Assignment
Assignment: Types of Sin
Completion requirements
In preparation for this assignment, make sure you have watched Dr. Bounds’ overview of this module as well as done the reading in the textbook.
In keeping with the discussion this week, Dr. Chris Bounds presents a number of ways in which we might categorize sin. This may seem very analytical, but it is an attempt to help us understand our human problem more clearly and thus to help us see our way to the solution that God has provided for us.
Bounds presents three key ways of thinking about sin. First, there are the acts of sin that we might commit. He puts these acts into three general categories: 1) there are intentional acts of wrongdoing that we do, 2) there are habitual sins that probably started with intentional sin but are now so deeply ingrained in us that we may now do them unthinkingly (such as addictions), 3) there are sins of the moment that we do not pre-meditate but we may find ourselves doing in a particular circumstance (Wesley called them “sins of surprise”).
But why do we do these sin acts in the first place? Here Bounds refers to Sin as the state that we have inherited from all the way back with the original sin of Adam. After Adam and Eve sinned, our moral image was corrupted. Our default human state does not have the presence of the Holy Spirit, and thus we are powerless to live righteously even if we would want to. You might say that we are born with a “sin nature,” and that sin acts are a direct result.
Finally, Dr. Bounds speaks of unintentional sins or “sins of infirmity.” These are sins we might commit when we unintentionally wrong another person. They are wrongdoing based in our ignorance.
Dr. Bounds also talks about dimensions of sin that to some extent correlate with these types of sin. For example, Adam’s original sin and our resultant sin nature have left us with the “root” of sin in our sin nature. This sin nature manifests itself in the “power” of Sin over us. And when we commit a sin act, the result is the “guilt” of sin.
Below you will find the statement on sin in the Wesleyan Discipline. For this assignment, take the statement in the Discipline and compare it to the teaching Dr. Bounds presented in his video lecture. How well do the two line up? Give a detailed comparison of the two presentations. Are there any points where they are in tension? Are there any aspects of sin that one or the other leaves out?
The Wesleyan Discipline
Sin: Original, Willful, and Involuntary
225. We believe that through the disobedience of Adam and Eve sin entered the world and all creation suffered its consequences. The effects of sin include disruption of the relationship between God and humanity, deterioration of the natural order of creation, and exploitation of persons by evil or misguided social systems. The whole of creation groans for redemption. Each person is born with a proclivity toward sin, manifested in an inordinate orientation toward self and independence from God, leading to deliberate acts of unrighteousness. The residual effects of Adam and Eve’s disobedience include a marred human nature from which arise involuntary shortcomings, faults, infirmities, and imperfect judgments, which should not be accounted the same as willful sin. However, as manifestations of the fallen nature of humanity, these shortcomings of God’s holiness still necessitate the merits of the atonement, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, and the self-control of the believer. Willful sin results when a morally accountable person chooses to violate a known law of God, using freedom of choice to please self rather than obey God. The consequences of willful sin include a loss of fellowship with God, a self-absorption with one’s own interests rather than love and concern for others, a bondage to things which distort the divine image, a persistent inability to live righteously, and ultimately everlasting misery and separation from God. The atoning work of Christ is the only remedy for sin, whether original, willful or involuntary.
Write up your reflections and upload them to the course. Your work should be 300-600 words. This assignment is worth 60 points.