Redefining sin

Now that really does sound like I've lost it. I'll just redefine sin to suit myself shall I? Greed, pride, lust, sloth, theft - all fine now. Mind you, if you read my recent post in defence of illegal downloading you might think that's exactly what I've done.

With any luck this will be the last in the redefining series... sighs of relief all round...

10. Sin 

Evangelical definition: Sin is primarily a moral failure or offence against God's perfect law. It arouses God's anger and separates us from him, as no unclean thing can dwell in his presence; and only Jesus' sacrifice can wash away sin.  We are all born into a state of sinfulness resulting from the wilful disobedience of Adam, and until we accept Christ's salvation we cannot help but follow our fleshly inclinations which lead us to sin. In evangelical circles, particular emphasis is often placed on sins of sexual immorality (lust, fornication, adultery, homosexuality); rage, drunkenness, rebellion and witchcraft also rate highly, and failure to hold correct doctrines is often effectively treated as sin.

Re-definition: Sin is fundamentally an offence against love (the supreme law), against personality (the supreme reality) and against relationship (the expression and context of love and personality). Sin depersonalises and dehumanises; it mars and spoils Christ's image in ourselves and others. Sin is a falling-short of our true original nature as image-bearers and incarnations (icons and sacraments) of Christ; it is a sickness, brokenness and lostness of our souls. Christ's perfect love covers our sin, heals and restores us and encourages us to offer forgiveness and healing to others.

11. Hell

Evangelical definition: Hell is a post-mortem place or state of eternal, inescapable conscious torment shut out from God's presence. All who do not accept Christ as Lord and Saviour in this life are destined for this fate. Hell is God's just punishment of the wicked according to his righteous wrath.

Re-definition: Hell is both the present and the post-mortem state of souls self-separated from the love, peace and forgiveness of God eternally held out to them. It is not necessarily an eternal and inescapable state, and nor is it the inevitable destination of those who have not in this life come to faith in Christ.

12. Atonement

Evangelical definition: Atonement is the means by which God cancels out our sins and makes us right with himself, lifting the sentence of eternal punishment in hell that hangs over us. Specifically, it refers to Christ's penal substitutionary sacrifice for us on the cross, in which he bore himself the punishment due for all of our sins, thus paying our debt and freeing us from their penalty (if we accept him as Saviour).

Re-definition: The atonement is the ultimate expression and act of love, in which Love offers its (or his) own self up to rejection, pain and death on behalf of us the beloved. In the atonement, Love takes on all our pains, sorrows, guilt, shame, fear, brokenness and isolation in order to redeem them, to heal and restore us to the fullness of love and relationship.

13. Salvation

Evangelical definition: Salvation - literally 'being saved' - is God's rescue of hell-bound sinners through the gospel of Christ's sacrifice. Salvation allows us to escape judgement and enter the Kingdom of Heaven by repenting of our sins and placing our faith in Christ.

Re-definition: Salvation is less about escaping hell or entering heaven, and more about the ongoing transformation and renewing of our lives, hearts and minds into Christlikeness by the work of the Holy Spirit.

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...unfortunately, a bit like the list of 'what have the Romans ever done for us', the list of terms to be re-defined keeps on growing the more I think about it. What about prayer, discipleship, worship, fellowship? What about faith, hope and love? What about God himself, his sovereignty, his omnipotence and omniscience? And conversely, what about evil and the devil?

Oh well, they can all wait for another day. I've got a dishwasher to load.