Doctrine of Sin
By Jerry Batson, Th.D.
Special to The Alabama Baptist
None of the terms used in the Bible for sin is attractive, but as noted last week some are more repulsive than others. Another of the more repulsive terms for sin is abomination. Few terms capture like this one the reprehensibility of sin. The focus of this term is on God’s viewpoint or estimation of sin. Ascribe to God the highest understanding of holiness that we can, then we may begin to appreciate His abhorrence of sin. A survey of some of the sins to which the Bible attaches this label serves to capture God’s heart about sin.
Preparing the way
In giving the Law to Israel, God included animal sacrifices as a central feature. These sacrifices served not only to suggest that God counted sin to be serious but also to prepare the way for the ultimate sacrifice for sin that would once and for all be that of His Son. In His instructions about animal sacrifices, God specified that offering a blemished animal would be counted as an abomination. Deuteronomy 17:1 expresses it, saying, “You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.” In the same vein of the seriousness with which God views sin, He warned Israel about adopting the idolatrous practices of their pagan neighbors, saying, “You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God” (Deut. 7:25).
God continued to be explicit about sins that He counts an abomination. Deuteronomy 18:10–12 elaborates, “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord.” Sins of child sacrifice and witchcraft are among the sins of abomination in God’s estimation.
Easily overlooked or discounted are other behaviors that God deemed to be an abomination. He explicitly labeled the wearing of clothes of the opposite sex as abomination. Deuteronomy 22:5 instructs, “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.” Apparently, God early on placed high value on gender distinctiveness. The Baptist Faith and Message calls God’s creation of humans as male and female “the crowning work of His creation,” and then adds, “The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation.” The Bible also labels homosexuality an abomination in His sight. Leviticus 20:13 puts it quite clearly, “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.”
Revulsion in God
The Bible’s use of such a term as abomination serves to indicate that sin produces revulsion in God. Sin is not merely something God is peevish or picky about. Yet, sin is not beyond the reach of divine forgiveness and cleansing. At the same time sin is not to be excused in the name of political correctness, accepted as a sign of the times or minimized by claiming everyone is doing it.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Jerry Batson is a retired Alabama Baptist pastor who also has served as associate dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University and professor of several schools of religion during his career.
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