The Depth of Our Sin

We have seen that human beings are masters at the game of excusing sin. We engage in this practice because we see our sin as something on the surface, something that is only a slight mar on our humanness. We’ll willingly acknowledge we’re not perfect because we don’t fully grasp just how imperfect we are. In our ignorance, we can even make the incredible assumption that we’ll be able to stand on Judgment Day by entering as our plea, “I did my best.”

The Bible paints sin as a much more serious problem, which brings us to the doctrine of “original sin.” This term does not point back to the first sin committed by Adam and Eve when they ate the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Rather, it refers to the result of that sin, the condition of corruption that has been passed down from them to all their descendants. The clear teaching of the Bible on this subject shows that sin is no surface problem. Rather, it is a condition of “radical corruption,” something that goes to the radix, the core of our being. In other words, the Bible says we are rotten to the core.

Romans 3 may be the best statement of this truth. Again and again in this monumental chapter Paul hacks away at our self-confidence, revealing a depth of sin that most of us never dream might be the case within us. “ ‘There is none righteous, no, not one,’ ” he says (v. 10b). This universal negative tells us first of all that we all do indeed have sin in our lives. Then he adds, “ ‘There is none who understands’ ” (v. 11a). Understands what? The holiness of God. Righteousness requires right thinking; we must understand who our God is. Continuing, Paul says, “ ‘There is none who seeks after God’ ” (v. 11b). People seek the benefits that only God can give, but they want nothing to do with God Himself. In fact, it is human nature not to seek God but to flee from Him. Then comes as clear a statement of the case as we could ask: “ ‘There is none who does good, no, not one’ ” (v. 12b). The word good, of course, is a relative term; something is judged to be good or bad according to a standard. We may think our actions good. But according to God’s standard of goodness, His norm of righteousness, no one, not one single human being in his or her natural state, does good. Sin has left us unable to please God in any way—until God begins to do His redemptive work in our hearts.