What is sin by RC Sproul
Image via Wikipedia The question, “What is sin?” is raised in the Westminster Shorter Catechism . The answer provided to this catechetical question is simply this: “ Sin is any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God .” Let us examine some of the elements of this catechetical response. In the first instance, sin is identified as some kind of want or lack. In the middle ages, Christian theologians tried to define evil or sin in terms of privation ( privatio ) or negation ( negatio ). In these terms, evil or sin was defined by its lack of conformity to goodness. The negative terminology associated with sin may be seen in biblical words such as dis obedience , god less ness , or im morality . In all of these terms, we see the negative being stressed. Further illustrations would include words such as dishonor , antichrist , and others. However, to gain a complete view of sin, we have to see that it involves more than a negation of the good, or more than a simple l