the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
Bible Dictionaries
Sin
Charles Buck Theological Dictionary
or The transgression of the law, or want of conformity to the will of God, 1 John 3:4 .
1. Original sin is that whereby our whole nature is corrupted, and rendered contrary to the law of God; or, according to the 9th article of the church of England, "It is that whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is, of his own nature, inclined to evil." This is sometimes called indwelling sin, Romans 7:1-25 : The imputation of the sin of Adam to his posterity is also what divines generally call, with some latitude of expression, original sin.
2. Actual sin is a direct violation of God's law, and generally applied to those who are capable of committing moral evil; as opposed to idiots, or children, who have not the right use of their powers.
3. Sins of omission consist in the leaving those things undone which ought to be done.
4. Sins of commission are those which are committed against affirmative precepts, or doing what should not be done.
5. Sins of infirmity are those which arise from the infirmity of the flesh, ignorance, surprise, snares of the world, &c.
See INFIRMITY.
6. Secret sins are those committed in secret, or those which we, through blindness or prejudice, do not see the evil of, Psalms 19:12 .
7. Presumptuous sins are those which are done boldly, and against light and conviction.
See PRESUMPTION.
8. Unpardonable sin is the denial of the truths of the Gospel; with an open and malicious rejection of it. The reason why this sin is never forgiven, is not because of any want of sufficiency in the blood of Christ, nor in the pardoning mercy of God, but because such as commit it never repent of it, but continue obstinate and malignant until death. The corruption of human nature is,
1. Universal as to the subjects of it. Rom.iii.23. Isaiah 53:6 .
2. General, as to all the powers of man, Isaiah 1:6 .
3. Awful, filling the mind with constant rebellion against God and his law.
4. Hateful to God, Job 15:16; and,
5. Punishable by him, 1 Samuel 2:9-10 . Romans 2:9 . Why the Almighty permitted it, when his power could have prevented it, and how it is conveyed from parents to their children, form some of those deep things of God, of which we can know but little in the present state; only this we are assured of, that he is a God of truth, and that whatever he does, or permits, will ultimately tend to promote his glory. While we contemplate, therefore, the nature, the evil, the guilt, the consequence of sin, it is our happiness to reflect, that he who permitted it hath provided a remedy for it; and that he "so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
See ATONEMENT, REDEMPTION; and Edwards, Wesley, and Taylor, on Original Sin; Gill's Body of Div. article Sin; King's and Jenyns's Origin of Evil; Burroughs' Exceeding Sinfulness of Sin; Dr. Owen on Indwelling Sin; Dr. Wright's Deceitfulness of Sin; Fletcher's appeal to Matter of Fact; Williams's Answer to Belsham; Watts's Ruin and Recovery; Howe's Living Temple, p. 2. 100: 4; Dr. Smith's Sermon on the Permission of Evil.
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Buck, Charles. Entry for 'Sin'. Charles Buck Theological Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/cbd/s/sin.html. 1802.
