The concept of sin is something that has been lost in contemporary psychological circles. Even some churches do not even really acknowledge sin. However, the Bible portrays sin as very heinous, separating us from God. I believe we do not think much about sin these days because we do not think much about the holiness of God. What exactly is sin, though? According to the Westminster Larger Catechism,
"Sin is any want of conformity, or transgression of any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature"
Simply put, sin is anytime we violate God's holy law that He has given to us in the Ten Commandments, or what theologians call the Moral Law. We are all guilty of breaking God's law. As a matter of fact, it says in Romans 3:23,
"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
There is absolutely no difference between you and me because we are both sinners. As a matter of fact, the word of God tells us in James 2:10,
"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable to all of it"
This means that if we think we follow the whole law but break one law, we are guilty of breaking all the laws. For example, if we do not murder but commit adultery, then we are guilty of committing murder and adultery together. God will hold us accountable for breaking all of His laws together if we even break one law. So, what is the inevitable result of sin? Romans 6:23 tells us,
"For the wages of sin is death..."
As you can clearly see by this verse, our sin leads us to death. This leads me to the point of this blog. There are numerous ways that sin has affected us to the point of causing death in us. However, for the purpose of this blog, I would like to discuss how sin affects our mental health. I admit that this seems like a daunting task because it has never been done before, but I do believe that sin does have devastating effects on one's mental health. When I contemplate this issue, I can see three ways that sin affects our mental health. These three ways are the following:
1) Our Self-Image
2) The Way We View Others
3) The Way We Behave
I will elaborate on each of these points, but I would like to let you know that these are not the only ways that sin affects our mental health. However, for the sake of this blog, I am choosing to only focus on these points. If you can think of any more ways that sin affects mental health, please let me know in the comments below. Sin is a multifaceted issue and it is also very complex so I do acknowledge that there are many ways that sin affects us.
Our Self-Image
First, I would like to point out that sin is first and foremost who we are, not just what we do. We are born sinners and lawbreakers. As the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 51:5,
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me"
This text is clearly telling us that we are naturally born into sin. Theologians have called this the doctrine of Total Depravity. This does not mean that we are evil as we can be, but it does mean that literally our entire being is tainted by sin. This is why the Apostle Paul can tell us in Romans 7 that there is no good thing in him. How does sin affect our self-image? Well, it is because of the negative effects of sin that we tend to view ourselves in a negative light. Psychologists have discovered that we tend to see our negative flaws before we see our positive ones. As a matter of fact, other people tend to notice our positive features before we do most of the time. It is because of the effects of sin that we compare ourselves to other people and even get jealous of one another. Most of the time we get jealous because we view ourselves as inferior or inadequate instead of viewing ourselves as the royal and holy men and women of God we truly are. Sin taints the way we look at ourselves. I know that in my personal life, I am constantly berating myself for being fat and having missing teeth instead of seeing my good qualities of being intelligent and compassionate. This is because sin has tainted the way I think and believe. Our thinking leads the way we feel. If you think negatively, then you will naturally feel negative. It is an endless and dangerous cycle that we are stuck in because of sin.
The Way We View Others
It is because of the noetic effects of sin that we have a tendency to mistreat our neighbor. We do this because we do not see our neighbor as the image-bearer of God that they are. We tend to be selfish and only think of ourselves. When we do this, we are in reality despising our neighbor. We are saying that we are in fact better than they are. In reality, we understand that we are not any morally better than a crack addict or a prostitute, but our selfishness causes us to look down our noses on other people. We also tend to be greedy too. What I mean by this is that we constantly want more material possessions than our neighbors. We are always looking to see what they have so that we can go out and get something better. As a matter of fact, when we cannot afford something someone else has it deeply affects our self-esteem. We think we are worthless. Sin causes a rift between us and other people.
The Way We Behave
As I have already said, our thinking affects our feelings. It could also be said that our thinking and our feelings affect our behavior. It is because of our being born sinners that we behave sinfully. As Dr. Michael Horton once said,
"I sin because I am a sinner. I am not a sinner because I sin"
This may seem like a trite point to make but it is an important distinction to make. If sin is some action we can control, then we just need to take action to stop sinning. If, however, sin is our nature, then our only hope is to trust in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. Our sinful natures cause us to hate our neighbor and to even hate God. No one is neutral on this. We by nature hate God and our neighbor, as the Heidelberg Catechism puts it. This is why Christian psychologists point out that sin affects all of our relationships. Sin separates us from our relationship with God and other people. We need to relearn how to treat other people because all we know is how to despise them. Only God can teach us how to truly love others because He is the definition of love and without Him, we cannot even possibly understand what love even is. None of us know how to love and this is why we need to first accept His love before we can love others. Sin causes us to behave indecently. Why are there so many mass shootings and murders and rapes in this world? It is because we are sinful beyond measure. We cannot escape sin in this life as it permeates our entire being.
I hope that this blog sheds some light on how sin has deeply affected our mental health and that you understand how devastating sin really is. Our only hope is in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 2,000 years ago God came down as a man to take the punishment we deserve upon a bloody Roman cross. He suffered the brutality of being murdered but He also suffered The Father turning His back on Him too. Then, three days later, The Holy Spirit literally rose Him from the dead. Now, if you place your faith and trust in Him alone, you will be saved and spend eternity with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit on the New Heaven and New Earth. Today is the day of salvation so do not ignore the call. If you have not submitted to the Lordship of Christ, do so now because you do not know if you will live tomorrow. Why would you risk your eternity when you can be saved today?
