The Doctrine of Sin, Part 3

By Lewis Sperry Chafer

[Author’s Note: This installment, the third of a series of discussions on the Doctrine of Sin, has been preceded by I, “The First Sin in Heaven and its Effect” (Bibliotheca Sacra, October 1934), and II, “The First Sin on Earth and its Effect” (Bibliotheca Sacra, January, 1935), and is to be followed by IV, “The Specific Character of the Christian’s Sin,” and V, “The Divine Remedy for all Sin.” These articles aim at a practical, Biblical treatment of the Doctrine of Sin rather than its philosophical and metaphysical aspects.—L.S.C.]

III. Man’s Present Estate As a Sinner

Embracing (1) Imputed Sin; (2) The Sin Nature; (3) Personal Sins; (4) The State “Under Sin”; (5) The Relation of the Unregenerate to Satan.

The philosophies which man has devised and which acknowledge the existence of God are characterized in the main by their failure to recognize the normal obligation which a creature, by virtue of the fact that he is a creature, sustains to his Creator. In his position and relationships as unfallen and under those conditions which were divinely pronounced to be “very good,” man was blessed with companionship with God and with the privilege of fulfilling the most important place in the earthly plan and purpose of God. While recognizing that He is pursuing the course of His sovereign purpose, it may also be observed that the loss which the fall imposed is far more a loss to God than it is to man; for no estimation is possible as to the divine sacrifice in the fall either in the sphere of companionship or in the realization of the ideal which Adam was first created to fulfill. The race lives on apart from God, and is unconscious of ever having sustained a loss. Man now confirms the suggestion that the less he has of which to boast the more he is consumed with pride and vainglory. In his utter corruption and emptiness, man abounds in self-satisfaction. Fallen man has no sense of the reality of God, or his obligation to Him, nor any conscious need of God’s care. This darkness of the human mind is universal and its curse extends to earth’s outmost bounds. The Apostle declares concerning the heathen world that “They are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; ...Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.... They did not like to retain God in their knowledge” (Rom 1:20–28). This knowledge of God which the heathen world is said to have possessed, and to some degree may yet possess, is, in this context, distinctly declared to be restricted to that which concerns “His eternal power and Godhead.” Though perchance it might be possessed to a high degree, such knowledge would not include the truth regarding salvation for men from their lost estate, but rather tends to increase the ground for their fear and foreboding. The gospel of the saving grace of God in Christ, which is based upon the achievement of a crucified and risen Savior, is a revelation which is not disclosed in nature. The heathen world with its varying religious beliefs and restricted recognitions of the Creator, until evangelized, awaits the evangel-the message of good news concerning salvation through faith in Christ Jesus—, and are no nearer salvation in their present estate than they would be if they possessed no semblance of a religion.

The relation which the regenerate sustain to God an to each other is a body of truth of great proportions, but separate indeed from the original, fundamental problem of fallen humanity’s relation to God. There is an aspect of sin which is included within the field of relationship which the Christian sustains to God, and this is to be considered in a succeeding article; but the essential fact of sin is discovered within the field of relationship which unregenerate humanity sustains to God. This is characterized by self-direction, self-assurance, self-seeking, self-reliance, self-will, and uncontrolled freedom; which forms of ungodliness are not only universal, but are themselves that in which man glories. Over all the work of his hands man assigns glory to himself and without so much as one ascription to even an “unknown God.” The universal incapacity of unregenerate men to recognize the true and normal relation which exists between the creature and the Creator constitutes the most conclusive evidence as to the truthfulness of God’s Word relative to the fallen estate of man. The Scriptures declare: “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Ps 10:4); “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom 3:18); and, being natural or unregenerate men, they are not able to “receive the things of God” (1 Cor 2:14). He of whom it is said, “it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps,” attempts the guiding of his own ways without thought of God, nor does he acknowledge the Creator’s rightful authority over him or his obligation of reverence toward his Creator. Man’s repudiation of the true relationship which should exist between a creature and the Creator seems to be due to ignorance, native incapacity, and is itself the essential root of human wickedness. It is that to which the Apostle refers when he declares that in his fallen estate man now worships and serves the creature more than the Creator (Rom 1:25). This departure from right relations to God was the essence of the first sin in heaven; it was the substance of Satan’s appeal to our first parents in Eden, the heeding of which caused the ruin of the race; it was the actuating motive in man’s crucifixion of the Son of God; and it will yet be the climactic human offense when the Man of Sin sits in the restored temple of God declaring, “I am a God, I sit in the seat of God” (Ezek 28:2).

