Observe the threefold form of expression--iniquity and transgression
and sin.
It seems natural that in the divine proclamation of His own holy
character, the sinful nature of men should be characterised with all
the fervid energy of such words; for the accumulation even of synonyms
would serve a _moral_ purpose, expressive at once of the divine
displeasure against sin, and of the free full pardon for it in all its
possible forms. But the words are very far from all meaning the same
thing. They all designate the same actions, but from different points
of view, and with reference to different phases and qualities of sin.
Now these three expressions are inadequately represented by the English
translation.
'Iniquity' literally means 'twisting,' or 'something twisted,' and is
thus the opposite of 'righteousness,' or rather of what is 'straight.'
It is thus like our own 'right' and 'wrong,' or like the Latin
'in-iquity' (by which it is happily enough rendered in our version). So
looking at this word and the thoughts which connect themselves with it,
we come to this:--
(1) All sin of every sort is deviation from a standard to which we
ought to be conformed.
Note the graphic force of the word as giving the straight line to which
our conduct ought to run parallel, and the contrast between it and the
wavering curves into which our lives meander, like the lines in a
child's copy-book, or a rude attempt at drawing a circle at one sweep
of the pencil. Herbert speaks of
'The crooked wandering ways in which we live.'
There is a path which is 'right' and one which is 'wrong,' whether we
believe so or not.
There are hedges and limitations for us all. This law extends to the
ordering of all things, whether great or small. If a line be absolutely
straight, and we are running another parallel to it, the smallest
possible wavering is fatal to our copy. And the smallest deflection, if
produced, will run out into an ever-widening distance from the straight
line.
There is nothing which it is more difficult to get into men's belief
than the sinfulness of little sins; nothing more difficult to cure
ourselves of than the habit of considering quantity rather than quality
in moral questions. What a solemn thought it is, that of a great
absolute law of right rising serene above us, embracing everything! And
this is the first idea that is here in our text--a grave and deep one.
But the second of these expressions for sin literally means 'apostasy,'
'rebellion,' not 'transgression,' and this word brings in a more solemn
thought yet, viz.:--
(2) Every sin is apostasy from or rebellion against God.
The former word dealt only with abstract thought of a 'law,' this with
a 'Lawgiver.'
Our obligations are not merely to a law, but to Him who enacted it. So
it becomes plain that the very centre of all sin is the shaking off of
obedience to God. Living to 'self' is the inmost essence of every act
of evil, and may be as virulently active in the smallest trifle as in
the most awful crime.
How infinitely deeper and darker this makes sin to be!
When one thinks of our obligations and of our dependence, of God's love
and care, what an 'evil and a bitter thing' every sin becomes!
Urge this terrible contrast of a loving Father and a disobedient child.
This idea brings out the ingratitude of all sin.
But the third word here used literally means 'missing an aim,' and so
we come to
(3) Every sin misses the goal at which we should aim. There may be a
double idea here--that of failing in the great purpose of our being,
which is already partially included in the first of these three
expressions, or that of missing the aim which we proposed to ourselves
in the act. All sin is a failure.
By it we fall short of the loftiest purpose. Whatever we gain we lose
more.
Every life which has sin in it is a 'failure.' You may be prosperous,
brilliant, successful, but you are 'a failure.'
For consider what human life might be: full of God and full of joy.
Consider what the 'fruits' of sin are. 'Apples of Sodom.' How sin leads
to sorrow. This is an inevitable law. Sin fails to secure what it
sought for. All 'wrong' is a mistake, a blunder. 'Thou fool!'
So this word suggests the futility of sin considered in its
consequences. 'These be thy gods, O Israel!' 'The end of these things
is death.'