The Relationship Between Sin and Death
“Our old man was crucified with him, so that the body of sin may be rendered powerless; that we may no longer be enslaved to sin …”—Rom. 6:6 (Diag.)
Christ Died Unto Sin Once
In arriving at a correct understanding of the doctrine of the Atonement, it is crucial to comprehend the relationship between “sin” and “death” as the terms are used in Scripture.
Whilst “sin” is man’s greatest enemy, it is necessary to lay the primary blame for his inherent physical condition upon that which is the source of sin—the flesh.
Paul provides a moving example of the truth of this in his plaintive cry: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death”? (Rom. 7:24). In his statement of acknowledgement: “What a wretched man I am”! he was openly declaring his true state. His confession provided an earnest summary to the revelation given in earlier verses (Vv 14–23). His next words: “Who shall deliver me …”? show that he realised that he was unable to deliver himself from the effects of his sin-prone, death-stricken nature. Such a deliverance could only come to Paul through the intervention of God. Hence his anguished plea: “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death”?—Or: “Who shall rescue me out of this body, doomed to death”? (Roth.)—Or: “Who will deliver me from this body, which is dragging me down to death”? (T.C.N.T.).
Paul was not speaking of “sin”—as of acts committed—as being the root of his suffering and his fleshly destiny, but rather his “body”, his nature. He used this terminology because “the body” is the arena in which “sin” desires to reign supreme. “Sin” cannot be manifested anywhere, other than in the human body.
Therefore, in writing so eloquently upon this subject, Paul effectively speaks for all humanity, including the Lord Jesus Christ, who had been born with the same nature as Paul and ourselves.
If Paul needed to be delivered “out of” (Gk., ek) this death-stricken Adamic nature, so did the Son of God.
Earlier in this epistle the apostle had stated: “Christ, having been raised out of(ek) dead ones, death no longer lords it over him …” (Rom. 6:9, lit. Gk.). Therefore, so long as the Lord remained in a state of Adamic nature, death certainly had dominion or lordship over him. It should be observed that whilst this verse shows clearly the relationship between death and the Lord’s human nature, in no sense whatever did the apostle associate “sin”—as acts of transgression—with the Son of God. The full emphasis of his comments in the verses referred to from Romans 7 is related to the nature which Christ bore when he came into the world. Thus, the inherent weakness in human nature was something which had to be overcome. Even in God’s own Son.
Continuing this reasoning, Paul added: “He (Christ) died unto sin once …” (v. 10). Since the Lord was never guilty of actual transgression, “sin” is here stated by metonymy.
Biblical Definitions of “Sin”
Sin is used in two principal ways in Scripture: one is to describe actual transgression of Divine commandments; the other, to define a physical condition. Upon this aspect of the subject, some pertinent comments from Elpis Israel should be considered:
“The word sin is used in two principal acceptations in the Scriptures. It signifies, in the first place, the transgression of the law; and in the next, it represents that physical principle of the animal nature which is the cause of all its diseases, death and resolution into dust. It is that in the flesh ‘which has the power of death’; and it is called ‘sin’ because the development or fixation of this evil in the flesh was the result of transgression …” (p. 126, 1942 ed.).
“Sin, I say, is a synonym for human nature. Hence, the flesh is invariably regarded as unclean …” (p. 127).
“This view of sin in the flesh is enlightening in the things concerning Jesus. The Apostle says, ‘God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin’ (2 Cor. 5:21); and this he explains in another place by saying that ‘He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh …” (Rom. 8:3). (p. 128).
“Children are born sinners or unclean, because they are born of sinful flesh; and ‘that which is born of the flesh is flesh’ or sin. This is a misfortune, not a crime. They did not will to be born sinners. They have no choice in the case; for, it is written, ‘The creature was made subject to the evil, not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected it in hope’ (Rom. 8:20) … Hence, the Apostle says, ‘By Adam’s disobedience the many were made sinners’ (Rom. 5:19); that is, they were endowed with a nature like his, which had become unclean, as a result of disobedience …” (p. 130).
Whilst readily acknowledging the truth of Brother Thomas’ assertion that “sin is used in two principal acceptations in the Scriptures” we believe it exhortationary to consider two manifestations of “sin” as the “transgression of law”. The first of these is the sin which occurs as the result of weakness in an individual whose disposition is to repudiate sin. “All unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17). Forgiveness may be sought and found for such sins when a correct and humble disposition is manifested (1 John 1:9–10).