The utter independence of God on the part of the creature, whether it be angel or man, is the basic principle of evil. It manifests itself in manifold ways. The prophet declares: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isa 53:6). The wise man said: “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin” (Prov 10:19); “He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth” (Prov 14:21); “The thought of foolishness is sin” (Prov 24:9); “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom 14:23); “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (Jas 4:17); “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4), and, “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim 6:10). Thus the Scriptures indicate the extensive and complex character of sin’s expression, but in every case, whether it be doctrine or human experience the one original evil is found to be in the sphere of the creature’s relation to the Creator.

Within the limited human sphere, there are five fundamental divisions of the doctrine of Sin, namely (1) Imputed Sin; (2) The Sin Nature; (3) Personal Sin; (4) Man’s Estate “Under Sin”; and (5) The Relation of the Unregenerate to Satan.

1. Imputed Sin

This, and the division of this theme which follows, has been given extended consideration in the previous article. Little more need be added here on these aspects of sin than is necessary to identify them with the subject as a whole. It may be restated, however, that from the original human sin which was committed by the federal head of the race with all his representative character involving every human being that would be born upon the earth, save One, have proceeded two forms of death—death physical, and death spiritual. This division of the subject is concerned with Imputed Sin and its effect, death physical. Because of the almost universal assumption that physical death is a part of God’s original plan for the race, it cannot be too strongly emphasized that man, as created, was as deathless as the angels, and that, until man sinned, death in all its forms was foreign to this universe. In this connection, the Word of God discloses what unaided man could never discover, namely, that death is visited upon man because of sin, that it is a penalty imposed upon Adam and his posterity because of the first human sin and quite apart from all subsequent human sin.

As before stated, imputation may or may not be of that which antecedently belongs to the one to whom it is imputed. A judicial imputation is the reckoning over to a person of something which is not one’s by right or title, while a real imputation is the reckoning over to one of that which is one’s by right and title. A real imputation is an official recognition of that which already exists. The Scriptures reveal that, because of the representative character of Adam in whose loins was the entire race (cf. Heb 7:9, 10), each and every one who comprises the race actually shared in the first sin and is therefore under the immediate sentence of death as a real imputation. Men die physically, not because of the fact that Adam sinned, but because of the fact that each member of the race, by divine reckoning, sinned when Adam disobeyed God. By his creation, Adam was no doubt an immortal being, but by one sin he became mortal. By the fall his body became a death-doomed, dying body. Thus the physical death of any individual person is not due to his own sins or those of his parents, but is due, as the Apostle proves, to the individual’s racial participation in the Adamic sin. This, as has been pointed out, is the teaching of the one great passage in which the origin of physical death is disclosed (Rom 5:12–21). But with regard to the one original human sin itself, it may be observed that, because of the aorist tense (ἥμαρτον) and the absence in the original of the word have which appears in the Authorized text, it is probable also that Romans 3:23 refers to the one initial sin of the race rather than to the personal sins of each individual human being (cf. Rom 6:23). The Scriptures also assure us that death, which came as a subsequent, intruding judgment upon God’s human creation, will yet, as the “last enemy,” be destroyed (1 Cor 15:26); from which time the human family will, because of the termination of death, go on, in whatsoever state they are, with an unendable existence.

2. The Sin Nature

The second effect of the original human sin is death spiritual. As Jehovah covenanted with Adam, death ensued on the very day that he sinned. On that day Adam became a spiritually dead creature, separated from God, and unable to propagate other than spiritually dead offspring. For this cause the race is fallen and depraved and the injury, while traceable to Adam’s first sin, is transmitted from father to son through all intervening generations. Human history offers a complete corroboration of every phase of this far-reaching doctrine. The fallen Adamic nature is as the tree from which personal sin as a fruit is borne. So closely related is this tree to its fruit that, in certain restricted passages (Rom 6:1 to 8:4; 1 John 1:1–10) both are referred to by the same term-Sin. In reading these Scriptures, it is not difficult to distinguish the references to a nature which as a fontal cause ever promotes evil conduct on the part of men. It is the fallen nature, designated as the “old man,” which was crucified with Christ; for Christ died unto the sin nature as fully and efficiently as He died for the sins which are the fruit of that nature (Rom 6:6, 10). The child of God is not to yield to the sin nature (Rom 6:11–13, 16–23); for, under the present enabling power of the indwelling Spirit which is the unique provision for the Christian under grace, it is provided that “sin shall not have dominion” (Rom 6:14). Similarly, in 1 John 1:8 the Apostle states concerning the sin nature, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Useless it is, indeed, for anyone to deny the possession of a sin nature. Those who do so are said to be deceived. Over against this, it is written (1 John 1:10) with regard to personal sin which is the fruit of the old nature, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” The recognition of one’s own personal sin presents no metaphysical problems, therefore to deny one’s personal sin is to demonstrate that little heed has been given to the Word of God.

The consideration of the all-important divine cure for both imputed sin and the sin nature is reserved for the closing article of this series.

3. Personal Sins

Under this division, that aspect of the whole doctrine of sin is contemplated which, because of human consciousness and experience, seems to men to be the one and only ground of divine condemnation of humanity. It is too often assumed that if personal sin is forgiven there is nothing more to be desired, whereas it is both reasonable and Scriptural to conclude that to deal with the root or tree is more important than to deal with the fruit; for so long as the root and tree are undealt with, the fruit must appear, and, in the case of a sin nature, assuredly does appear. Nevertheless, the doctrine of personal sin is of great importance, occupying, as it does, by far a larger portion of the Scriptures than all other phases of the sin question combined. This is the theme which contemplates all immediate human experience, and stains the pages of history with tears and blood. Again, the importance of this aspect of sin is seen when it is recognized that the first sin from which all other forms of sin are derived was itself a personal sin. From their personal sins, men must be saved, and according to their evil works men will be judged and condemned forever.

At the opening of the discussion of the theme of personal sin it is important to restate the definition of sin, namely, that it is any want of conformity to the character of God. The essence of sin is not wholly contained in any partial manifestation of it. At this point various theories as to what sin really is fail. It is claimed by some that sin is a violation of divine law; but it is probable that there is that in the nature of God which transcends His law, and sin must be reckoned as sinful, not because it violates any law, but because of the fact that it is contrary to the character of God. By sinning, man has come short of the character of God, which character is His glory; thus, by sinning, man has come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). There are others who assert that the essence of sin is selfishness. It may be easily observed that very much sin is selfishness, and that the first sin of the race was that of self-promotion; but, while selfishness is sin, sin may be more than selfishness, since there are sins which are unrelated to self, namely, malice, enmity toward God and man, and unbelief. Being so unscriptural, there is no occasion to refute the theories that sin is mere finiteness—“good in the making,”—or that it is sensuousness, since the worst sins of the human heart are sins of the soul-avarice, cruelty, revenge, self-righteousness, pride, and unbelief.

Sin is constituted what it is because of the fact that God is what He is. Since all sin is primarily against Him, it partakes of the infinity of the Creator. Thus, because of the fact that God is infinite, there is no measurement to be placed on the sinfulness of sin. Likewise, the term sin is peculiar and restricted in its application. On this point Dr. A. M. Fairbairn remarks: ”‘Sin’ is a religious term, intelligible only in the realm of religious experience and thought. ‘Evil’ is a philosophical term, and denotes every condition, circumstance, or act that in any manner or degree interferes with complete perfection or happiness of being, whether physical, metaphysical, or moral. ‘Vice’ is an ethical term; it is moral evil interpreted as an offence against the ideal or law given in the nature of man—it is a blot or stain left by the departure from nature. ‘Crime’ is a legal term, which denotes the open or public violation of the law which a society, or state has framed for its own preservation and the protection of its members. But sin differs from these in this respect: they may be in a system which knows not God, but without God there can be no sin.”[1]

Personal sins may be classified somewhat accurately by the familiar Biblical terms employed in the Authorized Version of both Old and New Testament to designate them.

a. Transgression, which is the stepping to one side, or the overstepping of those boundaries which God has marked off.

b. Iniquity, referring to that which is altogether wrong.

c. Error, that which disregards the right or goes astray.

d. Sin, which is coming short, or missing the mark.

