WHAT CHRIST TAUGHT ABOUT SIN   R. H. BOLL         THE WORD AND WORK Louisville, Kentucky 1046 Dudley Avenue

      The "Red-Letter Testaments" in which Christ's words are printed in red might leave, on the reader's mind, the mistaken impression that Christ's own personal words are more authoritative than the rest of the New Testament. That is not the case. The words of the apostles, as the words of Jesus Christ, are alike, the word of God. In fact the apostles' words are Christ's words, for the Spirit which Christ bestowed on the apostles was given that they might remember all things the Lord Jesus had spoken unto them, and that they might declare all His word and will to the world.

      But in some respects Christ's own words have a unique value, if for no other reason than that He spoke them. In this lesson I propose to set forth some things that Christ taught about SIN. I have three reasons for taking up only what He Himself said in His own words on this subject.

      The first is that He loves us. There are some matters that touch us closely--and that is especially true concerning sin--not sin in general and in the abstract, but our own personal sin. That touches a sore spot deep within us. Not every man can talk to us about every theme and subject. The [1] heart knoweth its own bitterness and no stranger may intermeddle with its inmost secrets. Only one who has the right to speak is acceptable, and he only if we are assured of the purity of his motive and his sincere and kind attitude toward us. It was one of the reproaches His enemies cast upon Him that He was "a friend of publicans and sinners." In all His ministry His loving compassion and concern for the sinful and erring stands out plain; and in His death He sealed His love for us. He "loved me and, gave himself for me," said Paul. He, therefore, is the good physician who can use the probe and the scalpel and the knife; for if He wounds He wounds but to heal.

      (2) The Lord Jesus Christ knows more about sin than anyone else. He has had more experience with it than any man. (Not that ever any taint of it attached to Him.) He was tempted in all points even as we are, yet without sin. But He was tested and tried as no human being on earth ever was. In all his attacks upon men Satan is strictly limited. He is not permitted to press unduly at points where a man is weak. God will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able to bear. But in the case of His Son there could not have been any such limitation. God's man, the Redeemer of the race, must be tested in full. There was no pressure, no enticement, no threat, no allurement, no trick or snare that Satan knew (and he knows them [2] all) that was not brought to bear on the Lord Jesus. But out of all the trial and testing He came forth without a shadow or breath of sin upon Him. We may have thought that a man learns more about sin by yielding to it; but the fact is that only He who resisted it to the end has tasted its full force and power.

      (3) After He was tried and had come forth out of the gruelling test as white and pure as untrodden snow, He, by the will of God, and in love to man, took all our sin upon Himself. "Jehovah laid upon him the iniquity of us all." "He bore our sins in His own body upon the tree."

      To such a one we can listen when He talks to us about this great theme which so deeply concerns us all. What then did the Lord Jesus say to us about sin? I select four out of the many utterances in which He dealt with this subject.

      The first of these is found in Matt. 15:19, 20: "For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings: these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man." [3] (Compare with this the parallel passage given in Mark 7:21-23: "For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness: all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.") Two things stand out here, namely, (1) that sin comes out of the heart. It is not an accidental and external thing. It is not merely on the surface. Sin is not a skin-disease--it is a heart-disease. This being the case it must be evident to us that no merely outward and superficial treatment can avail to heal us of it. The remedy must go as deep as the disease, else there can be no cure. Outward performances and ordinances can not reach it; nor can any ritual or ceremony. Education and culture do not reach it. No matter how assiduously the thistle and the thornbush may be cultivated, they remain of the same nature, will never yield figs or grapes.

      Neither is "Character-Building" sufficient: however good it may be in its place, there must be something first to build on. The false prophets are as many today as were those of whom Jeremiah complained in his day, who "heal the hurt of my people slightly" with soothing salves and anodynes; saying, "Peace, peace, where there is no peace." Nothing will do but the cleansing, the renewal, the re-creation of the heart, only that can really change the [4] man; for the evil heart is the seat of the trouble. Sin comes out of the heart. What a place that heart must be! (2) The second truth stated by the Lord Jesus Christ is that sin defiles the man. Sin is moral and spiritual pollution. It makes the man unclean, unfit to stand in the presence of God and of His holy angels. There is a stain, a filthy blot upon the sinner's soul, which nothing this world knows of can remove. "Woe is me," cried Isaiah when he saw the vision of the Holy One of Israel, "for I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; and my eyes have seen Jehovah of Hosts, the King."

      The second of those teachings of our Lord on sin is found in Matt. 5:29, 30: "And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell. And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body go into hell." He is speaking of the relation of the sexes, more especially of the sacredness of the marriage bond, and is solemnly warning against the violation of the same--the sin of adultery--so heinous in the sight of God, and which is so fearfully prevalent in our day, and from day to day increasing. But the verses quoted apply to all other [5] kinds of sin as well. The warning they contain is that we must rid ourselves of the sources of temptation, the occasions of sin, the things that cause us to do wrong, whatever they be. Though these be as dear to us as a right hand or an eye; though the giving up of some stumblingblocks are as painful as the cutting off of the hand, or the plucking out of the eye--whatever the suffering and the loss--it is profitable to endure it; for nothing we can suffer on earth can be compared with what it must mean to be cast into hell. In this, He declares the retribution that must certainly follow sin. Terribly earnest words are these. Men are prone to get lax and lose their fear of God's judgment; but the word of the Lord Jesus Christ stands true for ever, regardless of what men may say or think.

