So, What's a Sin?

Throughout the book of Romans, Paul draws the distinction between the power of sin and the power of God. We can be encouraged to live a holy life, as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5 teaches:
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sin leads to death - but we've been extended grace, which produces righteousness, which results in eternal life with Jesus, and through Him.   God has declared us righteous and holy before Him, triumphant over the power of sin and death because of what Jesus did through His death and resurrection.  Our challenge is to live that out - to allow Him to produce fruit through our lives consistent with the new nature that He has given to us.  We cannot be good in and of ourselves, we need the power of our Savior to express His new life through us.

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Jesus taught about the reliability of God's standards, and encouraged our utter dependence on God. In John 16, as He taught about the role of the Holy Spirit, He said:
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Another survey has been released indicating what respondents think constitutes sinful behavior. Coming on the heels of a LifeWay Research survey on divorce and which causes would be considered to be sinful, a new Pew Research survey deals with a number of different types of behavior and whether or not those surveyed consider them to be sin.

The summary is oriented toward Catholics, in advance of the Pope's visit later this month, but there is information on Protestants, as well.  About 9-in-10 Catholics and a similar percentage of Protestants believe in the concept of sin.  In the general public, only 78% do.

With regard to divorce, only 21% of Catholics believe that it is a sin to get a divorce.  Now,
Christianity Today has an article on the findings of the study, which concentrates on evangelicals and other Protestants. Only 37 percent of white evangelicals who worship weekly told Pew that divorce was a sin. So did a quarter (26%) of all black Protestants, two-thirds of whom identify as evangelicals.

Now, get this: Refusing to write a check to charity while living in luxury is a sin, according to almost half (48%) of white evangelicals who attend church weekly.

That opinion is also shared by almost half (47%) of all Americans who attend worship services weekly. And 36 percent of all black Protestants feel the same way.  41% of Catholics believe it is a sin to buy luxuries without giving to the poor, according to Pew's summary.

Among other actions examined by Pew, getting an abortion was deemed sinful by about 70 percent of white evangelicals and Americans who attend religious services weekly, along with about 60 percent of black Protestants. 57% of Catholics believe that having an abortion is sinful.

Engaging in homosexual behavior was also judged a sin by about 70 percent of weekly worshipers and black Protestants, and 76 percent of white evangelicals, according to CT.  The Pew survey shows that 44% of Catholics believe that homosexuality is a sin.

With respect to cohabitation, Pew found that 64 percent of white evangelicals, 61 percent of weekly worshipers, and 57 percent of black Protestants said cohabiting was a sin.  Only a third of Catholics surveyed said that cohabiting was sinful.  

So, what do you take away?  While an overwhelming majority of religious people believe in the concept of sin, there are differing views about what is sinful.   For us, the practice of Christianity is not a democratic process.   In these times of moral relativism, it is good to know that God's standards are reliable and unchanging.   God lays out certain principles in His Word, and we are expected to line up our lives with those standards.

God's ultimate standard is holiness, and we recognize that we can't get there on our own.  In fact, while the Bible declares that no one is righteous, we are directed by Scripture to be holy.  We have been declared holy and righteous before God because of what Jesus has done for us, and He empowers us to behave in a manner consistent with the declaration of our new identity in Him. Allow that to simmer in your soul for a moment.  If we believe that we are hopelessly unable to please God, then we become trapped in a position of guilt and shame.  But, if we believe that God enables to live according to His standards - in His strength, not ours - that can radically transform the way we behave.

Finally, we can admit that there is only one survey that really matters regarding sin and holiness, with only one respondent.  God's Word is unchanging - Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  He is reliable and He is powerful - He is the One who defines sin and declares us to be righteous.  His truth can shape our view and direct us to adopt a perspective that is consistent with His - and we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds.