Carson: Sin is never merely individualistic.

Exodus 34:6–7

6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

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We could easily spend the rest of this book unpacking all the things that God says of himself. As the Bible’s storyline unfolds, God progressively reveals just who and what he is.

God says he “punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation” (34:7). This is because sin is social. Sin is never merely individualistic. You cannot commit any sin, no matter how private, without it having repercussions not only in your own life but in the community where you live.

Maybe the addiction is as private as looking at porn in secret: surely that is not doing any damage to anybody but you (if it is doing any damage at all). But in reality, if you focus in secret on porn, the way you view the opposite sex will gradually be changed, and that will reshape family dynamics, which will in turn influence your children. Your sin has social implications to the second, third, and fourth generation: that is what God here says. God transcends time and space, and he can see the ramifications that you cannot see.

Carson, D. A. (2010). The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God’s Story (p. 68). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

Comments

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