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!!!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
"Sin is any want of conformity, or transgression of any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature"
Simply put, sin is anytime we violate God's holy law that He has given to us in the Ten Commandments, or what theologians call the Moral Law. We are all guilty of breaking God's law. As a matter of fact, it says in Romans 3:23,
"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
There is absolutely no difference between you and me because we are both sinners. As a matter of fact, the word of God tells us in James 2:10,
"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable to all of it"
This means that if we think we follow the whole law but break one law, we are guilty of breaking all the laws. For example, if we do not murder but commit adultery, then we are guilty of committing murder and adultery together. God will hold us accountable for breaking all of His laws together if we even break one law. So, what is the inevitable result of sin? Romans 6:23 tells us,
"For the wages of sin is death..."
As you can clearly see by this verse, our sin leads us to death. This leads me to the point of this blog. There are numerous ways that sin has affected us to the point of causing death in us. However, for the purpose of this blog, I would like to discuss how sin affects our mental health. I admit that this seems like a daunting task because it has never been done before, but I do believe that sin does have devastating effects on one's mental health. When I contemplate this issue, I can see three ways that sin affects our mental health. These three ways are the following:
1) Our Self-Image
2) The Way We View Others
3) The Way We Behave
I will elaborate on each of these points, but I would like to let you know that these are not the only ways that sin affects our mental health. However, for the sake of this blog, I am choosing to only focus on these points. If you can think of any more ways that sin affects mental health, please let me know in the comments below. Sin is a multifaceted issue and it is also very complex so I do acknowledge that there are many ways that sin affects us.
Our Self-Image
First, I would like to point out that sin is first and foremost who we are, not just what we do. We are born sinners and lawbreakers. As the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 51:5,
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me"
This text is clearly telling us that we are naturally born into sin. Theologians have called this the doctrine of Total Depravity. This does not mean that we are evil as we can be, but it does mean that literally our entire being is tainted by sin. This is why the Apostle Paul can tell us in Romans 7 that there is no good thing in him. How does sin affect our self-image? Well, it is because of the negative effects of sin that we tend to view ourselves in a negative light. Psychologists have discovered that we tend to see our negative flaws before we see our positive ones. As a matter of fact, other people tend to notice our positive features before we do most of the time. It is because of the effects of sin that we compare ourselves to other people and even get jealous of one another. Most of the time we get jealous because we view ourselves as inferior or inadequate instead of viewing ourselves as the royal and holy men and women of God we truly are. Sin taints the way we look at ourselves. I know that in my personal life, I am constantly berating myself for being fat and having missing teeth instead of seeing my good qualities of being intelligent and compassionate. This is because sin has tainted the way I think and believe. Our thinking leads the way we feel. If you think negatively, then you will naturally feel negative. It is an endless and dangerous cycle that we are stuck in because of sin.
The Way We View Others
It is because of the noetic effects of sin that we have a tendency to mistreat our neighbor. We do this because we do not see our neighbor as the image-bearer of God that they are. We tend to be selfish and only think of ourselves. When we do this, we are in reality despising our neighbor. We are saying that we are in fact better than they are. In reality, we understand that we are not any morally better than a crack addict or a prostitute, but our selfishness causes us to look down our noses on other people. We also tend to be greedy too. What I mean by this is that we constantly want more material possessions than our neighbors. We are always looking to see what they have so that we can go out and get something better. As a matter of fact, when we cannot afford something someone else has it deeply affects our self-esteem. We think we are worthless. Sin causes a rift between us and other people.
The Way We Behave
As I have already said, our thinking affects our feelings. It could also be said that our thinking and our feelings affect our behavior. It is because of our being born sinners that we behave sinfully. As Dr. Michael Horton once said,
"I sin because I am a sinner. I am not a sinner because I sin"
This may seem like a trite point to make but it is an important distinction to make. If sin is some action we can control, then we just need to take action to stop sinning. If, however, sin is our nature, then our only hope is to trust in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. Our sinful natures cause us to hate our neighbor and to even hate God. No one is neutral on this. We by nature hate God and our neighbor, as the Heidelberg Catechism puts it. This is why Christian psychologists point out that sin affects all of our relationships. Sin separates us from our relationship with God and other people. We need to relearn how to treat other people because all we know is how to despise them. Only God can teach us how to truly love others because He is the definition of love and without Him, we cannot even possibly understand what love even is. None of us know how to love and this is why we need to first accept His love before we can love others. Sin causes us to behave indecently. Why are there so many mass shootings and murders and rapes in this world? It is because we are sinful beyond measure. We cannot escape sin in this life as it permeates our entire being.
I hope that this blog sheds some light on how sin has deeply affected our mental health and that you understand how devastating sin really is. Our only hope is in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 2,000 years ago God came down as a man to take the punishment we deserve upon a bloody Roman cross. He suffered the brutality of being murdered but He also suffered The Father turning His back on Him too. Then, three days later, The Holy Spirit literally rose Him from the dead. Now, if you place your faith and trust in Him alone, you will be saved and spend eternity with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit on the New Heaven and New Earth. Today is the day of salvation so do not ignore the call. If you have not submitted to the Lordship of Christ, do so now because you do not know if you will live tomorrow. Why would you risk your eternity when you can be saved today?
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!!!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
No comments:
Post a Comment