The
Book of Judges records that in evil days when civil war was raging inIsrael,
the tribe of Benjamin boasted of having 700 men who "could slingstones
at a hair breadth and not miss." Nearly two hundred times theHebrew
word chatha, here translated "miss," is rendered "sin" in
ourEnglish
Bible; and this striking fact may teach us that while "allunrighteousness
is sin," the root-thought of sin is far deeper. Man is asinner
because, like a clock that does not tell the time, he fails to fulfill thepurpose
of his being. And that purpose is (as the Westminster
divinesadmirably
state it), "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Our Makerintended
that "we should be to the praise of His glory." But we utterly failof
this; we "come short of the glory of God." Man is a sinner not merelybecause
of what he does, but by reason of what he is.
MAN
A FAILURE
That
man is a failure is denied by none save the sort of people who say intheir
heart, "There is no God." For, are we not conscious of baffledaspirations,
and unsatisfied longings after the infinite? Some there are,indeed,
we are told, who have no such aspirations. There are seemingexceptions,
no doubt — Mr. A. J. Balfour
instances "street arabs andadvanced thinkers" —
but such exceptions can be explained. And theseaspirations and
longings — these cravings of our
higher being — are quitedistinct
from the groan of the lower creation. How, then, can we accountfor
them? The atheistical evolution which has superseded Darwinism cantell
us nothing here. They are a part of the mass of proof that man is bynature
a religious being; and that indisputable fact points to the further factthat
he is God’s creature. People who
are endowed with an abnormalcapacity for "simple faith" may
possibly attribute the intellectual andaesthetical phenomena of man’s
being to the great "primordial germ," agerm which was not
created at all, but (according to the philosophy of oneof
Mark Twain’s amusing stories),
"only just happened." But most of usare so dull-witted
that we cannot rise to belief in an effect without anadequate
cause; and if we accepted the almighty germ hypothesis weshould
regard it as a more amazing display of creative power than the"Mosaic
cosmogony" described.
WHY
A FAILURE?
But
all this, which is so clear to every free and fearless thinker, gives rise toa
difficulty of the first magnitude. If man be a failure, how can he be acreature
of a God who is infinite in wisdom and goodness and power? Heis
like a bird with a broken wing, and God does not make birds with brokenwings.
If a bird cannot fly, the merest baby concludes that something musthave
happened to it. And by an equally simple process of reasoning weconclude
that some evil has happened to our race. And here the Eden Fallaffords
an adequate explanation of the strange anomalies of our being, andno
other explanation of them is forthcoming. Certain it is, then, that man isGod’s
creature, and no less certain is it that he is a fallen creature. Even ifScripture
were silent here, the patent facts would lead us to infer that somedisaster
such as that which Genesis records must have befallen the humanrace.
MAN
WITHOUT EXCUSE
But,
while this avails to solve one difficulty, it suggests another. Thedogma
of the moral depravity of man, and irremediable, cannot bereconciled
with divine justice in punishing sin. If by the law of his fallennature
man were incapable of doing right, it would be clearly inequitable topunish
him for doing wrong. If the Fall had made him crooked-backed, topunish
him for not standing upright, would be worthy of an unscrupulousand
cruel tyrant. But we must distinguish between theological dogma anddivine
truth. That man is without excuse is the clear testimony of HolyWrit.
This, moreover, is asserted emphatically of the heathen; and its truthis
fully established by the fact that even heathendom has produced someclean,
upright lives. Such cases, no doubt, are few and far between; butthat
in no way affects the principle of the argument; for, what some havedone
all might do. True it is that in the antediluvian age the entire race wassunk
in vice; and such was also the condition of the Canaanites in latertimes.
But the divine judgments that fell on them are proof that theircondition
was not solely an inevitable consequence of the Fall. For, in thatcase
the judgments would have been a display, not of divine justice, but ofruthless
vengeance.
DEPRAVITY
IN RELIGIOUS NATURE
And,
further, if this dogma were true, all unregenerate men would beequally
degraded, whereas, in fact, the unconverted religionist can maintainas
high a standard of morality as the spiritual Christian. In this respect thelife
of Saul the Pharisee was as perfect as that of Paul the Apostle of theLord.
His own testimony to this is unequivocal. (Acts 26:4,5;Philippians
3:4-6). No less so is his confession that, notwithstanding hislife
of blameless morality, he was a persecuting blasphemer and the chief ofsinners.
(1 Timothy 1:13).
The
solution of this seeming enigma is to be found in the fact so plainlydeclared
in the Scripture, that it is not in the moral, but in the religious orthe
spiritual sphere, that man is hopelessly depraved and lost. Hence theterrible
word as true of those who stand on a pinnacle of high morality asof
those who wallow in filthy sin — "they that are
in the flesh cannotplease God." "The ox knows his owner,
and the ass his master’s crib." But,as
for us, we have gone astray like lost sheep. The natural man does notknow
his God.
