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Sin - General

John Wesley's Concept of Sin

  • Semi-Technical
  • Leo G. Cox

John Wesley's doctrine of Christian perfection makes it necessary for him to make clear how he understands the doctrine of sin. He had a specific view of holiness. In this paper the author's intention is to clarify Wesley's concept of sin.

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Favor in God’s Eyes

  • Semi-Technical
  • Derek W. H. Thomas

This article focuses on the importance of taking time to consider the weightiness of sin and its consequences. The article traces how sin affected Old Testament figures such as Adam and Noah, as well as the flood victims. From the flood, Noah was delivered but not on account of inherent qualities in him.

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Thank You, Lord

  • Basic
  • Doug Van Meter

What is the most destructive sin you can think about? Ingratitude! This is the most destructive sin. This article explains why.

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Sin Offends God

  • Popular
  • Jason P. Van Vliet

The Bible uses different words to describe sin, and this article mentions some of them. It looks at the meaning of inherited sin, actual sin, and total depravity. Then it shows how Pelagianism fails to reflect the true biblical teaching on sin.

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Saved by Grace – Dead in Sin: Ephesians 2:1-3

  • Popular
  • Richard D. Phillips

Chapter 1 is a reflection upon what sin is and the consequences thereof, expressed in Ephesians 2:1-3.

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Total Depravity

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  • Peter H. Holtvluwer

If man is totally depraved, why do unbelievers still do good things? 

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A Very Serious Subject

  • Popular
  • Wybren H. Oord

Sin is not trivial. We cannot make excuses for our sin. Our sin is so serious that it led to the death of Jesus, the Son of God, on the cross.

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Why the Message of the Reformation is Meaningless to Modern Men and Women

  • Popular
  • John van Regenmorter

This article is about how the Bible looks at guilt and the need for atonement. It also looks at the opposite view in society today. There is almost no idea of shame anymore, and everything focuses on the needs of people.

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Cardiac Sclerosis

  • Basic
  • Dick Moes

This article is about the harderning of hearts and receiving a new heart.

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Hating Sin I Don't like Sin. I Especially Don't Like your Sin.

  • Popular
  • A. Stares

This article is about hating sin and love for my neighbour.

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What we’ve Done is Worse

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  • Paul Aasman

This article is about the sins of omission, and the omission of love.

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"Neurotic" Christianity?

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  • Ronald C. Christie

This article is about guilt and freedom, the Christian faith and intellect, self-fulfillment, and negative Christians.

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When Good Men Fall

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  • Maurice Roberts

This article is about falling into sin and the main cause of our fall: pride. The author also discusses the Christian's comfort when he fell into sin.

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Sin in the New Testament

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  • C. Den Boer

“It is better to die a thousand deaths than to insult God even in the least.” The article discusses the radical character of sin, the universal power of sin, sin and law, the conquest of sin, and finally our lives in Christ.

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The Sin Behind Sin

  • Popular
  • Bas Luiten

How deep does sin go? This article looks at the place that God should have in our lives. It also studies the relation between law and gospel, and Jesus Christ and the law.

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Know Thy Enemy

  • Popular
  • Tommy Clayton

Mortification, the discipline of killing sin, starts by knowing how sin works. This article explains that fighting sin must be undertaken with the awareness of the nature of sin, the goal of sin, and the strategy of sin.

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What Exactly Is Sin?

  • Popular
  • J. Hoek

What is the classic Reformed perspective on the doctrine of sin? This article shows from the vantage point of the cross how absurd sin is, as deliberate transgression against God. Sin is both an act and a condition. The article nuances this, explaining that we need to distinguish between cases of evil intent, deliberate hardening, or error and ignorance.

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How Do I Know Sin?

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  • J. Hoek

How does God make us aware of our sin? This article explains that we come to know our sin through the law, which Christ holds up as a mirror before us. It also explains the relationship between law and gospel.

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Are Not All Sins Equally Heinous? A Response to Barnabas Piper

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  • Michael J. Kruger

This article evaluates a critique from Barnabas Piper on how Christians confront the sin of homosexuality. It explains among other things that not all sins are equally evil.

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Sin

  • Popular
  • A. Fintelman

What distinguishes a Christian from a non-Christian? Among other things, it is their respective attitudes toward sin. This article explains that a believer has experienced deliverance from sin, and a non-believer still lives in sin. This shapes the outflow of their lives.

