Excusing Our Sin

We saw in yesterday’s study that we tend to minimize our sin, excusing it or dismissing it by declaring that it’s simply a natural consequence of who we are as human beings. People are masters at this game. From our own moment-by-moment thoughts to the most logically cogent philosophical arguments, efforts can be found to downplay the depth of our depravity. However, most attempts to do so fall into three broad categories, in which sin is defined as “finitude,” as “inauthentic existence,” or as psychological distortion.”

Let us explore the first of these, finitude. This view begins with certain incontrovertible facts: God is limitless but we are limited. In fact, finitude is rightly seen as an aspect of every created thing. Because we are thus limited, we are weaker than our infinite Creator. So far so good. But problems begin to arise at this point in the argument, where some posit that evil is a necessary component of finitude. One of the main proponents of this argument was the rationalist philosopher Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716). He spoke of three kinds of evil: moral evil, which is typically called sin; physical evil, such as illness or natural disasters; and metaphysical evil, which is the condition of being finite. For Leibniz, to be finite is to be metaphysically imperfect, for only the infinite is metaphysically perfect. Thus, he said, what is wrong with the world is the fact that it is finite. But a finite world is the only kind of world God could make. So although God did the best He could, this world, with all of its problems, is the best of all possible worlds. The problem with this argument, of course, is that the Biblical record does not agree with it. It tells us that this world originally was not as it is today, but that it went through a wrenching change when mankind fell into sin. And it tells us that the world will be remade at some future point. The world is not now the best it ever has been or will be.

The finitude theory is the ultimate moral cop-out, for it places the blame for man’s sin and fallenness on God. It assumes that since we are just being human, God has an obligation to forgive us. However, the problem of evil stems from our transgression of God’s law. Thus, God will not judge us for our finitude but for our disobedience. This is the Biblical truth that puts every other effort to excuse human sinfulness to the lie.