May 14, 2024
Has sin disappeared? How did that happen? Have people stopped sinning? Did science “prove” that there is no such thing as sin? We do not hear much about sin these days. If you ask an ordinary person whether they are a good person, they will most likely say yes. What they probably mean by that is that their good outweighs the bad that they do, according to their own judgment. And even if they do wrong, they are still good on balance or compared to really bad people. Their standard of what is right and wrong is very accommodating and fluid. They have their own truth about right and wrong. They most likely believe that sin or wrongdoing is situational and mutable.
Was there ever a time in our nation when the idea of sin was pretty well established? I think so. Was there a time when most of us agreed on what constituted sinful acts and behaviors? Yes, but that has changed greatly in recent decades. As the Bible predicted, good is now being called evil, and evil is now being called good. Secularists and Christians have both muddied the waters when it comes to the concept of sin and the guilt of sin.
I understand that very few Christians will agree with the following assessment. However, truth is not a popularity contest, nor is it arrived at by consensus. Show me I am wrong by reason, logic, and the Word of God, and I will change my opinion. Will you do the same?
The Bible states that sin is to ‘miss the mark’ of obedience to the will and law of God. Sin is to break the moral laws of God, which are, in many cases, identical to the laws of our land. The laws of our land recognize that lawbreakers are criminals, not victims. The Bible agrees. Sinners are criminals (lawbreakers); they are not victims.
- Some Christians tell us that sin is anything short of the glory of God, whatever that means. They say everyone is born a sinner, with a sinful nature, that is the source and cause of all our sins. We can’t do good, we can only sin. Our ‘free’ will is not free to do good but only to sin. Yet God commands us not to sin, but we are powerless to stop sinning. If that makes sense to you and you think that God Almighty is like that, I wonder why you think you can trust God. If this illogical and irrational belief is true, then sinners are victims, not criminals.
- Some Christians tell us that even born-again Christian’s sin in thought, word, and deed daily, even with the grace of God empowering us. They say we never get rid of our sinful nature even when we are born of God. Our will is free to believe in God or not to believe in God. But when we do believe in God, our will is no longer free. We stay saved even if we do not want to be saved. Moreover, they claim that the sinful nature we are born with will dominate the rest of our lives as believers. Sin will always be habitual. If this is true, then Jesus came to save us from the penalty of sin, not the practice and bondage of sin. And if all this is true, sinners are victims, not criminals.
- The Bible clearly tells us that sin is the deliberate transgression of the law. In addition, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that we have the ability to forgo sinning; we have free will. The Bible proclaims that sinners are criminals and not victims. Sinners/criminals deserve punishment, victims do not.
- Secularists claim that all people are born good and not sinners. They argue that people do bad things not because they are inherently bad, but because they are ignorant, uneducated, come from troubled home lives, or live in a corrupt society. Sin may be seen as a lack of knowledge or low self-esteem. It can also result from oppression, racism, or limited opportunities. Additionally, environmental factors might contribute to sinful behavior. According to this view, individuals have little or no responsibility for their condition or actions because they lack free will. If this is true, then sinners are victims rather than criminals.
- Secularists now tell us that what was once thought of as sin is now actually righteousness, and what was once recognized as righteousness is now sinful. Today, godless secularists (and godless religionists) call evil good and good evil. If this is true, then righteous people are the sinners/criminals who deserve to be punished. And the unrighteous criminals are all victims who don’t deserve to be punished.
- Secularists tell us that what society once called sin is actually a disease, which either eliminates or lessens our personal responsibility. Our will is not free. If this is true, then sinners are victims, not criminals.
To recap these bullet points, according to Christian and secularist beliefs, let me summarize. With respect to the first and second bullet points. If all of humanity is born a sinner, not able to do anything but sin, then the following must be true. If everything is sin, then nothing is sin. Sin disappears. Only the religiously gullible and deceived believe that they are born guilty of Adam’s sin or any man’s sin. Only these gullible and deceived religionists believe that they are born preprogrammed or determined to sin, yet they are guilty for doing what God foreordained them to do. There is no sin, properly defined, in this belief system.
Secularists, according to the last few bullet points, eliminate the concept of sin by the following means. First, they redefine sin by calling good evil and evil good. Second, they attribute sin to a lack of education, lack of opportunity, racism, injustice, low self-esteem, and the like. Third, they attribute sin to a disease. In all these schemes, the criminal or sinner is held to be innocent when, in fact, they are guilty of sin. The secularists have eliminated the idea of a person committing an act that is sinful, criminal, and wrong. Sin disappears in their thinking. Sin is something done to them or not done for them that causes their behaviors.
