What Is Hamartiology?
The Uncomfortable Truth
To kick off the month of May we’re going to talk about one of the aspects of human life that everyone loves to talk about. That of course, is sin! Yeah, I know that this obviously isn’t a fun subject to discuss or even an intriguing topic to study for that matter, but it is still one that is necessary to dissect. Throughout this month, we are going to break down what sin actually is, who and what sin affects, and even how God views sin. Spoiler alert, your immediate answers to all of these questions are probably wrong to some degree. Now by no means am I trying to shame you on this particular subject, it's just that this topic and study of the Bible is constantly swept under the rug because no one likes to talk about it and very few pastors like to teach about it. But they must. As Ray Comfort reminds us, “The Scriptures say that every one of us is drawn away by our own lust. The Bible speaks of us as having eyes full of adultery, as loving darkness more than light, and as drinking sin like we drink water.” If the scriptures truly do teach us these things (and they do), then we must be sure to know as much as we can about sin to know how we are supposed to respond to such an evil force. If people don’t know how separated they are from God because of their sin, they’ll never realize their need for a savior. Or as Ray Comfort has also alluded to, if no one knows how lost they are, they’ll never know how much they need to be saved. If we want to understand the power of the gospel in its entirety, then we must be willing to understand as much about sin as we can. Without this knowledge, we may never understand just how much the human heart truly needs God’s saving grace.
The Reach of Sin
To kick things off this month, we are going to preface a few of the areas that we’ll certainly dive deeper into as the months go on. However, one of the biggest aspects of sin that we always get wrong is that sin just affects believers. This is wrong on multiple fronts. Obviously, yes, sin does affect believers, but that's not all it affects, far from it. Not only does sin affect all people, but it also affects the world as a whole. We’re reminded of this first part in Isaiah 59:2 when it says, “But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” Isaiah clearly mentions here that the reason we are separated from God is because of our wrongdoing. It’s not just the believers of God who are capable of doing wrong, it’s all people who participate in wrongdoings that are separated from God. This undeniably, includes all people. Christians or not. Furthermore, we see that scripture supports the fact that not just mankind was affected because of the fall, but the very world we live in was affected by it as well. We don’t have to look far into God’s Word to see that this is the case. When the first sin was ever committed by Adam and Eve, we see God pronounce a curse on them for what they have done. Look at what God says to Adam here in Genesis 3:17-18 “Cursed is the ground because of you; With hard labor you shall eat from it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you.” This isn’t just a curse that affects Adam, but it continues to this day. Make no mistake about it friends, sin does not affect fellow believers, but it affects all people, and the world in its entirety as well. We’ll dive deeper into this at a later point this month.
God’s View of Sin
Another aspect of sin that we often overlook is the view that our Lord has of it. All too often I hear people say, ‘Sin is sin, it’s all the same in God’s eyes.’ And while on one hand, I believe that the eternal consequence of sin is the same, scripture is clear that some sins have different consequences on this side of heaven. Not only that, we also have certain passages that would lead us to believe that God hates certain sins more than others as well. A great example of the different consequences of sin is found in 1 Corinthians 6:18. Paul tells us in this passage, “Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” It’s pretty clear here that when someone sins by committing sexual immorality, it doesn't just affect the separation they have between them and God, but it also affects their own bodies as well. This is why Paul mentions this particular sin and not others. Yes, the church in Corinth was obviously struggling with this particular sin, but also, God wanted us to know today the type of damage we inflict on our own bodies as well when we participate in this particular sin.
Furthermore, we see other passages that lead us to believe God views sin differently. Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “There are six things that the LORD hates, Seven that are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who declares lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.” Here we see seven things that God hates and are an abomination to Him. Now think to yourself, are there more than seven sins? 100% And yet, God found it necessary to point out these few in the book of Proverbs above all others. I know that these topics are intriguing and have many questions that surround them, but for now, I wanted to grab your attention as we study hamartiology this month to show you why we must educate ourselves about sin. Far too often we overlook many aspects of just how evil and damning sin can really be. And if we’re not careful, our soft view of sin can lead to a much softer view of our need for Christ.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] Comfort, R. (2023, August 25). Many Christians will avoid this article because it’s about sin. Living Waters. https://livingwaters.com/its-about-sin/
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