Shepherding My Heart With the Doctrine of Sin
How do you define sin? Here are some definitions that I've found:-
"Missing the mark" -Anchor Bible Dictionary
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"Any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature." -Grudem, Systematic Theology
These definitions are not wrong but they do not do a very good job in shepherding my heart away from sin and toward God. My heart takes these accurate, but incomplete definitions of sin and concludes, "If I missed the mark, I need to aim better next time; If I didn't conform to the moral law of God, I should try harder to conform from now on." When I think of sin as simply doing something wrong, my sin doesn't seem so bad and God's wrath doesn't seem so justified.
Scripture, however, gives us a view of sin from God's perspective: Adultery, Whoredom (James 4:4, Ezekiel 16, Hosea). What I do each and every time I sin is to commit adultery against God, who purchased me out of the sin to which I am wont to return (Romans 6). When I am faced with a decision to sin, my hard heart wants to see God as a cosmic killjoy who's desire is to keep me from that which will satisfy my desires. When I see this same point of decision from God's perspective, however, I see that on my left is the sin which promises short-term pleasure that cannot satisfy. On my right is Christ, who promises me joy, satisfaction, and pleasure without end. It would be like being faced with a decision of going to a prostitute on my left or my wife on my right.
Why is God justified in his wrath against sin? Why is sin so utterly sinful? It's because each time that I sin, I look upon Christ and declare, "No, Jesus, you are not sufficient. There is something I desire more than you." I turn my back on him and run headlong toward the prostitute. God calls sin, "The deeds of a brazen prostitute...Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!...No one solicited you to play the whore and you gave payment...Therefore, O prostitute...[I will] satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you (Ezekiel 16:30-42)." God has given us every good thing, and for believers, he has taken us despite our ugliness and lowly position and has made us beautiful (Ezekiel 16:1-14), called the Church to be his bride (Eph 5:25-27), yet we take what he has given us which is to be reserved for our husband, Christ, and as adulterous people, we run to give ourselves to others, to sin.
When viewed from this perspective, sin ceases to be a small matter. Repentance is no longer, "trying harder." And God's grace is seen for what it is, sweet sweet grace. And that is the point of learning the depth of my sin: To see the wonders of God's grace at the cross. As C.J. Mahaney says, "Only those who are truly aware of their sin can truly cherish grace."