Secularists and Christians have provided some great excuses for our wicked behavior. Many have taken great advantage of it! Only one of the above ideas lays the entire responsibility for immoral, sinful, criminal, and evil behavior on the individual. Only one of these concepts makes the sinner a criminal and establishes the truth that men and women sin by their own free will, when they could have made a sinless/righteous choice. All the rest make the sinner a victim, not to be punished but to be pitied. Any doctrine of the Bible that makes God the criminal and us the innocent or us the victims is seriously wrong.
Sin-Disease Myth
The focus of this article is on the sin-disease myth. What we once called sin is now often referred to as a disease. We do not punish people for getting sick or contracting a disease. But we do rightfully punish people for committing crimes.More could be mentioned, but consider the following few examples;
- The sin of drunkenness is now called the disease of alcoholism. Today, very few people think of alcoholism as a sin. Alcoholics are told that they have a disease that will never be cured. All this is contrary to what the Bible teaches and many of us have experienced personally.
- The sin of stealing and the sin of theft are now called kleptomania, which is an impulse disorder that results in an irresistible urge to steal. There is therapy for this disorder, but no cure for this disease, so the secularists claim. The sin of stealing can be addictive, just like drugs and alcohol. Then it becomes a disease that has no cure. All this rationalizing and justifying of sin is contrary to what the Bible teaches and common sense.
- The sins of fornication, adultery, and homosexuality are now the disease of sex addiction. “Sex addiction refers to excessive sexual thoughts, desires, urges, or behaviors that can’t be controlled and cause distress and harm to your relationships, finances, and other aspects of your life.” Google search. Again, all this rationalizing of sin is contrary to what the Bible teaches and common sense.
- Instead of the sin of lying, we now have the disease of “Pathological lying.” This is “the compulsive urge to lie about matters big and small, regardless of the situation. Pathological lying or lying compulsively can also be a symptom of antisocial personality disorder or narcissistic personality disorder.” Google search. More rationalizing of wickedness, all of which is contrary to what the Bible proclaims and rational thought.
- Instead of the sin of pride and the sin of excessive self-love, which is idolatry, we have the disease of narcissistic personality disorder. This issue primarily affects men. “Here are the most common symptoms: lacking empathy, conversation hogger, self-importance, false image projection, rule breaking, striving for perfection, charming, manipulation, desire for control, and blame”. Google search. ‘Symptoms’ is the language of medicine and disease. Sin is the language of moral failure, guilt, shame, and condemnation.
As you can see from just these few examples, our leading ‘experts’ have made diseases out of violations of the commandments of God, which are, in many cases, identical to our federal and state laws. In other words, these experts have provided great excuses for our sins and crimes. They have removed the sinner’s/criminal’s guilt, shame, responsibility, and condemnation. They have basically created a culture of victims out of a culture of criminals. But a thorn by any other name is still a thorn.
Our culture is no longer based on the righteous Judeo-Christian foundation. Godless men and women have created a new ‘moral’ foundation, which is an assault on the authority of the God of scripture. Their new “moral” foundation is, “every man does that which is right in their own eyes.” This foundation approves of unrestrained wickedness and criminality. Sin is no longer an immoral and evil choice. Sin is actually a disease that is not our responsibility. We are all victims. One acid test of this new morality is this: if it feels good, do it. Another test is: it can’t be wrong, if it feels so good. By the way, no one would ever be tempted to sin or commit evil if sin did not feel good.
As mentioned, our secular culture has believed, for many years, that humanity is basically good despite 6,000 years of evidence to the contrary. Most still believe that people are basically good, kind, honest, just, and loving. We have been taught to think that if someone is doing bad things, it’s not because they are inherently evil people. We have been brainwashed into believing that wicked people are victims, not criminals, who should be punished. Bad people are victims of low self-esteem, racism, poverty, the environment, a disease, the state, or some other force outside themselves that has made them what they are. There might be a small grain of truth in this line of thinking, but as an adequate explanation, it misses the mark by a mile. Many external factors indeed influence us, but ultimately, we make our own moral decisions and choices. We know, by consciousness, that our will is free to choose between righteousness and unrighteousness, good and evil.
We have all known those who grew up in a terrible family but managed to make something good out of their lives. Sin is not genetic. Not everyone who has a bad childhood becomes a bad person and mistreats their children. Sin is not a disease. Not every child of a drunk or drug addict becomes a drunk or drug addict. Sin is not involuntary. Not everyone sexually abused as a child turns out to be an abuser of their children or any children at all. Sin is an immoral voluntary choice.
