Sin: Legal, Not Social:1 John 3

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4, KJV).

“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4, NASB).

When the founding fathers of the United States of America sat down to write the constitution, they wanted to create a document that would spell out what was legal and what was illegal. If the citizens ratified the document it would be a legal document that would be one in which all the citizens would be held accountable to. No one would be outside the law in its provisions, protection and purpose. The law would serve as a stabilizing document that would hold the union together. In this way, the constitution would be a document that would have social implications as it set boundaries and limits on the behaviors for all people; especially in terms of how one citizen was to relate to other citizens. Those who violate the law would be guilty not merely of a moral or ethical failure; rather violators would be guilty of a crime. In this article we will learn that sin much like a crime is not just a moral failure. Sin is a violation of God’s law. Like crime there is a penalty for sin.

Therefore, sin is not a moral matter. Sin is a matter of human beings failure to live up to the purpose for which God created them to be. We cannot talk about sin until we talk about God. Why is this true? It is because God created the world and everything in it. The Negro (African American) poet James Weldon Johnson visualized it with these words in his poem titled “Creation.” Johnson begins his poem with these words. “And God stepped out on space, and looked around and said: I’m lonely—I’ll make me a world.” In the remainder of the poem Johnson gives his vision of how God created the world. Interestingly, Johnson’s poem though worded differently agrees with the Scripture. In Genesis 1:1 the author begins with these words: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” (NASB). Genesis 1 like Johnson’s poem gives further details about God’s vision for His world.

When God created His world He created it to exist according to laws. Laws such as gravity, speed of light and speed of sound were created. Then God created human beings, both male and female. God commanded them to be fruitful and multiply. They were to have dominion over the animals that God placed in the garden with them. They were to have dominion over the animals (see Genesis 1:26-30). In Genesis 2:16, the writer gives an account of God’s commandment to the man. “The LORD God commanded the man saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). God created a woman and the two of them became one flesh (2:24). Thus, the laws that were to govern the man also were to govern the woman and their children.

The man and the woman failed to live in obedience to God’s law. The serpent talked with the woman and deceived her. Being captivated by the words of the serpent, the woman trusted what she could see instead of obeying the Lord’s command. The man was no less guilty than the woman because he considered his relationship with his wife more important and perhaps desirable, than his relationship with God. Yes, God had warned them that they would die if they ate of the fruit, but the man had no knowledge of death. He did have knowledge of the woman, and it is likely that he valued their relationship above anything else in the world (see Genesis 2:21-25). The bible does not blame the woman for the failure of the human race. In 1Peter 3 Peter commanded the men to honor their wives; not belittle them or blame them. He writes, “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7, NASB). The word “weaker” makes a comparison between the sensitivities of the man and the woman. It does not mean that the woman’s mental capacities are any less. The woman was deceived and the man who was weak also gladly followed the lead of his wife. The woman did not make the man eat. The man ate because he too was considering what the serpent was saying. So, as stated above, sin is the transgression of God’s law. We have made it a social issue. How did we human beings get to this point?

The man and the woman disobeyed God. They not only disobeyed God. They also obeyed the serpent. Thus, in 1 John 3, the author is encouraging and commanding the church member to love each other. Throughout the New Testament Paul, Peter, and James describe love as the principle of doing what is best in order to bring about what is good for a brother and sister in Christ. They cannot love one another if they practice sin. They must practice righteousness. In 1 John the writer points out particularly that love between the righteous and the evil ones is impossible. Cain, the evil brother murdered his righteous brother. Cain was a transgressor of God’s law while Abel his brother was righteous as seen by the offering that he brought to God (see Genesis 4:3-11). What is the point?

First, sin is the transgression of God’s law. The founders of the United States of America believed this. Now, it is true that they did not all agree about what things violated God’s law. However, they did for the most part agree that they should base their laws on their understanding of God’s law. They did not always agree as to how the law was to be applied to individual persons, but they were determined that their laws would agree with God’s law. They were determined that the social fabric of the nation should be an obedient response to God laws. If the citizens obeyed the law the morals and ethics of the nation would meet the standards for living as God had determined when God created the world. However, in our country today we find ourselves in great debates about how we should live. We are having difficulty because some of us are like Cain while some of us are like Abel. Cain did things his own way. He cared less about the law of God. On the other hand, Abel was careful to do His best to obey God’s law.

Second, we live in a country in which many of the citizens want laws to be totally separate from the law of God. Many of these people do not understand what the founders meant by separation of church and state. Let me state briefly what this means. The American colonies were under the control of England. England had a government controlled religion—the Church of England. However, there were several religious persuasions among the people living in the colonies. They did not want to have a government controlled religion. Thus, separation of church and state did not mean that a person’s religion should not be considered in government and laws. Instead, they wanted the freedom to vote for laws that agreed with their religious beliefs. We have seen that when God’s laws are transgressed the moral fiber and ethical decisions fall short of what is best for us as individuals and as a country. Today, we want our moral desires to be the basics of our laws. God’s law should determine our behavior.

Third, God is creator and has sovereign rule over His world. God created according to his own purpose. Everything that God created was based on laws that God created so that His world would be able to be sustained according to God’s desires. God is immutable and sovereign. God is unchangeable. His laws are eternal—from everlasting to everlasting. God’s rule cannot be successfully challenged. No change in human laws can thwart the consequences that come with disobedience to God’s law.

Finally, our morals and opinions on ethical matters do not determine what is best for our country. Everything that exists is the result of God’s creation by His laws. We can make laws, but they have no permanent good benefits if they violate the law of God. We will continue to have the crimes and social problems and discords unless we submit to God’s law in faithful obedience.