e. Wickedness, the outworking and expression of an evil nature, depravity.

f. Evil, with reference to that which is actually wrong, opposing God.

g. Ungodliness, lacking any worthy fear of God.

h. Disobedience, an unwillingness to be led or guided in ways of truth.

i. Unbelief, failure to trust in God. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Unbelief appears as the one and only “besetting sin,” which sin is universal. Men do not have individual and varied besetting sins. Each person is characterized by his failure to believe God (Note Heb 12:1, 2, where the one reference to “the sin which does so easily beset us” is set over against that faith of which Jesus is the Author and Finisher).

j. Lawlessness, which consists in the persistent contempt of divine law and a breaking through all restraint to the end that self may be gratified regardless of divine admonition. The most illuminating passage—1 John 3:4–10—is rendered somewhat obscure by the translation of ἀνομίαν by transgression. The discussion of this context develops the one aspect of sin which is lawlessness, as in contrast to that righteousness which impels the saved one whose new nature received from God cannot go in the ways of lawless sin. The unregenerate prove their lost estate by their ability to sin lawlessly without pain of heart—that suffering to which David referred when he said, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer” (Ps 32:3, 4). The child of God when sinning experiences the grieving of the Spirit of God (Eph 4:30), which experience will keep him from that carelessness of soul termed ἀνομία—lawlessness. Therefore, according to 1 John 3:9, anyone born of God does not sin lawlessly. The presence of the divine nature precludes this. However, there is no reference in this passage to sinless perfection. Such perfection could not be in view at this point since what is here declared is said to be true in the case of all who are born of God, and not one of these is sinless before God. Similarly, the following verse (3:10) declares that this ability to sin lawlessly is a marking off of children of the devil from the children of God.

Again, personal sins may be classified as to their general aspects.

a. As related to the divine requirements, they are either omissions or commissions.

b. As related to the object, they are against God, neighbor, or self.

c. As related to compass, they are either inward—of the soul—, or outward—of the body.

d. As related to chargeableness, they are to self alone, or to others as being partakers in them (1 Tim 5:22).

e. As related to intention, they are voluntary, or involuntary, which latter may be due to ignorance, uncontrollable passion, or infirmity.

f. As related to sinfulness, they may be greater or less.

g. As related to the subject, they may be that of the unsaved, or saved.

h. As related to the divine penalty, some sins are at least partially judged in this world, while others are judged in the world to come.

i. As related to divine forgiveness, they are unforgiven,[2] or forgiven.

j. As related to their cause, they may be sins of ignorance, imprudence, heedlessness, concupiscence, malice, or presumption.

k. As related to God as the Governor of the universe, sins are such as to call forth His vengeance, or such as to call forth His longsuffering.

Having enumerated these somewhat familiar classifications of personal or individual sins, it yet remains as a conclusion of this division of this thesis to emphasize the exceeding sinfulness of each and every personal sin. There are three major proofs of the exceeding sinfulness of personal sin:

a. One of the angelic hosts committed one sin, which sin in their own sphere men deem most commendable, namely, unholy ambition, and, as a result of that sin, that angel fell and became the eternal enemy of God and drew after him a vast company of the heavenly hosts, some of whom are bound in chains of darkness and for whom there is no ray of hope through all eternity.

b. One individual, the first of the human creation, committed one sin and that sin being apparently so innocuous men are prone to ridicule the thought that God would notice it at all; yet that one sin is, according to divine estimation, sufficiently evil to cause the degeneracy and depravity of the unfallen person who committed the sin, and to cause uncounted millions of his posterity to suffer in the flesh and die, and the vast majority of them to spend eternity in the realms of woe.

c. The Son of God suffered to an infinite degree and died on the cross because of sin. There was no other way whereby redemption could be secured. However, had there never been but one sin committed in this world, the same depths of suffering and death by the Son of God would have been required as a righteous ground for divine forgiveness of that one sin and the justification of that sinner.