How, then, do we explain all this evil? If you are familiar with the sordid recorded history of humanity, it is very hard to accept the position that mankind is basically good. History rebukes that lie. We are all sinners by choice, making our sins all the more despicable and damnable. We humans recapitulate Adam’s sin not by force but freely, just like he did. The universal sinfulness of mankind is a hard but real truth.
To believe that we are born good people, who go bad because of environmental conditions, is also very hard to swallow. It suggests we are but pawns or robots in life, not self-determining souls. So, how is it that good people do so much evil over and over again? Could it be that people aren’t good by their own choices? And could it be that people have the capacity for great good and great evil at the same time? But why is it that evil is what we most often choose? Could the answer be the unthinkable? Could high self-esteem drive us to sin? Could it be that we love ourselves too much and that alone explains all the moral evil in the universe?
Since God created humanity, we have been hurting one another to get our way. We are a selfish people, not by birth, but by choice. The Bible describes a great worldwide flood sent by God that destroyed everyone except for Noah and his family because man’s wickedness was great on the earth. Many years later, because of the wickedness of the people, God called for the destruction of the land of Canaan. God then gave Israel this land. Israel then committed the same sins, and God called for the destruction of Israel. Subsequently, Jesus Christ came to His people, but they did not receive Him. The Jews and the Romans killed Him. God then ordained the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and the cycle of destruction continued. Century after century of ‘good’ people (mostly peaceful!) being cruel and demonic to others.
I clearly understand the temptation to adopt the belief in Original Sin as an explanation for all this evil. However, the Original Sin doctrine turns criminals into victims and excuses their evil. It also makes God the consummate evil in the universe. God created the laws that supposedly transmit sin to us at our birth. And for those Christians who believe that God had decreed whatsoever comes to pass, our sin is His will and His plan. And all that makes God the author of sin, despite their claims that it doesn’t. In our honest moments (which may be few and far between), we all know that we alone are responsible for our sins and crimes. And because we love our own gratification more than we love God, we sin by choice even if it hurts God and others. Evil is always voluntary, or it would not be evil.
The 20th century was no different, and this 21st century is headed in the same direction. Yet people still believe that mankind is basically good in the face of all this evil reality, “For in much wisdom, is much grief.” Reality and truth are passe in our day, when men can choose to become women and women can choose to become men. Politicians lie with the ease of breathing and see absolutely nothing wrong with it; the end justifies the means. Baby killing is still legal. If humanity has the potential for good, and it does, why is evil chosen more often? I repeat, could the answer be this simple, because we love ourselves too much?
Are we not more corrupt than Sodom and Gomorrah? And are we not just as violent as any nation in the past centuries? None of those past nations ever came close to killing 62 million babies as we have. And not many countries, if any at all, before us have killed as many as we have in our numerous wars. History reveals that our government is responsible for the slaughter of millions of people around the world, either directly or indirectly.
The following quote is taken from an article I wrote titled, “The Bitter Taste of Red and the Intoxicating Fragrance of Blue”. This quote provides just one example of the nefarious work of our government. “What you do through others, you do yourself” is a legal and moral principle that holds the one who commits evil through someone else accountable for their actions. Dr. William P. Grady, in his book, How Satan Turned America Against God, recounts the story of the war between China and Japan. “Chiang Kai-Shek was a pro-American, born-again Methodist with a preacher for a father-in-law……Chiang was being maligned in the American press while the bloody murderer Mao was being heralded as a “noble agrarian reformer”…. “The source of this treasonous propaganda was the Communist-controlled U. S. State Department.” If Dr. Grady is accurate, and he seems to be, then our government is partly responsible for this genocide in China. In 1971 the Senate issued a report titled, ““the Human Cost of Communism in China” concluding that Mao and Chou were responsible for the deaths of as many as 64 million people (Their own people.)” How many times has this been repeated throughout our short American history?” We have so much blood on our hands what can possibly wash it away? Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash it away in repentance.
How do we explain this pervasive evil? Good people don’t mass murder millions, do they? Maybe sin is a disease that we inherit from our parents. Could it be that sin is genetic?
