The Sinfulness Of Sin - Preach The Word

The Sinfulness Of SinRalph Venningyour sin is. Every mouth must be stopped, there is no room for complaint againstGod or his law, for, like all others, by becoming guilty you have fallen short of theglory, and are subject to the judgment of God (Romans 3.19-23). So, by thecommandment, sin appears to be a desperate, malignant thing, the proper, trueand only cause of man's condemnation and death.From this brief yet clear account of the text and context, the following truths arededucible:1. The law of God as a whole and in every part is good. It is not only not sin, i.e.not culpable or criminal (verse 7), or only just (verse 12), or spiritual (verse 14),but good (verses 12,13) It is good, not only in itself, but relatively in its institutionwith respect to man, for it was ordained to life (verse 10).2. This good law, when transgressed, makes man over to death. Patience, thattemperate and harmless thing, if abused, turns to rage and fury. So the law, goodthough it be, when abused condemns and kills.3. Though the law condemns man's fault, and man for his fault, yet still the law isgood and not to be blamed. The law is as good as ever it was; it is to be justifiedby man, even when it condemns man. Man had no reason to break the law, and hehas none to find fault with the law, though it binds men over to death for breakingit.4. It is not the law, but sin, that works man's death and ruin. Sin aims at no less,and if grace does not prevent, it will end in no less, for the end and wages of sin isdeath (Romans 6.21,23).5. Sin works man's death and destruction by that which is good, namely, the law.When sin has used man to break the law, it uses the law to break man, to undohim by condemnation and death.6. Sin is therefore exceedingly sinful and wicked. It is most immeasurably spiteful,poisonous and pernicious, because it kills men. And not only so, but it kills them bythat which is good, and was appointed to man for life; it turns food into poison. Utagnoscatur quam sceleratus peccator sit hoc peccatum, et quam pestifera res, dumper mandatum rem solutiferam, exserit virus suum (In order that it may berecognised how vicious is the sinner, and how pernicious the matter, this sin, whilethrough the commandment yielding a healthy result, produces its own poison),Clarius. This is like the horrid and cursed wickedness our stories tell us of, wherebya King was wickedly poisoned by the Cup of Blessing.7. Lastly, sin by the commandment appears to be excessively sinful. If we look onthis through the microscope-glass of the law, it will appear a most hideous, devilishand hellish thing, the most wicked, mischievous, virulent, villainous and deadlything that ever was. Sinful sin! Worse than the Devil! More will be said of this later.I will not pursue any of these divisions separately, for I shall have occasion enoughto speak of each and every one of them in handling the sinfulness of sin, in relationto which I intend to observe the following order, showing:5