Sinning Wilfully
A second form of active sin, is that which is freely and knowingly practised. With such persons, sin is accepted as a way of life. They reveal an uncaring attitude towards sin; or, perhaps, live a way of life which is a blatant and impudent denial of Divine precepts. Such an attitude towards sin is expressed in the words of John: “The sin is the lawlessness …” (1 Jn. 3:4, lit. Gk.).
The word rendered “lawlessness” (anomia) signifies “against law”. Note the expression “whosoever committeth sin …” The word “committeth” does not relate to a single act of sin, but implies walking in sin as a way of life. Hence, “everyone who lives sinfully …” (T.C.N.T.). The word has also been rendered “practises” (Diag.). The term implies a state of mind wherein there is no genuine repudiation of sin.
Thus, “if we sin wilfully (the word indicates not a single act, but a condition deliberately chosen and persisted in) after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins …” (Heb. 10:26).
The Deceitfulness of Sin
Every saint must be aware of “the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13)—a word which means “to cheat, deceive, beguile, mislead, fraudulent …” (cp. James 1:14–15; Matt. 5:28). These various meanings describe a “confidence” man; a trickster, who smoothly and cleverly presents delusion and deception in a specious and plausible manner. Such is the way in which “sin” deceives the individual.
Today, more than ever before, “sin” is presented as being the norm for human behaviour. Every form of wickedness, immorality and ungodliness is set forth as being rational, reasonable and acceptable.
Sons and daughters of God must not only be able to clearly define sin: they must possess a state of awareness concerning the ever-present danger of breaching God’s righteous precepts.
What of the widely accepted view that “It is not what we do that is of importance, but why we do it …”?
On this question, the following advice is valuable:
“If our motives are truly sound, we will seek out the will of God and do it … When Paul taught that we are not under law but under grace … he did not mean that we can ignore law, nor that we will be saved whether we obey God or not …” (H.P. Mansfield, The Test Of True Love, p. 46).
Yahweh’s true saints must clearly understand the insidious effects of the deceitfulness of sin, and remain ever on guard against them.
The State Of Human Nature
Job spoke of “man that is born of woman …” (ch. 14:1–2). He described every man of Adam’s race. These two verses provide a summary of the inherent weaknessess in human nature: it is of “few days …” “full of trouble …” “like a flower” (of limited duration) … “is cut down” (Man dies because the nature he bears is corruptible).
Job followed these terms, so descriptive of fallen Adamic nature, with the question: “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean”? To which he immediately provided an unequivocal answer: “Not one”! Human nature is corruptible at its source. Therefore, how could any woman produce from within herself a creature who is different from herself? It would be quite impossible to do so. Christ stated the case, simply: “That, having been born out of the flesh is flesh …” (Jn. 3:6, lit. Gk.).
David wrote in similar vein: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5). The Psalmist was not claiming that his conception had been an act of sin (cp. Heb. 13:4; 1 Cor. 7:38; 1 Tim. 4:3), but that both his parents were “sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14) by the very nature they bore.
These Scriptural statements define the state of human nature from the time sin entered into the world.
In this respect we emphasise our repudiation of the Roman Catholic doctrine of “Original Sin”, which teaches that God punishes humanity for the sin which Adam committed. As quoted earlier from the pen of Brother Thomas: “Sin is a synonym for human nature … This is a misfortune, not a crime …”
Because fallen Adamic nature is the source of sin, it is correctly described in Scripture as ‘sin’. All Adam’s descendants, including the Lord Jesus Christ, have inherited an identical nature.
Yahweh Is Just
There should, then, be no great difficulty in understanding the words of Paul: “For He (God) hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin …” (2 Cor. 5:21). The word “sin”, occurring twice in this passage is the same word in the Greek.
John wrote: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us …”
Observe that John does not say “If we say that we do not sin …” The word rendered “have” (A.V.) means “to have, to hold, implying present, continued having, or lasting possession …” (Bullinger, 1 Jhn. 1:8).
