The Consequences of Sin and Evil

June 24, 2014 at 11:22 am revchrisw

Sin is not a popular word, so I will use the word evil also. They are of course related. Sin is not just minor offences but serious ones. Evil is clearly serious. All sin is contrary to God’s good will. In the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible there are three words for sin that can be translated as: falling short of the mark, transgression against a law, and rebellion. As can be seen the three have increasing levels of seriousness. It is one thing to come short of God’s will; it is another to consciously rebel against God. I will focus on the serious end of the scale, namely that which is clearly evil, not misdemeanours or minor transgressions. In our society we clearly regard people such as Hitler and the Nazi regime as evil, the apartheid system in South Africa was evil, and perpetrators of child sexual abuse are evil. The reason is obvious. In each people were treated cruelly, harmfully and unjustly with negative consequences including death, deprivation and taking away their dignity.

It is not surprising that those who have experienced serious sin against them feel shame, resentment and often desire to retaliate against those who treated them with evil intent. It can be the case that those who have been mistreated unfortunately go on to treat others in the same kinds of ways when they gain the power to do so. The oppressed become in turn the oppressors; the abused become abusers. Or they have to live the rest of their lives with diminished capacity and reduced self-esteem because of what has been done to them. The Bible speaks of the ‘sinned against’ as well as those who sin.

Humans in Christian understanding are both made ‘in the image of God’ with all that implies in terms of capacity and ‘fallen’ with the recognition of the negative side of human life. Given the fallenness, the brokenness, the conflicts in human life, sin and evil are never fully overcome. They continue to emerge in new forms. The Christian faith does not hold to the false notion of human progress but nor does it despair. It is realistic about the reality of sin and evil, yet its faith in God as revealed in Jesus provides hope.

Human sin and evil lead, in general terms, to injustice, death, exploitation, shame, guilt, resentment, and retaliation. We see this clearly on a national scale with evil regimes, corporately with organised crime for example, and on a personal scale with murders and child abuse. As I indicated earlier all too often there is a cycle of sin and evil. Or else it is not resolved and people live with the consequences.

How can the consequences of sin and evil be dealt with in a way that opens up a new future and does not simply repeat the past in new forms? Retaliation and punishment will not do it. Ignoring what has happened will not suffice.

God in Jesus Christ has in fact acted in a way that has yet to be fully appreciated and appropriated. I am convinced that Jesus dealt with the consequences of sin and evil in a way that was entirely different to what was expected. We still find it hard to understand and follow.

Jesus took upon himself the consequences of sin and evil. He was convicted unjustly by the Roman and Jewish powers of his day. The mob called for his crucifixion. The soldiers carried out their job. His disciples abandoned him. He was executed in the cruellest way having first been flogged. He died an agonising death. This was done not just to one unfortunate victim of the systems of the day.

God had taken the initiative in Jesus to inaugurate his reign. The God of the Bible revealed supremely by Jesus wants people to have fullness of life lived according to God’s reign of love, justice and peace. God’s rule came in Jesus’ proclamation and actions. The forces of sin and evil were being overcome through Jesus as seen in his healings and exorcisms in which people were brought back to wholeness of body and mind. Yet the reality of sin and evil remained and the powers of the day conspired against Jesus which led to his crucifixion. Instead of calling on his disciples to rise up with him against his enemies, Jesus willingly submitted to them. He rejected the way of retaliation and violence. He chose to take the consequences of sin and evil upon himself. He did so not just as one individual but as a representative person, indeed as the Son of Man and Son of God. He absorbed the sin and evil inflicted upon him. In doing so he nullified the power of sin and evil. He refused to let sin and evil have the last say. He loved and forgave to the end.

Jesus broke the causal chains of sin and evil in the world and created a new basis on which it is possible to work off the consequences of sin. That basis includes facing the truth of what has happened, repentance and seeking reconciliation with one another, even former enemies.

In this way he opened up new possibilities. People do not have to continue the cycle of sin and evil, of violence and retaliation. People can experience the healing love of God so that what they have been through does not determine their future. If people appropriate what Jesus did on the cross they can know forgiveness, healing and new life can be opened for them. In following the way of Jesus and living in the reign of God now we can already experience something of the life God wants for us and are given hope for the future. God’s reign has come and will come. We can know reconciliation with God and others now and look forward to its fullness in the kingdom to come. Jesus not only died to deal with the consequences of sin; he was also raised that we might know new life through him the risen Lord.

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