Biblical Perspectives, Vol. 9 No. 1-2, 2001.
Review article
Sin
John M. Fowler
; General Conference of SDA, Washinghton D.C. USA
Abstract
Nowhere in the annals of literature is the problem of sin so seriously dealt with as in the Bible. Its opening pages portray graphically the entrance of sin into human history, and its closing pages victoriously proclaim the eradication of sin from the universe. Between is depicted the continual human struggle with sin and God’s promise and provision for redemption from sin. God’s relationship with humanity, focused on the eradication of sin and the reconciliation of forgiven humanity with Himself, is one of the great themes of the Scriptures. Paul expresses this theme as well as any: “For our sake he [God] made him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Contemporary culture dismisses sin as a preoccupation of the gullible few who take the Bible seriously. Sin may be seen as a behavioral problem with no relevance to either God or any divine norm for human life, or it may be acknowledged as moral imperfection but attributed to human developmental deficiency or a sudden outburst of emotional imbalance or biological drive. However, the Bible portrays sin for what it is: that which has come in between the Creator and the human and brought about a gulf between God and the human race. Th e gulf is so vast and unbridgeable by human means that God had to send His Son Jesus (John 3:16) “to be sin” for us so that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Cor. 5:21,19).
How is sin defined? What makes it so serious in divine-human relations? What is its origin? Where lies its power? These and other related questions form the scope of this article, approaching the problem of sin from the perspective of the Bible and Christian history.
Keywords
Image-of-God; Sin; Consequences-of-Sin
Hrčak ID:
99739
URI
Publication date:
10.12.2001.
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