In this passage, the word “sin” is the Gk., humartia, and is in the singular, without the definite article. This is significant. Some “clean-flesh” theorists claim that the flesh of humankind remains in the original “very good” state, until actual transgression occurs. 1 Jhn. 1:8 reveals that sin is not simply something we do: it is also something which is inherently identified with fallen human nature.
This is stressed when verse 8 is contrasted with verse 9: “If we confess our sins (plural), he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness …” Thus, in verse 8 John acknowledged our sin-nature, whilst in the following verse he wrote of the out-working of that nature in actual sins committed. It is helpful to consider the way in which “sin” occurs in the Greek of the New Testament as both a noun (which refers to a person, place or thing) and as a verb (descriptive of an action).
All Adam’s progeny have been born into a constitution of “sin”. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). Have “many” been “made” transgressors of God’s law because of Adam’s sin? To teach such would be to make Yahweh unjust. The passage should be rendered: “As through the one man’s disobedience the many were constituted sinners, so through the obedience of one, the many shall be constituted righteous …” Here, “sin” is a synonym for human nature, as in other places. Note also verse 21: “Sin hath reigned unto death …” Could it ever be claimed that a particular act of sin could possibly “reign” as a monarch, to the very moment of the sinner’s death? By no means. What is it then, that “reigns” unto “death”? It can be only the flesh, which, by nature, “reigns” over the human race.
Similarly, when Paul told the Roman believers: “Ye were the servants of sin” what could he have meant, other than that they had, prior to their conversion to Christ, been bond-slaves to the desires and dictates of the flesh?
Again, when Paul wrote of “sin that dwelleth in me” (Rom. 7:17), to what could he have been referring, but the motivating power of the flesh?
Christ Not A Transgressor
Thus, using the same terminology in the same way, it could be said that the Lord Jesus, being a partaker of our nature, “died unto sin once …” (Rom. 6:10). Did the Lord die because he had actually transgressed against Divine commandments? By no means. The apostle was here stating that the Lord, having consistently and perfectly put to death the evil impulses of the flesh throughout his life, finally did so literally, in the manner of his death upon the stake; thereby, “once” and for all, putting to death “sin”—or, human nature.
The Lord taught that the flesh was incapable of producing anything of worth (Jhn. 6:63).
Paul’s teaching is in complete harmony with that of Christ. “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin …” (Rom. 7:14). The Law was indeed spiritual, for it came from God. However, by implication, Paul posed another question: Is it only because of sins actually committed that we die? If such a question was answered in the affirmative, how would we explain the deaths of newborn infants, untainted by acts of sin? The truth is that the law could not save Paul from death. We are born with a nature which is death-stricken, subject to death. This was Paul’s situation at the time he wrote this epistle. “I am carnal”, he wrote; not, “I was carnal …” Rotherham renders it: “I, however, am a creature of flesh …”
Whilst in the condition of fallen Adamic nature, Paul, in common with all humanity, was “sold under sin …” The allegory of master and slave is unmistakeable. Hence, “I know that there is nothing good in me—I mean in my earthly nature …” (v. 18, T.C.N.T.). Not only is it impossible for the flesh to produce any “good thing”, but the spirit of the Truth is at war with the flesh (Rom. 6:11–18). “I have the desire to do what is good”, wrote Paul humbly, “but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing …” (Rom. 7:18–19, N.I.V.).
Paul’s sole desire was to serve Christ. But “sin” (i.e. his “sinnature”) was ever-present as a belligerent adversary to the things of God.
Despite such weakness, Paul did not accept the inherent weakness of his nature as an excuse to “continue in sin”. He was determined to war the warfare of faith, fighting the evil propensities of the flesh, till death put an end to his struggle (2 Tim. 4:7). Thus, his faith triumphed: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord”! (Rom. 7:25).
We, too, must repudiate the flesh, loving “righteousness” and hating “wickedness” (Ps. 45:7).
And, like Paul, we must strive wholeheartedly to follow and imitate the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Metonymy” signifies the using of a word to represent the thing actually meant; i.e. the term “the crown” is at times used to represent the personage of the Monarch. Here, as elsewhere, “sin” is used to represent the flesh, i.e. Adamic nature. Christ was related to “sin” because he bore our nature. He was also related to death for the same reason.
Bro. John Ullman
