Why Is Understanding Sin Important?
Hamartiology, or the study of sin, is one of the most important subjects in theology. Despite its importance, many Christians avoid thinking about the subject. There are many reasons for this, but the most common are shame or grief for sins we’ve committed and not wishing to take responsibility for the person we truly are. Although most people see the subject of sin as depressing, in fact it is perhaps the most important set of doctrines for understanding the human condition, the need for redemption, and the importance of atonement. Nothing demonstrates the truth of the importance of understanding sin better than comparative religion.
All religions recognize certain sins or offenses against God. In some cases, this is the origin of civil laws, from the Code of Hammurabi to the Ten Commandments. Murder and theft are illegal because they are also an offense against God and against others. Some codes go into great detail on how to live, such as diet and clothing. The original Hebrew word for sin means “miss the mark” and referred to any violation of the law found in the Torah. Others are intentional offenses, what the Bible calls “transgressions.” Some sins focused mainly on religious rules, such as idolatry or sacrilege. These are sins against God rather than man.
Many people believe that morality, like dress, language, and culture, varies widely across humanity, but in fact most cultures quite consistently recognize the same actions as sins. C.S. Lewis often used this as evidence of God since a single law that all people try to follow suggests a single lawmaker. In the appendix of his book, the Abolition of Man, Lewis lists moral rules from across many cultures and times that are surprisingly similar. It’s true that some cultures embrace genocide or cannibalism, but their neighbors almost without exception condemn such activities, showing that there is widespread agreement about moral issues such as murder. Likewise, while many cultures have allowed slavery, all believe it a necessary evil and not an ideal to be pursued.
It’s also true that cultures vary on issues such as polygamy, but these are minor issues when compared to the overall view of what is moral and what is sin. “There have been differences in their morality, but these have never amounted to anything like a total difference,” Lewis argued in Mere Christianity (19). There might be disagreement about small points, but there isn’t a wholesale difference in morality. There is no culture that praises cowardice, betrayal of friends, or general selfishness to the detriment of children or the greater good. In short, although small differences may have been introduced over time, all cultures share the same general moral framework, which itself is a strong evidence that God exists.
Where most world religions begin to fail is the problem of what to do about sin. Most faiths, including Judaism and Islam, believe that God simply overlooks sin as long as we are trying hard or that we can offset wrong actions by doing good. In the past, Judaism had a method for the removal of sin through animal sacrifice, but this has not been the case since the first century. Today, Judaism relies solely on the mercy of God and doing good works. Some religions focus on self-perfection over many generations, such as through reincarnation. Meanwhile, Buddhism is not so much concerned with sin as much as spiritual advancement through detachment from the world to reach nirvana or nothingness, where suffering ends. In essence, all of these religions ignore the immediate spiritual consequence of sin, which is the corruption of the soul that keeps us from approaching God, causing spiritual death. They view sins simply as wrong actions requiring correction rather than corruption that needs to be removed. As a result, none of them have a mechanism for dealing with sin other than God looking the other way.
Christianity is one of the few faiths with a highly consistent and logical hamartiology. For one, it separates between imputed sins and original sin, which most other religions don’t recognize. Imputed sins are the wrong we commit; original sin is the inherited sinful nature that corrupts our soul. Imputed sins are what we do; original sin is who we are. This distinction is important for several reasons. First, we should see the sins we commit as the natural result of who we are. We commit sins because we have a sinful nature. Sin is about more than doing something wrong but also includes who we are. Second, to approach God we must deal both with the sins we commit and the sinful nature that causes them. This occurs through sanctification. It does us little good if God forgives us, but we never remove the cause of our sins. We will continue to sin over and over without perfection because we still have a sinful nature we’ve yet to address.
Christianity provides a solution to both imputed and original sins. Imputed sins are addressed through the blood of Christ, which was shed as a sacrifice to remove our sin. This was a replacement for the animal sacrifices of Judaism, but Christ’s sacrifice is better because it lasts forever, because it cleanses our consciences, and because it removes rather than covers our sin (Heb. 9:14-28). Meanwhile, original sin is addressed through the cross, through our dying with to self that we might receive new life in Christ. We are crucified with Christ that we might be resurrected with Christ (Rom. 6:1-14; Mt. 16:24; Gal. 2:20). Until we receive new life, our old life of sin will dominate us, leading us to sin again.
In other words, only Christianity provides a mechanism to deal with the real problem of sin because only Christianity recognizes the root cause of sin being a fallen nature that requires replacement. Other religions only require us to try harder or to make up for the sins we’ve committed, leaving the cause of sin unaddressed. Christianity gives us hope that we can finally stop doing evil if only we reckon ourselves dead and take on Christ’s life in us. It’s a vision that is vastly superior to the belief that we have no hope other than constant works to make up for what we’ve done.
While many today don’t like to discuss sin because of their shame, guilt, or rebellion against God, it’s impossible to discuss God or religion without discussing hamartiology. Understanding the nature and causes of sin (why we do what we do) is essential to discussing different views and theories about God. Ultimately, Christianity is the only religion that has a logical theory of hamartiology because it provides a more realistic view of human reality and the cause of sin. By distinguishing between imputed and original sin, we can understand that we sin because we are fallen and corrupted beings. If true, we can only hope to overcome sin through new life. This explains why Christ came and died, for without the blood and the cross, we can never hope to escape our sins.
