“Sin is not primarily a matter of what we do but of who we are.” [1] It is because of who we are that we sin. We tell untruths because we are the type of person who does not have a problem deceiving others so we can gain an advantage or benefit. We gossip because we are the type of person who does not have a problem destroying another person’s reputation if that will make us look better.
If the above is true, then attempting to deal with our sin (lying or gossip) is treating the symptom and not the actual problem. What we must confront is the type of person that we really are.
Also, one would expect God, in his relationship with us, deals with the root cause of our problem (ourselves) rather than just our symptoms (our sins such as lying or gossiping). God’s plan of salvation is not just a matter of belief. Salvation is not just acting like we think Christians should act. Salvation is a change of who we are. Salvation is nothing less than the renovation of our soul.
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[1] Janie B. Cheaney, “The heart of the matter”, World, June 1, 2013, p. 16.
