Universal Sin and Moral Ruin

In our last post on "Righteousness and Law", we saw that people across cultures share a deep sense of personal sin and a fearful awareness of punishment beyond death. Alongside this is another powerful experience: the feeling of being morally trapped. We sense what is right, we even approve of it — but something within us holds us back. It is like a chain we cannot break. When we look honestly at ourselves, we find this inner condemnation and bondage clearly present in our own hearts. And when we look outward, we see the same reality vividly reflected throughout human literature.

This same understanding of the human moral condition appears clearly in the letters of Paul. In Romans, Paul pauses his explanation of the Gospel to give a careful description of humanity’s condition apart from it — both Gentiles and Jews alike. In Romans 1:18–32, he explains that God made Himself known to the Gentiles through creation, so that they would have no excuse for their sin. Their moral collapse, he says, shows God’s righteous anger against them for turning away from that revelation and embracing idolatry instead.

Evidence of Retribution Beyond the Grave.

If we pay attention to our own inner lives, one thing becomes clear very quickly: whenever we go against our moral sense, the result is always moral decline. We lose strength of character, and with it, self-respect. That inner damage immediately triggers a powerful expectation that harmful results are coming. 

 

We find it almost impossible to shake the feeling that some sort of retribution awaits every person. The moral law carries an authority that commands our respect at the deepest level. Because of that authority, we are compelled to believe that it can enforce its demands through reward and punishment. In other words, sin and suffering, righteousness and well-being, are bound together in ways that cannot ultimately be broken.