The World's Perspective

  • Socrates, along with 20th century scholar John Dewey, taught that sin was nothing more than ignorance. In other words, people only do wrong because they don’t know what’s right.
  • Plato “taught that life could be achieved by inner, rational self-development.” He taught that if we simply know more, we’ll do right. In other words, if man becomes more educated and learns more how to be good, he will then become good.  
  • Evolution promotes the idea that sin is a result of the animal nature or qualities found in lower stages of nature.
  • Karl Marx stated: “Sin is, in reality, nothing more than inequality, or injustice, as revealed in society.”

Right Thinking About Sin

  • James B. Chapman wrote: “We are driven to the necessity of arriving at definitions for sin that we may intelligently consider terms for describing the cure for sin.”
  • Richard S. Taylor states, “we need to know exactly   [1] what sin is, [2] of what kinds, [3] how it acts,  [4] its effects, [5] its relations to man, [6] how it must be dealt with, and [7] God’s provision for it.”

A Biblical Definition of Sin

  • “Sin may be defined as a voluntary transgression of a known law of God by a morally responsible agent, or as any state or attitude which is contrary to Christian love.”
  • John Wesley defined sin as “a voluntary transgression of a known law.”
  • “Whosever committeth sin transgresseth also  the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (I John 3:4)

Exploring the Wesleyan Perspective

Original sin is that corruption of the human nature, which appears in every offspring of Adam in this world, a corruption whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil continually (Gen. 6:5; Rom. 3:12; 5:12-19; I Cor. 15:22).

​In the scripture it is known as the carnal mind (Rom. 8:7), the old man (Rom. 6:6), the flesh (Rom. 8:5-8).  It continues to exist after regeneration, though suppressed until eradicated and destroyed by the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire (Acts 15:8,9; I John 3:8).

Original Sin

  • While man was created in a perfect world, he was given the opportunity to choose his destiny. (Gen. 3) The ability to choose is called free will.
  • The first humans chose to disobey God’s command and were defiled in their nature. They died spiritually. (Eph. 2:1)
  • The consequences of their sin have been inherited by every person since that time.

The Universality of Sin

  • “As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned” (Ro. 5:12-21).
  • “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Cor. 15:21,22).
  • “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
  • W. T. Purkiser notes, “every member of the human race is subject to a moral corruption” (ref. Eph. 4:22-24, 2 Pet. 1:4).

The Effects of Sin

  1. The understanding is darkened (Eph. 4:18; I Cor. 2:14). Sinful man is unable to see the world as God sees it. He is self-minded instead of spiritually minded.
  2. The mind and conscience are defiled (Gen. 6:5; Titus 1:15). Man thinks evil, impure thoughts. His sensitivity to sin is weakened.
  3. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). He is easily enticed by the temporary pleasure that sin brings.
  4. The will is enslaved by the power of sin (Rom. 7:18). He ultimately loses control of his life.
  5. The human race is in bondage to Satan, sin, and death (Jn. 8:31-36; Heb. 2:14-15).

What Does Sin Look Like?

  • Sin is selfish, mean, angry, inconsiderate, harsh, unkind, perverted, violent, and wicked.
  • Sin is manifest in broken lives, identity crises, divided families, and addictions.
  • Galatians 5:19-21 shares numerous examples of sin, such as sexual immorality, hatred, discord, envy, and drunkenness (ref. Col. 3:5-6).
  • God hates sin. It grieves His heart. He is eternally settled against all wrong.

Sin's Two-Fold Nature

  • Man is sinful in two ways: he commits sinful acts and he has a sinful nature.
  • Man’s Sinful Acts. His sinful acts, “although the outcome of his sinful nature, are yet done by his own choice.” (Rom. 3:12, 23). We are personally responsible for our disobedience.
  • Man’s 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” (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 7:17; Eph. 2:3).

Penalty & Provision for Sin

  • “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezek. 18:20)
  • Because the penalty for sin is death, someone had to die. Jesus died in our place, paying the penalty. Jesus overturned the eternal consequences of Adam’s sin.
  • God promises to forgive our sinful acts and cleanse us from the sinful nature if we (1) confess our sins, (2) repent, i.e. admit that we are wrong and determine to go God’s way, and (3) believe that Jesus Christ died to save us and rose from the dead to offer us new life. (John 3:16, I John 1:9)
  • “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:9).