Day 115

Of the fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof.

Chapter 6, Paragraph 4.

“…do proceed all actual transgressions.“

Scripture Lookup

James 1:14,15

Matthew 15:19

Reflection

Everyone’s a sinner. Oddly enough, being a sinner has become like getting a participation trophy: everyone gets one, and so it’s not so special anymore. The horror of sin has become lessened in modern evangelical churches because being a downer doesn’t bring in the crowds. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, right? So words with less serious connotations get thrown around – “mistakes”, “brokenness” – and sin gets relegated to a generalized “nobody’s perfect”.

It is true that nobody’s perfect, and we are broken. But that brokenness and imperfection is not something to accept; it is something to grieve. Adam and Eve lost something so precious in the Fall, and that was communion with God. Because of them, our nature is corrupted, and all our sin is a result of that nature. And our sin is a vile venom that poisons us and the world around us.

In short, sin is the dare of God’s justice, the rape of his mercy, the jeer of his patience, the slight of his power, the contempt of his love….We may go on and say, it is the upbraiding of his providence (Psalm 50), the scoff of his promise (2 Peter 3:3-4), the reproach of his wisdom (Isaiah 29:16).

-Ralph Venning, The Sinfulness of Sin

Reflecting on our fallen nature and the terribleness of sin is not pleasant, fun, or appealing. Yet it can be useful and encouraging. For when you realize how truly awful sin is, you begin to understand just how marvelous and wonderful was the sacrifice of Jesus. The depths of love He has to save sinners such as we are!

Questions to Consider

• Have you been viewing sin lightly?