MAN
A SINNER IN CHARACTER
While
then sin has many aspects, man is a sinner, I repeat, primarily andessentially,
not because of what he does but because of what he is. And thisbrings
into prominence the obvious truth that sin is to be judged from thedivine,
and not from the human, standpoint. It relates to God’srequirements
and not to man’s estimate of himself.
And this applies to allthe many aspects in which sin may be regarded.
"It may be contemplated asthe missing of a mark or aim; it is then or
: theoverpassing
or transgressing of a line; it is then : thedisobedience to a voice; in which case it
is : the falling where
oneshould
have stood upright; this will be : ignorance of whatone
ought to have known; this will be : diminishing of that whichshould
have been rendered in full measure which is : nonobservanceof a law, which is or
: a discord,
and thenit
is and
in other ways almost out of number."
This
well known passage from Archbishop Trench’s
"Synonyms" must notbe taken as a theological statement of doctrine.
As Dr. Trench notices on alater page, the word has
a far wider scope than "the missing of amark or aim." It
is used in the New Testament as the generic term for sin.
And
has
a far deeper significance than the "non-observance of alaw."
H we
read in 1 John 3:4; and "sin islawlessness" is the revisers’
admirable rendering of the apostle’s
words.What
anarchy is in another sphere, anomia is in this —
not mere nonobservanceof a law, but a revolt against, and defiance of
law. "Originalsin" may sometimes find expression in
"I cannot;" but "I will not" is at theback
of all actual sin; its root principle is the assertion of a will that is notsubject
to the will of God.
THE
CARNAL MIND
Spiritual
truths are spiritually discerned; but when the Apostle Pauldeclares
that "the carnal mind," that is, the unenlightened mind of thenatural
man,"is
enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God"(Romans
8:7),he
is stating what is a fact in the experience of all thoughtful men. It is notthat
men by nature prefer evil to good; that betokens a condition due tovicious
practices. "Given up to a reprobate mind" is the apostle’sdescription
of those who are thus depraved by the indulgence of "shamefulpassions."
The subject is a delicate and unsavory one; but all who haveexperience
of criminals can testify that the practice of unnatural vicesdestroys
all power of appreciating the natural virtues. As the first chapterof
Romans tells us, the slaves of such vices sink to the degradations, notonly
of"doing
such things," but of "taking pleasure in them that do them"(Romans
1:24-32).All
power of recovery is gone there is nothing in them to which appeal canbe
made. (I cannot refrain from saying that if I can intelligently "justify
theways
of God" in destroying the cities of the plain, and decreeing theextermination
of the Canaanites, I owe it to knowledge gained in policework
in London, for unnatural vice seems to be hereditary)But
this is abnormal. Notwithstanding indulgence in "natural" vice, there
isin
man a latent sense of self-respect which may be invoked. Even a greatcriminal
is not insensible to such an appeal. For, although his powers ofself-control
may be almost paralyzed, he does not call evil good, butacknowledges
it to be evil. And thus to borrow the apostle’s
words, he"consents
to the law that it is good." But, if he does so, it is because herecognizes
it to be the law of his own better nature. He is thinking of whatis
due to himself. Speak to him of what is due to God, and the latentenmity
of the "carnal mind" is at once aroused. In the case of one who hashad
a religious training, the manifestations of that enmity may be modifiedor
restrained; but he is conscious of it none the less.
Thoughtful
men of the world, I repeat, do not share the doubts which sometheologians
entertain as to the truth of Scriptural teaching on this subject.For,
every waking hour brings proof "that the relationship between manand
his Maker has become obscured, and that even when he knows the willof
God there is something in his nature which prompts him to rebel againstit."
Such a state of things, moreover, is obviously abnormal, and if thedivine
account of it be rejected, it must remain a mystery unsolved andunsoluble.
The Eden Fall explains it, and no other explanation can beoffered.
THE
ROOT OF SIN
It
might be argued that an unpremeditated sin —
a sin in which mind andwill have no part —
is a contradiction in terms. But this we need notdiscuss, for it is
enough for the present purpose to notice the obvious factthat
with unfallen beings such a sin would be impossible. As the Epistle ofJames
declares, every sin is the outcome of an evil desire. And eating theforbidden
fruit was the result of a desire excited by yielding to thetempter’s
wiles. When a woman harbors the thought of breaking hermarriage
vow she ceases to be pure; and once our parents lent a willing earto
Satan’s gospel, "Ye shall not surely
die," "Ye shall be as gods knowinggood and evil," their fall was an
accomplished fact. The overt act ofdisobedience, which followed as of
course, was but the outwardmanifestation of it. And, as their ruin was
accomplished, not by thecorruption of their morals, but by the
undermining of their faith in God, itis not, I repeat, in the moral, but in
the spiritual sphere, that the ruin iscomplete and hopeless.