My Story
As a young man fresh from the University, I was seeking the truth while working in San Francisco. I finally arrived at considering the Bible. Even though I grew up in a religious home, I never owned or read a Bible. As I was reading the Bible, I was convicted of all my sins, and there were many of them. One of the first things, that I believe God ever said to me, was this. “I can’t have a relationship with a drunk.” (I realize that last statement will be hard for some to accept if you believe drunkenness is a disease.) I knew from that moment that God expected me to completely stop drinking alcohol and getting drunk if I wanted to become one of His children and get to know Him. As frightening as it seemed at the time, I made the decision to never again have a drink of alcohol or get drunk. I had a problem, and I had to admit it. I also knew I needed help to stop drinking and all that goes along with that party lifestyle. This is the deal I made with God. I told Him that I would never again drink alcohol if He would take the desire for it and the lifestyle out of my heart. Immediately, the problem of bondage was gone. That was over 40 years ago, and I have never had a problem with alcohol since that time. I have never attended any meetings. God healed me instantly because I was willing to do whatever it takes to know God. Praise His name.
This is what I want to convey about my story. I knew my drinking and lifestyle were sinful and morally wrong. And I knew that I alone bore ultimate responsibility for my sins. There were those who contributed to my problem, but I alone let drinking become a sinful problem. I was not born a drunk, even though a number of my relatives and friends were alcoholics/drunks. I became a drunk based on my bad decisions, which flowed out of my excessive self-love. It makes no difference if I had a ‘natural’ bent toward drinking or not. Drinking was a bad choice I made, not a predetermined outcome. God did not let me blame anyone else for my sin. He would not let me blame my parents, my friends, or Adam. Nor did He let me blame the environment that I lived in, which was very much a drinking environment. These things were contributing factors, but I alone made the choice to drink and get drunk.
Today, we use words loosely. Most people call alcoholism a disease and almost never refer to it as a horrible sin. A disease is most often something we catch or contract. It is most often involuntary, like catching the flu or a cold. No one would say they have sinned when they get the flu or catch a cold. We are not morally responsible for those things that impact us involuntarily. On the other hand, STDs are a disease, but getting one is voluntary, in almost all cases, and a moral wrong.
Let us define sin. What are some of the essential characteristics of sin? 1) Sin must be voluntary, and 2) it must be practical or doable. If an act, choice, or behavior is involuntary, it can’t be sinful. Also, if we are unable to do something the law requires, then it can’t be a sin or a moral wrong when we do not do it. The law is unjust when it requires impossibilities, and we have no moral imperative to do the impossible. We must be able to stop it or not do it, before it can be a moral wrong or a sin. In our moments of clear thinking, we all know this must be true of a holy and just God.
Sin is the transgression of the law according to the Bible. It presupposes that we can keep the law. It denies the idea that we are unable to keep the law. However, this inability is one leg of the Original Sin belief, which posits that we are unable to keep God’s law. When we: 1) know that something is wrong, and 2) know the consequence of choosing that wrong, and 3) know that we have the ability to choose what is right; then and only then are we talking about an immoral choice. All three conditions must be present or it can’t be sin.
A disease is something that is, generally speaking, involuntary. No one who gets cancer or who inherits a genetic problem is considered an immoral person. The Bible calls immoral choices sins or crimes. It never suggests that the person making bad choices has a disease for which they are not accountable. Making immoral choices makes a person a sinner. Getting sick, most of the time, has nothing to do with sinful choices. Today, we say the drunk has a disease, which should excuse their awful behavior, but thank God it doesn’t. Drunk driving is a criminal and sinful act, notwithstanding the idea of the disease of alcoholism. Yet in other ways, we treat the alcoholic like they really do have an incurable disease. If all this seems inconsistent, contradictory, and confusing, welcome to the present day. Drunkenness is sin and will exclude that person from inheriting the Kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6)
STDs are sexually transmitted diseases. Aside from polluted blood transfusions, contracting an STD is the result of 1) an immoral sexual choice or 2) a manifestation of the disease of sex addiction. It can’t be both at the same time. The Bible clearly claims that an STD is a real disease caused by an immoral choice. The choice to have immoral sex was strictly voluntary.
Homosexuality. What is it? Is it a sin, a mental disorder, or normal human sexual activity?
The psychiatrist, Karl Menninger, wrote, “The very word ‘sin,’ which seems to have disappeared, was once a proud word. It was once a strong word, an ominous and serious word….But the word went away. It has almost disappeared–the word, along with the notion. Why? Doesn’t anyone sin anymore? Doesn’t anyone believe in sin?” (taken from his book titled Whatever Became of Sin, published in 1973). Interesting to read about this man because the profession of psychiatry has been very effective in causing the concept of sin to disappear or lose much of its meaning. He seems to be lamenting this sad fact, but at the same time, his work, along with the entire profession, has been instrumental in destroying the notion of sin for which mankind is morally responsible.
