Sin As Independence From God's Control

Sin is defined as "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God" ^[1]. This transgression can manifest in the inward state of the soul, in outward conduct, through omission, or through commission ^[1]. The Bible describes sin as a rebellion against God ^[4].

The concept of sin as independence from God's control is deeply rooted in biblical accounts and theological interpretations. The "Fall of man," recorded in Genesis 2 and 3, describes the revolt of humanity's first parents from God, leading to sin and misery for them and their descendants ^[3]. This event is understood as a factual basis for all subsequent divine dealings with humanity ^[3].

The nature of sin is not merely a violation of a constitutional law or a system of things, but an offense against a personal lawgiver and moral governor ^[1]. The individual who sins is conscious that their sin is inherently vile and polluting, and that it justly deserves punishment ^[1].

Theological traditions emphasize that sin originates from the will of those sinning, rather than from God. Augustine, for instance, states that while all naturally existing things are from God, sins, which corrupt nature, are not from Him. He points to Scripture, which testifies that sins arise from the will of those who commit them ^[7]. Similarly, Charles Hodge argues against theories that make sin a necessary consequence of human existence or a direct work of God, asserting that such views undermine moral distinctions and the nature of human liberty ^[10]. Thomas Aquinas, from a scholastic perspective, notes that while the act of sin, as a being and an act, derives its existence from God as the First Being and First Act, the defect or disorder within the act of sin is not from God ^[6].

Sin is intrinsically linked to the devil. The Apostle John states, "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning" (1 John 3:8) ^[2]. This connection highlights sin as an act aligned with the adversary of God.

The idea of independence from God's control is central to understanding sin. When humanity chose to disobey God, it was an assertion of self-will over divine will, seeking autonomy. This act of rebellion is described in Deuteronomy 9:7 and Joshua 1:18 ^[4]. The consequence of this independence is a state of spiritual death, characterized by separation from God and divine favor ^[11]. Matthew Henry explains that just as physical death is the body's separation from the soul, spiritual death is the soul's separation from God ^[11].

The struggle against sin involves recognizing that humanity, apart from grace, is "under the law," meaning subject to its demands for perfect obedience and its curse for failure ^[9]. This state implies an inability to keep the law without divine assistance ^[9]. However, through Christ, believers are "made free from Sin" and become "servants to Righteousness," indicating a transfer of allegiance from sin to God ^[12]. This transformation signifies an end to the dominion of sin, which acts as a tyrannical lord ^[9].

The concept of sin as independence also clarifies what sin is not. It is not merely selfishness, though selfishness can be a manifestation of sin ^[5]. Nor is it simply an innate disposition beyond the control of the will, though humanity is born in sin ^[8]. Instead, sin is a conscious or unconscious rejection of God's authority and a desire to operate outside of His intended order.

