A word about sin from Dagg’s Manual

“He who looks into the state of society around him, finds proof of man’s wickedness. Crimes abound everywhere; and the earth is filled violence, as it was of old. Laws restrain the crimes and violence of men; but the very necessity of laws demonstrates the wickedness of mankind. War and oppression make u, in great measure, the history of our race; and innumerable deeds of wickedness, which never find a place in the historic record, are written in God’s book of remembrance and will be brought to light in that day, when men shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body.

The actual transgressions of men consist in doing what God has forbidden, and in leaving undone what he has commanded. The latter are called sins of omission; the former, sins of commission. With both these kinds of transgression all men are more or less chargeable. They who abstain from grosser crimes have, nevertheless, committed many sins, and omitted many duties. But sin in the overt act, constitutes only a very small part of man’s sinfulness…

Moral depravity shows itself in outward acts of transgression; but, atrocious as these often are, it is chiefly in the heart that God beholds and hates it. “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” [Genesis 6:5] In the heart it was that God saw the great wickedness of the earth. The heart is a metaphorical term, denoting those mental affections which are the principles or beginnings of action. Here depravity exists at the very fountain from which all human action flow.”–from, The Fall and Present State of Man, Manual of Theology, J.L. Dagg

This is the kind of thing we’re talking about when we talk about sin. This is the kind of thing that needs forgiving. This is what Jesus is talking about in Mark 2:10. Thats the authority he’s talking about.

Mark 2:1-12 Questioning

“Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”–Mark 2:7

OK. In my last post I ran smack into this question and its answer given by Jesus. It’s one of those hard, unyielding truths that we must deal with as Christians. We are always questioning the Word of God. We always seem so ready to slip into the error of supporting our work with bible quotes rather than drawing out what we’re supposed to be doing from the Bible. Or, rather than seek forgiveness for our sins, we carry on trying to work them off with ministry projects, etc. It’s not the kind of thing you can earn folks…here’s what I mean.

“8And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”–Mark 2:8-11

Jesus knows us. He knew these men were questioning what he was doing in their hearts, so he asks them simply, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?” They were they scribes. No one was more familiar with the Word of God than they were, or should have been. In fact, their question shows their familiarity, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Theirs was a holy outrage: someone was blaspheming God by putting himself in God’s place. Does Jesus beat them over the head for it? Does he say they are an idiot, a fool or make other snide comments? Nope. He tells them who he is and shows them just how much authority he has. And the paralytic gets up, picks up his bed, and goes home under his own power.

We would do well to follow that example. Sometimes, folks just don’t know what their dealing with. They surely aren’t going to know if we don’t tell them, if we don’t show them.