      The third of these utterances of the Lord concerning sin is found in John 8:34: "Verily, verily I say unto you, everyone that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin." This is a fact which many have found out by bitter experience. Sin throws its net--at first so light and airy, as threads of silk gossamer, but presently the meshes tighten, and though the sinner may still boast of his fancied ability to break loose and free himself, he becomes increasingly aware that he is a captive, unable to deliver himself from the rueful bondage into which he has fallen. This has happened millions of times the world over, and is [6] happening all the time. "Just this once," says the victim of sin's deceitful art--"just this once I will do this or that." But he finds out that one doesn't sin just once: it is once, and then once more, and again, then often; and the soul grows weary and hopeless of its bootless struggle. What once was so sweet becomes common, and then loathsome; but nevertheless the slave of sin must follow on in his devoted course. And this is true not only of coarse and open vices to which men fall prey, but of the more secret and refined forms of sin, all that is comprised under "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." He that committeth sin is the bond-servant of sin, said the Lord Jesus.

      One more thing which the Lord Jesus Christ taught about sin--a wonderful, marvellous, glorious thing! The Lord Jesus taught that sin can be forgiven. Included in that statement is much else. It means that the heart can be renewed and purified; that the soul's defilement can be washed away; that the sentence of death and condemnation can be lifted, and that the fetters of sin's bondage can be broken. Sin can be remitted--but, great is the price! In the upper room, on that solemn last evening, He sat with His disciples; and He took bread and blessed and brake it, and gave to His disciples, saying, "Take eat: this is my body which was given for [7] you." And He took a cup and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, "Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many unto remission of sins." Blood--His blood: that was the price paid for the remission of sins--even as later Paul declared, "In whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace." (Eph. 1:7 .) Three crosses stood on Calvary. The sun was swiftly declining toward the West; and by the Jews' request, that the bodies might not hang there on the Sabbath, Roman soldiers were sent to break the legs of the crucified men. They broke the legs of the one on the one side; also of the other who hung on the other side; and they would have broken the legs of the Man in the midst--but, no, that could not be done; for the Scripture said, "A bone of Him shall not be broken." So when they approached the central cross they marked the fact that He who was nailed to it was already dead. But to make sure, one of the soldiers drove his spear into the side of the crucified one and when he drew it out there came forth blood and water. "And he that hath seen," says John, who gives the account, "hath borne witness and his witness is true and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe." (John 19:34, 35.) Thus was the sacrifice completed, and the blood was shed for the remission of our sins. Only so, only [8] by this and in no other way, could sin be atoned for: for "apart from shedding of blood there is no remission." (Heb. 9:22.)

In fact only Jesus saves--He by the power of His death and risen life.

      When we are told in Acts 10:43 that "everyone that believeth on him shall receive remission of sins"; and in Acts 2:38, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins," it does not mean that by this the forgiveness can be procured: but they mark out the God-appointed way for us for the receiving of the wonderful gift. And the gift of forgiveness, dearly bought for us by our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is free to us as the love of God. And whosoever will may come and avail himself of it. This is the salvation Christ brought to sinful men and women, one and all. May none of us come short of it!

      "Today, if thou shalt hear His voice, harden not your heart." [9]

[WCTAS 1-9.]

      The electronic version of R. H. Boll's What Christ Taught about Sin (Louisville, KY: The Word and Work, [1944]) has been produced from a copy of the tract held by the Disciples of Christ Historical Society. The essay was first published in Word and Work 38 (May 1944): 114-118. The tract's first appearance as a contribution to a book was in R. H. Boll's Soul-Stirring Sermons (Louisville, KY: The Word and Word, [1944]), pp. 21-25.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. Inconsistencies in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and typography have been retained; however, corrections have been offered for misspellings and other accidental corruptions. Emendations are as follows:

            Printed Text [ Electronic Text
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 1:      abous SIN. [ about SIN.
 p. 8:      Jew's [ Jews'
 

      The following apparatus details the differences in the text of "What Christ Taught about Sin" published as a contribution to a book in Soul-Stirring Sermons, pp. 21-25, and as a separate publication here, What Christ Taught about Sin (Louisville, KY: The Word and Work, [1944]):

 SSS   / WCTAS    As Contribution to Book [ As Separate Publication
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 21 / 1:       about SIN. [ abous SIN.
         2:       Not that ever [ (Not that ever
                  attached to Him. [ attached to Him.)
                  race [ race,
 p. 23 / 6:       eye. Whatever [ eye--whatever
 p. 24 / 8:       Jews' [ Jew's
                  crucified One, [ crucified one
 

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 9 December 2000.
Updated 20 June 2003.