Sources

Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Sin — Is "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God" (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom. 6:12-17; 7:5-24). It is "not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offence against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties. The soul that sins is always conscious that his sin is (1) intrinsically vile and polluting, and (2) that it justly deserves punishment,”
1 John “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed, that he might destroy the works of the devil. -- 1 John 3:8”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Fall of man — An expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our first parents from God, and the consequent sin and misery in which they and all their posterity were involved. The history of the Fall is recorded in Gen. 2 and 3. That history is to be literally interpreted. It records facts which underlie the whole system of revealed truth. It is referred to by our Lord and his apostles not only as being true, but as furnishing the ground of all God's subsequent dispensations and dealings with the children of m”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Sin — Is the transgression of the law -- 1Jo 3:4. Is of the devil -- 1Jo 3:8; Joh 8:44. All unrighteousness is -- 1Jo 5:17. Omission of what we know to be good is -- Jas 4:17. Whatever is not of faith is -- Ro 14:23. The thought of foolishness is -- Pr 24:9. All the imaginations of the unrenewed heart are -- Ge 6:5; 8:21. Described as Coming from the heart. -- Mt 15:19. The fruit of lust. -- Jas 1:15. The sting of death. -- 1Co 15:56. Rebellion against God. -- De 9:7; Jos 1:18. Works of darkness. -- Eph 5:11. Dead works. -- Heb 6:1; 9:14. The abominable thing that Go”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 39: not modifications of selfishness. These attempts at simplification are not only unphilosophical, but also dangerous; as they lead to confounding things which differ, and, as we have seen, to denying the essential nature of moral distinctions. The doctrine which makes all sin to consist in selfishness, as it has been generally held, especially in this country, considers selfishness as the opposite of benevolence agreeably to the theory which has just been considered. There are others, however, that mean by it the opposite to the love of Go”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part of the Second Part (Prima Secundae), Of the External Causes of Sin, Art. 2: Article: Whether the act of sin is from God? I answer that, The act of sin is both a being and an act; and in both respects it is from God. Because every being, whatever the mode of its being, must be derived from the First Being, as Dionysius declares (Div. Nom. v). Again every action is caused by something existing in act, since nothing produces an action save in so far as it is in act; and every being in act is reduced to the First Act, viz. God, as to its cause, Who is act by H”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 4: Augustine — Anti-Manichaean, Anti-Donatist — CHAP. 28.--SIN NOT FROM GOD, BUT FROM THE: WILL OF THOSE SINNING. But when we hear: "All things are from Him, and through Him, and in Him," we ought assuredly to understand all natures which naturally exist. For sins, which do not preserve but vitiate nature, are not from Him; which sins, Holy Scripture in many ways testifies, are from the will of those sinning, especially in the passage where the apostle says: "But dost thou suppose this, O man, that judgest those who do such things, and doest them, that thou shall escape the judgment ”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 50: of sinful dispositions, although those dispositions should be innate and entirely beyond the control of the will. Here it will be seen that the objection is not against the Scriptural evidence of the doctrine that men are born in sin, nor against the testimony of facts to the truth of that doctrine; but it is founded on the difficulty of reconciling the doctrine of innate sin with certain assumed principles as to the nature and grounds of moral obligation. Whether we can refute those principles or not, does not affect the truth of the doc”
Romans (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Romans 6:14: For Sin shall not have dominion over you--as the slaves of a tyrant lord. for ye are not under the law, but under grace--The force of this glorious assurance can only be felt by observing the grounds on which it rests. To be "under the law" is, first, to be under its claim to entire obedience; and so, next under its curse for the breach of these. And as all power to obey can reach the sinner only through Grace, of which the law knows nothing, it follows that to be "under the law" is, finally, to be shut up under an inability to keep it, and consequen”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 39: all liberty to the creature. If the Infinite Being is the only agent, then all that is, is due to his direct efficiency; and sin, therefore, is either his work or it is a mere negation. 3. Because what, according to this theory, is called sin is absolutely universal and absolutely necessary. It is the unavoidable consequence or condition of the existence of such a being as man. That is, of a being with a self-consciousness and a God-consciousness, in such proportions and relation that the dominance of the latter can be attained only gradu”
Colossians (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Colossians 2:13: The apostle here represents the privileges we Christians have above the Jews, which are very great. I. Christ's death is our life: And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, Col 2:13. A state of sin is a state of spiritual death. Those who are in sin are dead in sin. As the death of the body consists in its separation from the soul, so the death of the soul consists in its separation from God and the divine favour. As the death of the body is the corruption and putrefaction of it, so sin is the c”
Romans (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Romans 6:18: Being then--"And being"; it is the continuation and conclusion of the preceding sentence; not a new one. made free from Sin, ye became the servants of--"servants to" Righteousness--The case is one of emancipation from entire servitude to one Master to entire servitude to another, whose property we are (see on Rom 1:1). There is no middle state of personal independence; for which we were never made, and to which we have no claim. When we would not that God should reign over us, we were in righteous judgment "sold under Sin"; now being through grace ”

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