What is sin? Dunning says “Humanity’s relation to God must be conceived personalistically. Thus, sin is whatever violates that relationship and causes a separation between God and mankind” (p. 275).
Disobedience caused a separation between God and mankind when Adam and Eve transgressed His only law. This was the origin of sin, and due to their disobedience, we now suffer the consequences of that fall. “We believe that sin came into the world through the disobedience of our first parents, and death by sin” says the Nazarene manual (2017-2021).
This original sin which we are born into is what is meant by depravity. We cannot escape sin’s effects on humanity. We are finite. We are corruptible. We are slaves to this original sin, but for the free will that God placed in us all.
“We are not mechanical creatures programmed by God, by Satan, nor by any other outside power. Even though we are born with a sinful nature, we choose our own spiritual destiny. We cannot be held accountable for Adam’s original sin. BUT, neither can we blame Adam or anyone else for our own sins either” (Umble Lecture 2).
This brings us to the fundamental truths of the doctrine of original sin. “Theologically the doctrine of original sin underscores 2 fundamental truths. First, it refers to each human being as a whole. This is the true significance of the term total depravity” (p. 290). Both the inner person (spiritual) and the outer person (physical) are depraved or live in original sin. We are subject to this original sin. Therefore, actual sins will come to the forefront.
Scripture backs this up in Matthew 11:17-19, “Do ye not yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”
“Second, the doctrine of original sin is intended to view humanity as a whole” (p. 290). Here is where Dunning says that the Hebrew concept of corporate personality comes into play. Humanity as a whole is Adam’s race. It seems that in modern times we tend to think more on a personal level, but the Jews of old saw themselves as parts of a much larger whole. Humans bear the effects of Adam’s sin, which leads to an inevidible act of sin.
Sin is not only the breaking of one of God’s rules; it is the betraying of a relationship. The original image of God (Imago Dei) included freedom for God, freedom for each other, freedom from the earth or world, and freedom from self-domination. That awesome relationship that Adam and Eve had with God was broken when they decided to distrust Him and do it their own way. Not only did their actions separate them from God, the repercussions of their disobedience bound us to sin. “Sin involves more than the breaking of divine laws or imperatives; it primarily involves the betrayal of a relationship” (thorsen p. 159).
“We believe that actual or personal sin is a voluntary violation of a known law of God by a morally responsible person. It is therefore sin in that it constitutes an inherited propensity to actual sin for which no one is accountable until its divinely provided remedy is neglected or rejected” (Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2017-2021).
Since sin is inherited and the voluntary action of disobedience, then “there must be some outside and supernatural source that gives human beings some measure of spiritual light, the capacity to do good, and the means to come to salvation in Christ” (Umble Lecture 2).
“There is in the heart of every child of man an inexhaustible fund of ungodliness and unrighteousness, so deeply and strongly rooted in the soul that nothing less than almighty grace can cure it” (Collins 70-71).
It is this almighty grace that frees us to make the choice to turn from both the original sin committed by Adam and actual sins commited by us.
Prevenient grace is the grace of God that goes before. It is the grace that always works to lead us to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is the grace that empowers us to do good when we are still in sin. It is spelled out in the verses that say, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:8-9 KJV).
In conclusion, sin is a voluntary transgression of a known law of God, the root of which is grounded in disobedience, self-will, unbelief, and pride. “For both Gentile and Jew, the root of sin is not found in acts of sinfulness but in a perverted, rebellious will” (Dunning p. 277). Our sinful nature which we are born with is why we commit acts of sin. But thanks be to God for sending us a remedy for sin in the person of Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV).Works Cited
Collins, Kenneth. The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace. Abingdon Press, 2007
Dunning, H. Ray, Grace, Faith, & Holiness: A Wesleyan Systematic Theology, Beacon Hill Press, 1988
Thorsen, Don, An Exploration of Christian Theology, Baker Academic, 2008-2020
Umble, W. Thomas, Sin – Personal and Corporate – Part TwoLecture
Shannon Wells 