A Summary of the Confession on Sin

Man, created as the glory and crown of creation, is grievously and terribly fallen from the heights from which he started. Our appointed representative, Adam, disobeyed God and pulled all mankind down into ruin with him. We are all of us sinners from the beginning, completely unable to help ourselves or to climb out of the miry pit in which we exist. All that we do is sin-saturated, for we are sin-saturated. We defile everything we touch. And in the end we die.

This is not a pleasant topic. No one likes to think about his faults and shortcomings, not to speak of the black condition of his heart. We make excuses; we automatically recoil from descriptions such as I wrote at the conclusion of the first paragraph. I could well be called a misanthrope for such thoughts. However, it is a poor doctor who lies to his patient about the gravity of the latter's illness, even if the intent is to spare the patient's feelings. But to do that applies a psychological band-aid and invites the dire consequences of neglecting the real problem. Just so, the Great Physician has pulled no verbal punches in rendering his diagnosis. We ignore him--and the treatment he has provided--at our peril.

Tomorrow: The Creator-creature distinction.