Review of Current Religious Thought: February 02, 1959

As ONE SURVEYS current theology, he often discovers certain subjects that rarely become parts of theological discussion. We once observed this to be the case with the subject of prayer. Devotional literature, to be sure, treats the subject often. But theological literature has a tendency to ignore prayer, a fact that certainly suggests a weakness in theology. But I am thinking at present of another subject that seldom finds a place in theological writing. I refer to the consequences of sin.

I am not thinking of the judgment of God, nor of death as the wages of sin. These consequences of sin are treated in every Christian theology. I refer to the consequences of man’s sinful acts that become irreparable in history. Evil deeds have an influence that can sometimes become an irrevocable part of reality. These consequences are not removed even by divine forgiveness. It would be helpful if, when forgiveness is discussed by theologians, these irreparable consequences were also given genuinely honest treatment.

Someone may ask whether the thought of irreparable consequences of sin does not do an injustice to the reality of divine forgiveness. Why should we be concerned about the abiding consequences of sins in the light of the forgiveness of sins? It seems to me that it is very important that we keep in mind the real consequences of sin. It is striking that Paul, who has known divine forgiveness, still refers often to the sins of his own past. He confesses that he takes first place among sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), for he was formerly a “blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious.” But this “formerly” does not mean that his previous sins no longer play a role in his thoughts. He calls himself the “least of the apostles, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Cor. 15:9). Being least does not inhibit him from prosecuting his calling with joy. But the memory of his own “formerly” does not leave him. It is difficult to imagine just what the meaning of their own “formerly” played in the lives of men like David and Peter. But that it occupied a place in their thoughts is without question.

Forgiveness is a great grace and puts one’s sinfulness in a new light. But there are consequences of sin that cannot be made good again and for this reason are not easily put out of mind. There was probably a good measure of sadness in Paul’s heart (as in the hearts of David and Peter) as he recalled his past. It is surely not the intention of the Bible that we should be concerned about and bring to their remembrance the past sins of other people. God himself no longer remembers the sins of others—his children—but throws them forever behind him. (“Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea,” Micah 7:19). But we can hardly forget our own.

Paul, David, and Peter, keep in mind the consequences of past sins that they are no longer able to set right. A governor, for instance, can cause great suffering to the people through his sins and, though later become converted, be unable to set his former sins in order. His acts, once they have passed into history, are beyond his control. There are, of course, instances of past sins whose consequences can be set right. Zaccheus was probably able to give back four-fold of what he had stolen. But there are also debts that we can never pay. We encounter in our past sins something that is irrevocable and irreparable. It does not stunt the reality of divine forgiveness. But it does accentuate the terrible realness of sins and their consequences.

It is obvious that such facts play a role in the memory of believers. A believer is not able to set himself at peace in face of his past. There are shadows that hover over a forgiven sinner’s life. And there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that we should not think about this simply in view of the forgiveness of past sins. I believe that precisely in view of the reality of forgiveness, our sadness over the irreparable consequences of sins should be real. The consequences of our sins extend beyond our reach and stretch outside of our control. Not everyone has Zaccheus’ opportunity to make good his past sins.

We can say with certainty that there are more consequences of our sins than we are conscious of. What a vast number of ill words have been spoken, what an enormity of uncharitableness, deceit, hatefulness lies in our past. We have forgotten them, but their consequences still live. Such consequences make sin a terribly dangerous thing. It is a disturbing thought that there is so much in our past that we can never make good, that the possibilities for restoration are so limited. In view of this, it is hard to understand why the subject of sin’s consequences should be so neglected. Is it because writers are afraid that they may minimize the greatness of forgiveness? Or is it that we have too little concern for the fact that consequences of sins are not destroyed even by forgiveness?

We must not minimize the reality of forgiveness, but neither may we minimize the reality of sin’s consequences. The problem that remains with forgiven sin is our powerlessness to undo its consequences. Must we, in the face of the irreparable reality of the consequences of sin, unshackle them from our memories? I think that we must be saddened at our past sins and then bring the consequences of our past sins to God. We must pray that God will do what we cannot do about them, that he will restore what we have destroyed. There is always the possibility that is suggested in the story of Joseph: “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” We must pray that God will break the chain of sin’s consequences and even turn it to good. A sensitive Christian will realize that he is himself first responsible for grasping every opportunity that remains for him to repair the consequences of his sins. But these opportunities are limited. We are often faced with our own impotence and smallness in the face of the aftereffects of our own deeds.

We have said that the consequences of sin are seldom discussed in theology. This is a short-coming in our theological discussions. For our resistance to evil is easily weakened, and evil has a way of carrying its consequences through generations, going beyond our ability to repair them. David’s prayer, after his great sin that brought harm to the nation, testifies against our own convenient forgetfulness of our sins’ consequences. “Do good in thy good pleasure with Zion; build thou the walls of Jerusalem” (Ps. 51:18).

This review is prepared successively for CHRISTIANITY TODAY by four evangelical scholars: Professor John H. Gerstner of the United States, Principal S. Barton Babbage of Australia, Dr. Philip E. Hughes of England and Professor G. C. Berkouwer of the Netherlands.

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