New City Catechism, Week 16

Q: What is sin?

A: Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, rebelling against him by living without reference to him, not being or doing what he requires in his law—resulting in our death and the disintegration of all creation.

In the video this week, John Lin gives a vivid example of what breaking God’s law looks like. He describes a cliff and a commandment to “not walk off it”. Why do we not walk off of it? Because it would lead to death and destruction. Why would walking off a cliff lead to death? Because of the law of gravity. Gravity is something that simply is. We have to live in reference to it because it exists. The command to not walk off the cliff is a loving boundary that requires us to respect gravity. It is the same in our personal relationships with God. He gives us commands and guidelines that respect who He is.  They were given to us so that we could live our lives to their fullest capacity.  God’s character is revealed through the law, and when we sin we go against His nature.

Sin is rebelling against the law and not living in reference to God. Sin came into this world through one man and sentenced all men to death. But Jesus came so that eternal life could be obtained. He was destroyed on the cross for our sin, so that we might be reunited with God and be given the ability to follow his commands, however imperfectly, with joy. Romans 6:7-11 says:

“For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

This is week 16 of 52 catechism readings from New City Catechism. Christ Community is reciting an entry from the catechism each Sunday in 2013. To read commentaries and view a concise video teaching on each week, visit newcitycatechsim.com.