Not long ago, the American Psychiatric Association called homosexuality a mental disorder. As such, a treatment was available. But in 1973 (the same year he published his book!), the Board of this Association reversed its stand and said that homosexuality was not a mental disorder and therefore it did not need to be cured or treated. Today, both psychiatrists and psychologists believe that homosexuality is a normal human sexual response. I would love to hear Mr. Menninger’s reaction to this decision by the APA.
This monumental change was not based on any new study or scientific research. It was the result of a relentless public relations campaign of deception, violence, and a partnership with elitists and homosexual activists. Homosexuals knew that to achieve mainstream acceptance of homosexuality, they must win over this group of doctors. It worked very well. We now have open and proud homosexuals. We also have gay marriages widely accepted in our culture. Yet real Christians will never compromise the truth of God and accept gay marriage or the sin of homosexuality. The word of God is clear: homosexuality is sin and is unnatural. Homosexuality is a sinful choice, just like the sins of fornication and adultery.
Before 1973, psychiatrists claimed it was a mental disorder. It was therefore something very much like a disease and could be ‘medically’ and ‘psychologically’ treated like every other disease. Therefore, it was not viewed as a sin because sin is not a mental or physical disorder. No amount of medicine or psychology will cure someone from sin. Sin is a wicked and selfish choice. The only cure for sin is repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith (being born again) are a moral and spiritual cure for a moral and spiritual problem.
Today, if you say homosexuality is a sin, you are looked at as hateful and unloving. Telling a homosexual that 1) they were born that way and can’t change, and 2) that this type of sexual expression is normal and there is nothing wrong with it, is viewed as the only loving way to address this issue. All of that is a lie, and the exact opposite is the truth.
Real love, defined by the Bible, demands that we tell homosexual sinners the following: 1) they are not born that way, and 2) they will not kill themselves trying to change, 3) there are thousands of former homosexuals living heterosexual lives today. All of these people were saved from the practice of this sin by Jesus Christ, through the truth, 4) real love would never enable or encourage a sinner to feel comfortable in their ongoing sin, knowing full well that they will not inherit the kingdom of God unless they repent of sin.
The false picture of love presented today is the affection of a parent of a homosexual son or daughter. These great parents are wonderfully understanding and accommodating. They tell their child that they will love them no matter what they do or how they live. We can all relate to that sentiment and those feelings. However, Biblical love is much more than parental affection.
Some Christian parents of homosexual children will tell them that God will also love and save them, no matter how they want to live. But the word of God contradicts that lie and says that the unrighteous homosexual, drunkard, fornicator, adulterer, thief, liar, and false witness will not inherit the kingdom of God.
It is true that God loves the homosexual and does not want them to perish in hell. All they need to do is turn to God and away from sin. They must repent of their sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and become children of God. There is salvation from any sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. The power of the truth and God will help them become what God wants them to be. And it will be so much better than what they have chosen for themselves.
Closing Comments
Sin is the deliberate and voluntary violation of the moral laws of God. The penalty for sin is death. “The wage of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” (See Romans Chapter 6). The wages of sin are eternal death, but the gift of God is eternal life. To receive this gift, we must repent of our sins and believe in the LORD Jesus Christ.
Both secularists and many Christians have destroyed the idea of sin by their false teachings. Both groups have turned sinners into victims. However, sinners are criminals by definition, not victims. Sinners-criminals deserve condemnation, but victims do not.
The sin-disease myth is destroying the idea of personal responsibility and accountability. If sin is actually a disease, then punishment should be out of the question. No moral society punishes the sick. But sin is not a disease or an illness. Sinners are not victims; they are criminals. Sin is an immoral choice and deserves to be punished. God will punish sinners who refuse to repent of their sins. The decision to remain in sin renders it an immoral one.
Whatever happened to sin? Men and women have hidden it, lied about it, redefined it, and denied it. God hasn’t.
How do we explain all the suffering and death in our world? Could it be that 1) we have an enemy who seeks to devour us, and 2) we love ourselves too much? Might this explain all the moral evil (sin) in the universe? The truth is not difficult to comprehend. It is difficult to accept because it makes you and me the real problem. Satan is but an accomplice, for he can’t force anyone to sin. The problem is most certainly not God, Adam, other people, or the environment.
What a wonder it is that God Almighty seeks to save those who are lost in the wilderness of sin. What a marvel of mercy and grace, that God died for us while we were yet sinners and criminals. We have earned and do indeed deserve the wrath of God, yet He wants to forgive and save us. If that doesn’t melt a hard and cold heart, nothing will.