Thus it is seen that sin is exceeding sinful. It is highly proper to believe that every sin, be it ever so harmless in appearance, is as evil in the sight of God as is the one sin of Satan or the one sin of Adam. In fact, the Adamic sin may be considered as a norm of all sin. There is, first, the decision of the inner self which is later expressed in the act or failure to act. This feature of sin was evidently experienced by Adam. Partaking of the forbidden fruit was only the execution of a sinful purpose already formed. Then there was the appeal of the tempter. Who, in the light of the Scripture, will contend that Satan’s appeal is not now ever present? As he said to Adam and Eve, “Thou shalt not surely die,” he says now, and the tempted one reasons that, “nothing serious, certainly nothing fatal, will come of this sin. I know God says that ‘The wages of sin is death,’ and that if I live after the flesh I will be in the way of death; but this probably is not true, and even if it is true, God will forgive me.” Such, indeed, are the promptings of Satan in the heart of man. To one in such a state of heart toward God, it is always easy for Satan to point out the unpleasant character of divine restraint and to suggest that perfect freedom, such as belongs only to the Creator, is more desirable. Thus, the heart listens to the second suggestion which Satan made to Adam-“Be as God.” No mature, thoughtful person will fail to identify these steps in the experience of sin. None but God can thwart the tempter’s power. With dependence upon God, with eyes fixed on Him, with a heart ever subdued by a contemplation of His Word, there is victory; and how great the victory if even one sin is obviated!

The study of the personal sins of those whose failure is recorded in the Scriptures will add much to the understanding of the doctrine of personal sins. Such a study should include the sins of Adam, Cain, Noah, Nadab, Abihu, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, Aaron, Moses, Achan, Eli, Saul, David, Solomon, Peter, Pilate, Judas, Ananias, Sapphira, and Saul of Tarsus.

4. The State of Man “Under Sin.”

The phrase “under sin” occurs but three times in the New Testament—“We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin” (Rom 3:9), “But I am carnal, sold under sin” (Rom 7:14), “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin” (Gal. 3:22)—, and with far-reaching significance in each instance. Romans 3:9 and Galatians 3:22, having reference to the estate of the unregenerate, are germane to this division of the doctrine of sin, while Romans 7:14, having reference to the regenerate, belongs to another phase of the doctrine of sin which will be considered in a following article.

Man, who has been under condemnation for sin since the beginning of the race, is, in the present age (which is bounded by the two advents of Christ), under a specific divine decree of condemnation, and this condemnation is itself the necessary background for the present far-reaching offers of divine grace. Each of the three aspects of sin already considered has been seen to be universal in character, and man’s estate “under sin” is no exception. In fact, it is this universal character which provides the basis for the understanding of the precise meaning of the phrase.

That the estate of man “under sin” is peculiar to the present age is disclosed in Romans 3:9, and by the declaration there set forth that unregenerate Jews and Gentiles are now alike in respect to their relation to God, being equally fallen and condemned under sin. Similarly, the Apostle declares that both Jews and Gentiles are now alike in the fact that the same gospel of divine grace is offered to them and by this alone can they be saved. We read: “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek [Gentile]: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever [Jew or Gentile] shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:12, 13). During the period from Abraham to Christ, which in the Scriptures is characterized by Jewish history, the Jew with ever-increasing conviction asserted his superior position and importance over the Gentile, and with the fullest divine attestation as regards his superior position. The Israelites were and are God’s chosen above all the people of the earth (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6, 7; 10:15; Ps 135:4). Of them the Apostle declares: “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen” (Rom 9:4, 5); but of the Gentiles he asserts: “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12). Language could hardly serve to set forth a greater difference between two peoples than is indicated by these two passages. Such, indeed, was the divinely appointed difference between Jew and Gentile in the 2000 years between Abraham and Christ. On the basis of his place of privilege, the Jew, so far from being humbled by his blessings, had developed a national pride and arrogance toward the Gentile which prompted him to refuse to have any personal contact with a Gentile, or to enter his house, and he termed the Gentile a dog. Perhaps no Jew of his generation was more saturated with this unholy prejudice than was Saul of Tarsus; yet, under the transforming, illuminating power of the Spirit, Saul became Paul the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” and the voice of God to declare the message—at that time more revolutionary than almost any other could be—that there is now “no difference between Jew and Gentile.” There is abundant prophecy announcing the fact that in the coming Kingdom age the Jew will again and forevermore be divinely exalted above the Gentiles (Isa 60:1–22). It therefore follows that since in the past ages the Jew by divine authority and appointment held a position superior to the Gentile, and since in the ages to come he will again be exalted above all other peoples, this is the age, unique indeed, when by divine authority and arrangement it is declared that there is “no difference between Jew and Gentile.” Jewish national or covenant standing before God is, for the present age, set aside. The Jew is not now urged to recognize his Messiah, but he is urged to believe on a crucified and risen Savior.

