of matter." Here, then, is our problem -- sin, inherited and committed. If it were only our problem we should be despairing indeed, but God has made it His own. He and He alone can solve the problem of human sin, and what a glorious solution He has found. Hallelujah!!!
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