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Approaching Our Sin Biblically Rather Than Therapeutically

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  • Michael J. Kruger

This article discusses how we are to diagnose the sin patterns in our life. There are two answers available, a therapeutic answer and a biblical answer.

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Wretched

  • Popular
  • Paul David Tripp

How do you break away from the power of sin? This article explains from Romans 7 that sin has three qualities, and there are three reasons to be hopeful over against the power of sin.

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Just Like Toddlers

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  • Paul David Tripp

This article explains three behaviours produced by sin that reveal we are like toddlers in many ways: rebellion, foolishness, and paralysis.

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Helping Hurting Churches Dealing with Apostasy

  • Basic
  • David P. Murray

The experience of apostasy is not a good one. This article offers advice on how churches can deal with such experience. The church should expect that apostasy will happen, know the causes of it, see its abomination, think of God’s judgment, and know the cure.

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The Sinfulness of Man's Natural State

  • Popular
  • Thomas Boston

Through the fall, man became sinful by nature, and this resulted in his corruption. This article explains that man is corrupt in his understanding, will, emotions, conscience, memory, and body.

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Is All Sin Equal in God's Sight?

  • Popular
  • Ryan Kampen

Are all sins equal before God? This article surveys the Bible to show how sin is variously regarded by God. While all people are sinners, not all people sin to the same degree.

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The Real Problem

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  • Doug Van Meter

Changing your external situations and relationships won’t change you. Why? This article explains that when it comes to sin and moral failure, the problem is within you, not outside you.

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Adversity in This Life of Sorrow

  • Popular
  • W. G. de Vries

Does God allow and use evil in this life? Some say God is a sadist, some say he is hopeless in the face of evil. What does God say? This article explains the relationship between sickness, sin, and God’s punishment, and the role of Satan in the face of evil.

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The Development of Sin

  • Popular
  • Steven R. Key

This article shows from the biblical account how sin develops. It also shows how God works in his sovereignty in relation to this development.

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The Evil of Sin

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  • Jared Olivetti

Why is sin evil? This article explains that it is a rejection of God's goodness and a misuse and mutation of his gifts.

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Secret Sins

  • Popular
  • Al Baker

This article explains what secret sins are, in line with the words of Psalm 19:12. It also considers why we should want to be forgiven of these sins.

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The Messy Matter of Motives

  • Basic
  • Tim Challies

Why do you do the things you do? This is the question of motives. This article gives two ways of dealing with motives.

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The Utter Devastation of Sin

  • Popular
  • Tim Challies

Sin is so evil that it leaves its lingering scent behind. Understanding the evilness of sin should encourage Christians to kill it. The article explains.

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Psalm 51: A Song of Brokenness

  • Basic
  • Leo de Vos

Psalm 51 gives a description of spiritual brokenness. This article shows that this brokenness is a result of understanding the nature of sin. It also show true trust in Christ to clean all sin.

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Salvation By Grace Alone: None Seeketh After God

  • Popular
  • James A. Laning

No one seeks after God. Man's salvation is only as a result of God's grace. In expositing Romans 3:11, this article shows that man by nature has no inclination to seek after God. Only when He is found by God can he seek after Him. This truth of salvation by grace alone is fundamental to the life of every Christian, family and church.

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Total Depravity: Only Evil Flowing From the Dead

  • Popular
  • James A. Laning

The difference between a believer and unbeliever is that one has a living spiritual heart while the other has a dead spiritual heart. Total depravity means that an unbeliever's heart is evil in its nature and can only produce evil continuously.

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Bondage of the Will

  • Popular
  • Cornelis Pronk

This article is about the will of man, the sinfulness and total depravity of man, and the salvation of God.

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What Luther Says to This Confessional Age

  • Popular
  • Carl R. Trueman

Our celebrity culture, with its self-promotion attitude, has eroded the practice of true confession of sins. This article shows Martin Luther's perspective on confession of sins as part of the worship service and in private communication with others.

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A God-Centered Understanding of Sin

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  • Stephen Witmer

Challenging the modern trend of divorcing morality from God, this article shows that sin is primarily an attack on God. The author discusses this using the example of adultery and envy. The fact that God is the Creator causes sin to be against Him, and sin mars the character of God. The author highlights implications of this for pastoral care.

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The Function of the Conscience of Man

  • Popular
  • Arie DenHartog

This article is about the function that the conscience has in knowing good and evil, right and wrong. It also talks about the function of the conscience of the unbeliever when he comes before the judgment of God.

