A Theological Reflection on the Concept of Sin in Christianity

The concept of sin is a phenomenon that no one can gloss over. It is a reality. It permeates the whole of human existence. All the major religions in the world grapple with it as far as relationship with God is concerned. This article discusses the concept of sin. It looks at it from the point of view of Christianity. The article examines how various scholars have defined sin from their own perspectives. It looks at the types of sin, how sin originated and made its presence in the world and the consequences of sin. Finally, the article accounts for the theological implications of sin. It points out that among other things: sin destroys the relationship between God and the human person; separation from God because of sin leads to death and destruction; the concept of sin necessitated the coming of Jesus Christ to bring salvation and liberation to the world. The article does not use a case study. The author uses the literary approach and therefore uses library sources.


INTRODUCTION
Scripture clearly indicates the fact that the human being was created in the image and likeness of God. It is always very important to know as human beings the things which keep one close to God and the ones which keep God far away from mankind. Certain acts of conduct make one feel good while others make one feel downhearted. In other words, there are certain things which make the human being feel good in his/her spirit and there are others which make him/ her feel unhappy.
God's creation according to the writer of the book of Genesis "is good" -(cf. Gen. 1:31). That gives a clear picture of how God saw things when God created everything including humankind. If the creation of God is good then human beings using God's creation should enjoy it by feeling the goodness in it. However, this is not the case. This has been a condition that is brought about by sin. According to Emmanuel Asante, "the human is entangled with the forces of negation, something in his own condition against which the human needs to be guarded, and from which he needs to be preserved or freed, and of which he must be made aware. " 2 The inability of the human being to enjoy what the Creator originally planned is as a result of certain negatives that are working against his/her effort to enjoy opportunities the Creator has created. Paul explains it in the scripture when he cried about his inability to live up to expectation: It is clear from the above passage that Paul as a human being had a desire to do something good as originally was inherent in humankind at creation. However, there seems to be a certain inability (force) to do such good as he shows his frustrations. Paul attributed this inability to do the good he had wanted to do to sin. Asante agrees with Paul when he states that there is a certain force of negation. This force of negation is what entangles humans and for that matter urged Paul to go against what he had wished for.

Definition of Sin
Sin is any action or inaction that goes against what is expected from humankind by the Creator and mars the relationship with God. The New Dictionary of Theology describes sin as a deliberate violation of a precept of God by going beyond what the limit defined by the precept. 4 This means sin is the situation when one does something against the precept or when one refuses to do something required by the precept of God. Both action and inaction become sin.
Citing two definitions from Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, sin is defined as "anything done, said, or desired against the eternal law" and "turning away from God and turning towards the creature" respectively. 5 Anything done or even anticipated in the heart which does not fall in line with the word of God is sin and it amounts to the turning away from God to God's creature instead. The refusal to live up to the requirement of a divine command amounts to the obedience on the part of the creature of God.
John R. Sachs notes, "Sin is seen as a transgression of a divine command, rebellion against God and God's authority. " 6 Adam for instance was given a command and not obeying it meant breaking that divine command. Sachs further uses Old Testament words like Hatta, Awon and Pesa and New Testament words like Paraptoma, Parabsis and Hamartia which show the fact that sin which leads to turning away with a hardened heart and stiff-neckedness is committed by humankind against the expectations of God. 7

Classification of Sin
In Catholic theology sin is classified into two types; original and actual sin and a further classification into mortal and venial sin according to its severity. Original sin is seen as one inherited as human being from Adam and Eve and it affects every person while actual sin is one committed personally by every human being.
Classifying sin according to its severity sees sin as mortal and venial. Mortal sin is one that leads to death according to 1 John 5:16. It affects the soul and leads to its death. While venial sin does not affect the soul and does not lead to its death. According to Sachs, Catholic tradition teaches that some sins are relatively minor (venial) and others so serious that they are called deadly (mortal). 8 Jesus' answer to Pilate that "he who handed me over to you has done a greater sin" as found in John 19:11 implies that some sins can be greater than others. Komonchak, Collins and Lane might perhaps have this at the back of their minds when they indicate that "although the scriptures do not formally distinguish between mortal and venial sins, both Testaments bear witness to the distinction. " 9 This can clearly be seen in how some sins are punishable by extinction from among God's people -(cf. Leviticus 7:25) and other sins were merely pardoned after a required sacrifice -(cf. Leviticus 4:5).

Origin of Sin
Looking for the origin of sin takes one back to the Old Testament account in Genesis. This can be seen in the first three chapters which tell of the disobedience to God's instruction by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In the opinion of Asante the origin of sin is traceable to "the Adamic myth generally presented in the primeval history of Genesis 1-11, specifically Genesis 1-3. " 10 Analyzing Asante's position, the origin of sin cannot be taken out of the creation story since it is that story that tells of what Adam and Eve did in disobedience to God. Although Herbert Lockyer sees sin as old as human life he took it further back before creation. According to him, sin originated in the mind of Satan before all things were made. 11 Lockyer's position agrees with Asante's that sin is primeval but Satan considering sin in his thought makes sin older than Adam and Eve. This is what Lockyer stresses when he writes that Satan was the first sinner through pride and his desire to be equal with God (Isaiah 14:12-14). 12 This author agrees with Lockyer that sin originated with Satan and before humankind was created.
Charles R. Swindoll also stressed that with respect to sin the trouble of human being began with Adam and his wife sinning against the instruction of God. 13 Sin therefore originated with Satan and not the first human. The concept of sin in Christianity brings out the fact that humanity is handicapped through the original sin by Adam and Eve and also by the actual sin he/she commits. Sin damaged humankind's relationship with God and that led to the depravity of humans. The fallen state therefore suggests a need for a savior to save humanity from the current state and then repair the marred relationship with their creator. Lockyer expresses categorically that "the biblical concept of sin