RECONCILIATION
THE GREAT NEED
Therefore
also is it that while "patient continuance in well doing" is withinthe
human capacity, Romans 2:6-11 applies to all whether with orwithout
a divine revelation; but of course the test and standard would bedifferent
with the Jew and the heathen, and the denial of this not onlysupplies
an adequate apology for a life of sin, but impugns the justice of thedivine.
judgment which awaits it no amount of success, no measure ofattainment,
in this sphere can avail to put us right with God. If my house bein
darkness owing to the electric current having been cut off, no amount ofcare
bestowed upon my plant and fittings will restore the light. My firstneed
is to have the current renewed. And so here; man by nature is"alienated
from the life of God," and his first need is to be reconciled toGod.
And apart from redemption reconciliation is impossible.
NEO-CHRISTIANISM
A
discussion of the sin question apart from God’s
remedy for sin wouldpresent the truth in a perspective so wholly
false as to suggest positiveerror. But before passing on to speak of the
remedy something more needsto be said about the disease. For the loose
thoughts so prevalent todayrespecting the atonement are largely due to an
utterly inadequateappreciation of sin; and this again depends on ignorance of
God. Sin inevery
respect of it has, of course, a relation to a savage; and as man isGod’s
creature the standard is, again of course, divine perfection. But theGod
of the neo-Christianism of the day —
we must not call it Christianity— is a weak and gentle
human "Jesus" who has supplanted the God ofboth
nature and revelation.
The
element of the folly in religious heresies affords material for aninteresting
psychological study. If the Gospels be not authentic, then, so faras
the teaching of Christ is concerned, intelligent agnosticism will be theattitude
of every one who is not a superstitious religionist. But if therecords
of the ministry be trustworthy, it is certain, first, that the HebrewScriptures
were the foundation of the Lord’s teaching; and
secondly, thatHis
warnings of divine judgment upon sin were more terrible than even thethunders
of Sinai. During all the age in which the echoes of those thundersmingled
with the worship of His people, the prophetic spirit could discernthe
advent of a future day of full redemption. And it was in the calm andsunshine
of the dawning of that long promised day that He spoke of adoom
more terrible than that which engulfed the sinners of Sodom
andGomorrah,
for all who saw His works and heard His words, and yetrepented
not.
THE
PERFECT STANDARD
And
here we may get hold of a great principle which will help us toreconcile
seemingly conflicting statements of Scripture, and to silence someof
the cavils of unbelief. The thoughtful will recognise that in divinejudgment
the standard must be perfection. And when thus tested, both theproud
religionist Christendom "exalted to heaven" like Capernaum byoutward privilege and
blessing, and the typical savage of a degradedheathendom, must stand
together. If God accepted a lower standard thanperfect righteousness
He would declare Himself unrighteous; and the greatproblem
of redemption is not how He can be just in condemning, but howHe
can be just in forgiving. In a criminal court "guilty or not guilty"
is thefirst
question to be dealt with in every case, and this levels all distinctions;and
so it is here; all men "come short," and therefore "all the
world" isbrought
in "guilty before God." But after verdict comes the sentence and atthis
stage the question of degrees of guilt demands consideration. And at"the
Great Assize" that question will be decided with perfect equity. Forsome
there will be many stripes, for others there will be few. In the visiongiven
us of that awful scene we read that"the dead were judged out of those
things which were written inthe books, according to their works"
(Revelation 20:12).
And
this will be the scope and purpose of the judgment of the Great Day.The
transcendent question of the ultimate fate of men must be settledbefore
the advent of that day; for the resurrection will declare it and theresurrection
precedes the judgment. For there is a "resurrection unto life,"and
a "resurrection unto judgment" (John 5:29). While the redeemed,we
are expressly told, will be "raised in glory" —
and "we know that weshall be like Him," with bodies
"fashioned like unto His glorious body"(Philippians 3:21) —
the lost will be raised in bodies; but here I pause,for
Scripture is almost silent on this subject, and conjecture is unsafe, itmay
be that just as criminals leave a prison in garb like that they wore onentering
it, so the doomed may reappear in bodies akin to those that werethe
instruments of their vices and sins on earth. If the saved are to be raisedin
glory and honor and incorruption, (1 Corinthians 15:42-44), may notthe
lost be recalled to bodily life in corruption, dishonor and shame?