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Losing Sight of Sin

  • Semi-Technical
  • Ian Hamilton

This article is about sin spoiling life, sin and the holiness of God, and sin in society.

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Whatever Happened to Sin

  • Popular
  • Ian Coffey

The word "sin" does not form part of the vocabulary of our culture. This article shows that this poses a temptation to the church to also be silent about sin. It offers seven antidotes against such a temptation.

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A Fight to the Death – Think About This

  • Popular
  • Wayne A. Mack, Joshua Mack

Chapter 1 is a reflection upon the seriousness of sin.

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Fallen – Sin's Contemporary Significance

  • Popular
  • D. A. Carson

Chapter 1 distinguishes the doctrine of sin’s intrinsic and contemporary significance. A deeper understanding of the cross of Christ is possible by gaining a deeper grasp of the nature of sin.

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Life Together

  • Basic
  • Doug Van Meter

Unconfessed sin will keep you from the church, yet the goal of the church is to keep you from ongoing sin. Therefore, God made the church to be a place where sin can be confessed together.

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Guilt-free Christianity

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  • William H. Smith

It is through forgiveness in Christ that people can be guilt-free. Fear to talk about sin and guilt today denies the Christian message.

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The Mirror of Auschwitz

  • Popular
  • Clarence Bouwman

This article looks at the horror of Auschwitz, and how we can see ourselves today in the mirror of Auschwitz. This article looks at abortion and the depravity of man.

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The Gospel and Total Depravity

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  • Rick Phillips

This article looks at how the doctrine of sin and total depravity can be applied to both believers and unbelievers.

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Soteriology Notes: The Doctrine of Sin (Part 2)

  • Semi-Technical
  • Jack L. Arnold

In this article are notes on the doctrine of sin, highlighting the results of sin on unbelievers and the concept of total depravity. The discussion of free will and the bondage of the will forms part of these notes. The author also looks at how sin was viewed through history.

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The Soul in the Depths of Sin

  • Semi-Technical
  • John Owen

In this article, the author explores the various situations and the depths of sin that a soul may fall into.

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Salvation from the Pleasure of Sin

  • Semi-Technical
  • Arthur W. Pink

According to this author, God saves us from the pleasure or love of sin before he delivers us from the punishment of sin. In the rest of the article, the explanation covers the state of a person before and after he has been saved from the love of sin.

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Presbyterian Doctrine of Total Depravity

  • Semi-Technical
  • Thomas M. Gregory

The author observes the importance of the doctrine of total depravity, and thus the sinfulness of man in church history. In discussing man's depravity, the author appeals to such circles as philosophy and the general empirical observations of human conduct. References are made to such works as Calvin's Institutes and the Reformational creeds (e.g., the Westminster Confession).

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Total Depravity

  • Semi-Technical
  • Gordon Girod

The evidence of the unabating effects of sin is dotted through history, and there is no sign that man's evil and sinful condition will ever improve, at least not in this age. This is where the article begins, and goes on to explain the corruption of the human nature as the result of man's revolt against God at the instigation of the devil. It describes this corruption as a state of total depravity, and considers its spiritual and moral consequences.

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Soteriology Notes: The Doctrine of Sin

  • Semi-Technical
  • Jack L. Arnold

This article is on the doctrine of sin. The author describes the different views on the nature of man, the Fall, and the impact of the Fall on mankind.

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Thomas Goodwin on Romans 6:17

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  • Maurice Roberts

This article is about the question: Why does God leave his children in the state of sin for a while before changing their hearts?

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The Idea of Sin in Twentieth-Century Theology

  • Technical
  • Bruce A. Milne

One looks almost in vain for a major discussion of sin during the twentieth century. Does guilt before God still have meaning in the context of modern developments such as Marxism and psycho-analitical approaches to who man is? This essay attempts to examine the way that theology has sought to come to terms with the idea of sin during the twentieth century.

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Not "Just Forgiven": How Athanasius Overcomes the Under-Realized Eschatology of Evangelicalism

  • Technical
  • Gerald Hiestand

Is the view of salvation generally held in contemporary evangelicalism an under-realized eschatology with a too-narrow focus on forgiveness alone? This article suggests this is the case, and offers the doctrine of salvation we find in the theology of Athanasius as a correction.

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The fear of God is the soul of godliness. John Murray
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