The common position of Jew and Gentile “under sin” may be defined as one wherein they are both absolutely condemned and utterly without merit before God. Immediately following the statement of Romans 3:9 that both Jew and Gentile are all “under sin,” the context goes on to define the condemnable condition of the entire race. It is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom 3:10–18). With the same all-inclusiveness it is declared in John 3:18 “He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” In their vanity men are ever prone to imagine that their estate before God may yet prove to be to some degree acceptable. However, God declares that they are already condemned, which fact must take its course leading on to eternal woe unless, through grace, they are saved.

To be without merit in relation to salvation is to be in possession of nothing which might be credited to one’s account. It is according to human reason to suppose that a moral, cultured person will have something which God might accept and incorporate into His saving work; but such is not the case. To be “under sin” is not only to be hopelessly condemned because of the sinful state, but to be without merit, or utterly void of any good which might be credited to one’s account. In Romans 11:32 the Apostle states that “God hath concluded them all in unbelief,” which unbelief, as has been seen from John 3:18, is the ground of the present condemnation of all men. It is probable that the first reaction of the human heart to this revelation that God has now decreed that the good which men believe they possess will not accrue to their account to the slightest degree, is a feeling that God is unjust in rejecting even the good one may possess. Has not man become accustomed to a meritorious standing by home discipline in childhood; by the recognition of personal qualities in all the field of education, and the advantages which are accredited to him in society and government because of a correct manner of life? The passage (Rom 11:32) goes on to state, not only that God had concluded all in unbelief, which is condemnation, but that this is done in order “that he might have mercy upon all.” Salvation by grace is according to a plan which is wholly within God and therefore cannot incorporate anything, even human merit, into its execution. It is a standardized whole, complete in all its parts, which proceeds from God and, being itself infinitely perfect, leaves no place for any human contribution. A bridge may be condemned when there is much in it of value, and the engineer may have to determine whether it should be merely repaired by adding support to its weak parts, or whether it will be torn away to make place for a wholly new structure. One thing is sure, if the old bridge is torn away, its good parts are not left intact to be incorporated into the new structure. The good is set aside along with the bad. Salvation by grace is a wholly new structure into which no human goodness may be incorporated. God has concluded all in unbelief, which is the wrecking of the first structure without regard to its relative worthiness, in order that His exceeding mercy, which provides a structure of infinite perfection, might be available to all. It naturally follows that if one persists in demanding that his own merit shall be credited he cannot be saved by grace, since God is not now patching up imperfect structures. In the salvation of men, God has undertaken two stupendous purposes which render impossible the acceptance of any patched-up and imperfect structures. (1) It is declared that, through His saving grace, the believer shall be conformed to the image of His Son. This excludes any mere revising of the old creation. At this point neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth anything, but only a new creation. (2) Salvation has for its primary objective the demonstration before all the universe of beings the exceeding grace of God. It is true that men are saved “unto good works” (Eph 2:10), and that God loved them enough to give His Son that they might not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16); but the highest divine motive in the salvation of men is that in the ages to come the grace of God may be demonstrated before all created beings. Thus, again, the very purpose of God in salvation precluded the mere patching up of an old structure or the salvaging of any part of it. It would be folly indeed to contend that a good life is not more beneficial to the state, to society, or the home than a bad life; but this question under discussion does not involve the state, society, or the home directly; it is a matter of getting sinners so perfected that they may enjoy the presence of God in heaven forever. Fallen man is condemned root and branch. He could be credited with nothing for the good that he imagines he possesses. Such supposed good, at best, would not be of the same quality as the perfection of Christ, nor is it required since Chirst’s merit supplies all that a sinner could ever need. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. And all things are of God” (2 Cor 5:17, 18. Observe the force of the word all in each use of it in this passage). Indeed, one thus saved has a new and superhuman obligation to live as one who is perfectly saved in Christ should live; but even Christian faithfulness, though full of blessing for the one who so lives, can add nothing to the new creation wrought of God.

