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The Knowledge of Sin

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The Knowledge of Sin

9 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

In a previous article we discussed sin and sinning. Both the Old and New Testament contain many more words which define and signify man’s wrongdoings. All these words incorporate the concept of straying from the way of the Lord, going against the law of the Lord, disobedience to the Word of the Lord and rebellion against the Lord. Since we no longer know the Lord, we also do not know sin. When we do not know who the Lord is, we do not know what sinning against the Lord means. When we do not know the law of God, we do not know what it means to transgress the law of God. The light of our understanding is darkened by sin.

Sin is much spoken about, but usually without a personal knowledge of sin. A woman once said, “I don’t know what you mean by sin.”She did not want to say she was perfect, but since she lived decently, then what could be her sin? In another instance, a man spoke much about sin; he believed himself to be a great sinner and the whole human race to be evil. He was of the opinion that in the preaching the emphasis had to be placed on sin, God’s judgment over sin, and the corruption of man. He was asked the question if he had ever confessed his sins before the Lord and if he was sorry for his sins. The surprising answer was, “No.”From these two examples, it is evident that we can speak much about sin without knowing what sin is.

One of our forefathers stated: “First we practice sin, then we defend it, then we boast of it.” These words very appropriately describe our condition through sin. In order to be saved, we must come to know our sins. We all have some knowledge of our imperfections and sinfulness. We all experience the results of our sins time and again in sickness, sorrow, and death. The evils of life are usually ascribed by natural man to secondary causes: others, society, the inevitable struggle for existence, ignorance, misfortune, enemies, or even birth under an “unlucky star.” However, this has nothing to do with the saving knowledge of sin.

It is a frequently occurring evil that man readily admits that all people are sinful, but if weare pointed to a particular sin of our own, we become angry. This proves that we cannot see our own sin by natural light. We need spiritual, divine light to come to the knowledge of our sins. Without the knowledge of our sins, deliverance will neither be sought nor appreciated. Unless a person knows his sin and is convinced of it by the Holy Spirit, he will never repent of it or turn from it.

When man is made sensible of sin, and sorry for it, he will acknowledge and confess it before God, against whom he has sinned. “Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God” (Jer. 3:13). Of ourselves we do not rightly know our sins—neither their origin or extent—as they should be known. The Lord must open our eyes through His Spirit and Word. Oh, if the Lord Himself did not see to it that we would come to know our sin, we would never know what sin is. We cannot emphasize enough the need for a personal knowledge of sin, because if we don’t have a personal need, we will never personally hunger and thirst after the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and long for the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. Our depraved and darkened understanding does not give us that knowledge. We don’t know the essence of the matter, namely, separation from God and His communion. This knowledge is given unto us from outside of ourselves, through the clear, constant light of the Holy Spirit shining into our heart. “And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin” (Jn. 16:8). The knowledge of sin is made manifest unto the soul when the Lord comes into the presence of the sinner. In other words, we then have to face the Lord with whom we have to do. We begin to see and know our sins and accept them as real and lively. Then it no longer concerns someone else, but / become the sinner, yes, I become entirely sinful.

The knowledge of our sin and being a sinner before the Lord is not only a knowing with our understanding. We experience, feel, and live through this with our whole being. The fruit of it is to confess before the Lord, to grieve, and to be bowed down under the burden of sin. Then we bemoan and loathe ourselves before the Lord. It is indeed a lively knowledge which drives us to the Lord with weeping and supplication. Then we see sin as an offensive thing and it becomes more and more a burden. When the conscience is thoroughly awakened, sin becomes bitter. We would gladly run (if possible) from our own conscience and from ourselves. When our heart is touched with a saving sense of sin, we cry: “O God, be merciful to me thesinner.” Then we realize that sin is God-provoking in its nature, awful in its manifestation and, as a result, brings us under the just indignation of a righteous and holy God. We see sin as rendering us personally guilty before God. We read of Job: “I abhor myself in dust and ashes.” We read of David in Psalm 51: “I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.”

To know our sins is to know that we have transgressed against a well-doing God, against His holy law, against a God of love, mercy, and grace who has loaded us with His undeserved goodness. God’s holy law has begun to besiege the heart. The Holy Spirit expounds and applies the law to our heart When the commandment came, sin revived, and when sin revived, Paul became a lost sinner. The law uncovered him as being dead in trespasses and sin. And what happened then? He could not live with the law anymore. Then it became “no fruit of thee hereafter!” From the law of God he came to know his lost state, sin, and blindness. Every pilgrim’s way to Zion resembles this way. If it is to be well with us, each one of us must learn this from a similar experience.

Much is said about sin without knowing our own sin. We can live with it. There is no sorrow over sin, no repentance of sin; we don’t complain about ourselves but about others. This is a clear sign that we do not yet know our own sin. The knowledge of sin through the Holy Spirit is not, as it were, a station that is passed. If we received knowledge of sin yesterday, we will have to receive it again today and tomorrow. Paul cannot come any further than “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Let us take this lesson to heart by God’s grace, for the soul’s welfare depends on this. The more we come to know our sin and unworthiness, the more our soul experiences the necessity of Christ and is also made receptive for the utterance of divine grace in Christ Jesus.

Is it not so that the further the light of God’s Spirit leads us into our depraved existence, the more broken our heart becomes? The broken and contrite heart sorroweth after God (2 Cor. 7:10). The way of discovering and opening of our totally sinful and depraved heart is the way to Christ who is the end of the law. Indeed, as long as the heart is not broken, we go to work. We see yet a possibility in ourselves to become acceptable before God. Where the heart is broken, all rights have been lost and all ways are broken off; there God’s love is poured out and there the soul’s outgoings are to Christ withall its sin and depravity. There the soul implores the Lord for the cleansing of the heart through His blood. The saving knowledge of our sins is necessary because it takes away all our self-righteousness. These are people who no longer have any expectation of themselves because they have come to know their own heart by the light of God’s Spirit. The knowledge of sin is the instrument God uses to drive a sinner out to Christ. Is not the promise of grace and reconciliation through Christ Jesus given only to those who can no longer find refuge and salvation anywhere else? The promise is given to those who know themselves and their whole existence to be lost before God and have learned that God could justly cast them away from before His countenance. The church of Laodicea was not receptive to true comfort because they didn’t know that they were “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”

Is this the language of your heart? Have you come to the end of your worthiness and possibilities? Has your heart been broken by the law and have you, through the law, died unto the law? Maybe you ask, “How deep must the knowledge of my sin be?” It should be wide and deep enough so that there is room for Christ. It is His work that we read of in Psalm 72:12–14: “For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight.”

Rev. H. Hofman is pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Sioux Center, Iowa.

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van zaterdag 1 december 1990

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's

The Knowledge of Sin

Bekijk de hele uitgave van zaterdag 1 december 1990

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's