Refinement

Sin was sort of the topic on One Cosmos yesterday and it got me thinking. Heinlein’s character Lazarus Long says, “Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other ‘sins’ are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not sinful -- just stupid).” It is very much a libertarian sentiment, and one I understand. But it’s wrong. It is not just the “unwise” that is prohibited.

The Judeo-Christian definition of sin always involves God. If you are a materialist, atheist or agnostic, nothing I say from this point forward is going to make much sense to you. You can feel free to stick with Heinlein’s definition.

We all know the story of David and Bathsheba. They have made movies about it. Preachers love to expound on it in sermons. David committed adultery with the wife of one of his warriors then tried to cover it up when the woman told him she was with child. David brought her husband, Uriah, in from the battlefield and tried to get him to go to his wife. Uriah, a man of honor and valor, refused to sleep in his own bed because his fellow warriors remained in the field.

In desperation, David sent a note to his warlord, Joab, to put Uriah in the thickest of the battle, then fall back so Uriah would be killed. The wronged man was so trustworthy that David sent the sealed message back in Uriah’s possession. Joab did as he was ordered. Uriah died and David married the widow.

Nathan was a seer, a prophet for the royal court, but he knew nothing of David’s evil deeds. The Lord came by His Spirit and revealed the truth to the prophet who went to David and told him an allegorical story. When David reacted in anger at the evil done by a rich man against a poor man, Nathan boldly pointed his finger at the king and said, “You are the man!”

To David’s credit he repented of his wrong. The child Bathsheba carried died and David would suffer other grief in his life because of this horrible wrong-doing.

Let’s see who was adversely impacted by David’s evil behavior: certainly Uriah, Bathsheba – even though she seemed a relatively willing participant, the child who died, Joab who was made an accomplice to murder, and in many ways he betrayed the trust of his warriors and his subjects. You might expect a long apology to all involved from the king. Yet, when you read David’s confession known as Psalm 51, you find something interesting. He mentions none of the people he wronged. Instead, speaking to the Lord, David says, “Against You – You alone – I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight.”

If you want a simple, foolproof definition of sin, I have it for you: sin is the stuff God would not do.

To the extent that I am a child of God, that I share His nature and have His light in my life, I won’t do it either. On those occasions when I do something God would not do, I deny my identity and my paternity. My sin proclaims within the spiritual realm that God is not my Father. It doesn’t matter if it is adultery and murder or just ogling chicks and cussing my neighbor under my breath. In the Real world of the Spirit, it is a out and out denial of who I am.

Look at the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. God illuminates the world through believers. Acting contrary to God’s nature is like hiding the light under a basket – it isn’t worth much to anybody. He goes on to tell us how overt sins are bad but that they begin in the heart. Jesus Himself was pure and sinless. He had no problem with being the Light of the World. When people saw Jesus, they saw God. In a very real way, when Jesus saw people, no matter how far down they were, He saw God in them as well. The Father wants to see Himself in us, clear and perfect.

He tells us to be like our Father in all things. “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous ... Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

How can the Bible tell us to be perfect like our Father in heaven? Who can be perfect? For one thing the word often translated as perfect has the meaning of mature. Be grown up even as your Father is grown up. Be fully your destiny and purpose just as the Father is His Destiny. Or just Be as your Father Is.

Beyond that we are perfect in Christ. Once the work of the Cross was completed and Jesus said, “It is finished”, it was finished. For all time, all souls can be fully sons of God if they are willing.

But sin says, “Not really.” Sin warps the mirror of my soul so that the image of God within is distorted. Thus David was right. He hurt a lot of people but his sin was denying and distorting the reflection of God in himself.

“As long as I am not hurting anybody else,” does not cut it. That view says the spiritual is fiction. In the only life that is real, we need purity and God loves us too much not to keep the fire hot until the dross is all gone.