It will be observed, however, that, since God is Himself infinitely righteous, He cannot accept anything which is not perfect in His own sight. He could not base the salvation of a sinner upon a mere fiction; He therefore, bases it upon the merit of His Son whose perfection is, through infinite grace, rendered available for every sinner. The sinner, then, in the last analysis, is saved on a meritorious basis, but it is the merit of the One who is made unto him the very righteousness of God.

Thus, it may be observed that the phrase “under sin” refers to an estate of man which is constituted by a divine decree and which has obtained in no other age than this, since by it Jews and Gentiles are alike leveled to the position of abject objects of divine grace to the end that they may be saved upon a wholly different principle than that of a divine recognition and acceptance of human merit. God undertakes and secures a new creation to the glory of His grace. Thus it is also seen that the reckoning of all in unbelief is a necessity if all human beings are to be placed before God as those whose meritorious structure has been torn away and who are now eligible to receive as a gift from God all that enters into the new creation. None but God can accomplish a new creation, and He can undertake it only as His Son has borne the demerit of sinners and offered Himself without spot unto God that His merit might be available to them.

The only attitude that a meritless person “under sin” could reasonably maintain toward so great and supernatural a salvation is to trust Another who is mighty to save to accomplish it all. This is saving faith, and no more is, nor reasonably could be, required of any unsaved person. Therefore, we read in Galatians 3:22: “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”

5. The Relation of the Unregenerate to Satan

The present relation of Satan to the unregenerate as described in the Bible and added to the four aspects of sin already considered, comprises a dark picture indeed. No reference is made here to the eternal estate of those who die without the salvation which is in Christ. Little indeed are the unregenerate prepared to recognize their present relation to Satan. Satan is described as the one who deceiveth the whole world (Rev 12:9; 20:3, 8), and the inability of the unsaved to discern the revelation regarding themselves is the result of this satanic deception. While there are many passages of Scripture bearing on the present relation of the unsaved to Satan, four present this important body of truth in its main features:

Colossians 1:13, which reads: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” In this Scripture it is revealed that God’s saving power is exercised to the end that those who are saved are “delivered from the power of darkness.” Adam’s scepter of authority and dominion (Gen 1:26–28) was evidently surrendered to Satan to some extent and has been held by Satan by right of conquest. Fallen man must be rescued from the power of darkness, which is the estate of all who are unsaved.

Ephesians 2:1, 2. Writing of the former estate of those now saved, the Apostle states: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh [energizeth] in the children of disobedience.” The classification, “the children of disobedience,” refers to Adam’s federal disobedience and includes all of the unregenerate as disobedient and energized by Satan (note the use of ἐνεργέω in both Eph 2:2 and Phil 2:1).

2 Corinthians 4:3, 4, which states: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them,” discloses the fact that the unregenerate are restricted by Satan as to their capacity to understand the gospel of Christ. The effectiveness of this blinding every soul-winner soon discovers.

1 John 5:19, which reads: “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” A more literal translation develops the revelation that the unregenerate are now unconscious of their relation to Satan. They are as those who are being “carried asleep in the arms of the wicked one.”

Finally, the estate of unregenerate man may be summarized, (a) as being subject to death in all its forms, because of participation in Adam’s sin; (b) as being born in depravity of spiritual death and forever separated from God unless regenerated by the saving power of God; (c) as guilty of personal sins, each and every one of which is as sinful in the sight of God as the first sin of Satan or the first sin of Adam; (d) as “under sin,” in which estate all—both Jew and Gentile—are now placed by divine decree and in which every human merit is disregarded to the end that the uncompromised saving grace of God may be exercised toward those who believe; and (e) as under the influence of Satan who is in authority over them, who energizes them, who blinds them concerning the gospel, and who deceives them concerning their true relation to himself.

The problem of relief from the immeasurable tragedy of sin is never solved by minimizing any aspect of sin; it is solved by discovering a Savior whose salvation is equal to every need for time and eternity.

Lewis Sperry Chafer

Dallas, Texas

Notes

1. Christ in Modern Theology. p. 452.
2. As seen in the case of the unpardonable sin, committed by some only when Christ was here on earth, and which sin is not now possible, both because of the fact that Christ is not here as He was then nor is He in the same relation to the Holy Spirit, and because such a penalty as is imposed on those who committed the unpardonable sin sets up a direct contradiction of divine grace in salvation.