Understanding the ABC of Sin in order to Know Grace

To appreciate "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24b), sin must be clearly understood as sin. Otherwise, grace is not grace. Browsing the classic, Basic Christianity by John Stott (1958), I read chapter 6: The Consequences of Sin. My hope is that we may understand and explain sin as utterly sinful (Rom 7:13). Stott states 3 consequences of sin (ABC):

1. Alienation from God


2. Bondage to Self


3. Conflict with Others

Alienation. If one is a Christian, A is obvious. Because of our sin, we are cut off from God (Isa 59:2); we fall short of God's expectations of us in every aspect and area of our life (Rom 3:23). Despite our noblest and sincerest of efforts, we can't reach God. Yet there is a hunger in every man that none but God can fill. Augustine's words in Confessions rings true: "Thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless till they rest in thee." This situation is tragic beyond words. Man is missing the destiny for which God made him. He is helpless, hopeless, and worthless.

Bondage. Sin not only estranges, it enslaves (Rom 6:17). It alienates us from God, and brings us into captivity to ourselves. It is a deep-seated inward corruption and depravity that is total and complete (Jer 17:9; Gen 6:5). We are not sinners because we sin. Rather, we sin because we are sinners. A sinner is who we are. Nothing good we do can alleviate it; nothing bad we do can worsen it. What's the evidence that we are sinners? Jesus describes my heart "perfectly" when he said, "For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person" (Mark 7:21-23). Because of our bondage, we lack self-mastery, such as controlling our tongue (James 3:1-12); we have high ideals, but weak wills; we want to be good, but are self-centered; we live in the land of the free, but are in reality slaves. Rules of conduct don't work; we can't keep them. We need a Savior (Matt 1:21).

Conflict. I will dwell on this painful point, because conflicts among men have been the bane of our human existence from antiquity. Self-centeredness controls us. We find it hard to adjust to others. We tend to despise them or envy them, feel superior or inferior to them. We are full of self-pity or self-esteem, self-will or self-love.

Most quarrels are due to a misunderstanding, and the misunderstanding is due to our failure to appreciate the other man's point of view. We would rather talk, than listen, argue rather than submit. Many conflicts could be resolved if both sides first examined themselves critically and then examined the other side charitably, instead of which we are always charitable to ourselves and critical of others. We exaggerate our own virtue and the other man's vice. Hundreds of divorces could be prevented if people were humble enough to blame themselves more than their partner.

Why must we know sin in order to know grace? Unless we are sick, we won't seek a doctor (Mark 2:17). Unless we know our desperate need, we won't really seek a cure. We will never put our trust in Christ until we have first despaired of ourselves. Only when we have realized and faced up to the seriousness of our illness will we admit our urgent desperate need for a cure.

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