American Heresy: Pelagianism
I’ve noticed a real problem among Christians lately. We seem to think of sin as the specific bad behaviors that we do.
There’s usually a list that comes with this. Different people have different lists. Sometimes the things on the list are man-made rules: don’t drink, dance, watch certain movies, vote for certain political parties, etc. Sometimes they are actual commands from God: don’t sleep around, don’t commit murder, don’t lie, don’t steal.
This leads to all sorts of problems:
- Judging the people who do these things.
- Ignoring our own sin because it’s not on the list.
- Superficial advice: “just stop doing it.”
- A shallow view of God’s grace.
This last one is especially important. The Bible teaches that sin isn’t just stuff that we do, it’s something that we have, it’s something that we are (see Psalm 51.4; Romans 3.10-20). We aren’t sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. And if the problem is that we just do bad things, then the solution is simple: stop doing them. However, if the problem is at the depths of who we are, we need a much more radical solution. We need God’s grace to rescue us.
Augustine of Hippo recognized this. That’s why he vehemently opposed the heresy of Pelagius, who taught this view of sin. He saw how looking at sin this way put us in the position of needing to be our own saviors, rather than looking to Christ to save us.
Sadly, Pelagianism is still alive and well, especially in America. It’s in the viewpoint that “God helps those who help themselves.” It’s in the viewpoint that teaches that when we become Christians we stop being sinners. It’s in the viewpoint that tells homosexuals to just stop being gay, rather than telling them about the Jesus who died to forgive them of and free them from the sin of homosexuality.
Jesus offers us something better. He offers us his cross. The cross teaches us that our sin is far far deeper than we thought…we are far worse sinners than we could know. But the cross also teaches us that God will stop at nothing to rescue us from the depths of our own sin.
So, let’s all admit that we are wretched sinners, who also commit sinful acts. And let’s throw ourselves once more on the mercies of the Christ who died in our place.
Posted by: Gene Schlesinger
“we sin because we are sinners.” this is a super hard concept for me to operate within in my path of trying to be a Biblical and Christ-centered girl. it’s not that i don’t recognize myself as someone who sins.. a lot.. but it seems so fatalistic, or nihilistic to think that no matter what or how hard i try, i’m going to falter and i’m going to sin and i’m going to disappoint my Father. i’m the ultimate idealist. and i guess the way to redeem that to myself is that—because Jesus has redeemed me, one day i will get to be perfect. but for now, it’s incredibly frustrating to know that i’m no better than the rest of us sinners.
it’s a double edged sword, i suppose, because on one hand – i’ve got a lot of work to do. but on the other hand – i’ve got a lot of work to do!! (imagine me saying the second excitedly). i’ll always have something more i can do to glorify God in myself, in my life, and in my actions with others!
as a side note.. i’d like to ask how you think both views of sinning apply to moral relativism? obviously, it’s most applicable to the “man-made” commandments mentioned. i’d like to hear a little more about how to deal with those things that may have moral complacency in cultural terms, but Christians must be vigilant to recognize as sin.
You know, it’s interesting, I find having a proper doctrine of sin to be quite encouraging/comforting. I find myself to be a wretched sinner who just can’s seem to stop. But when I read the Scriptures (e.g., Romans 7; 1 John 3.2), I see that I’m not alone in this. It is not good that I’m a sinner, but it is not abnormal. When we think of sin as just behavior; when it’s out-of-the-ordinary for Christians we, then what happens when we DO sin? There’s very little hope then .
With a proper doctrine of sin, then when we see sin in our life we will be disturbed, but we won’t be distressed.
Of course, there is wonderful news that God will bring the work he’s doing in us to completion at the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1.6). When Jesus returns we will be like him because we will see him as he is (2 John 3.2-3). We have great things to look forward to!
We obviously want to avoid moral relativism. But the orthodox view is much more able to take a responsible and reasonable approach to the issue. Take the issue of homosexuality, for instance. People with a Pelagian understanding of sin would say, “homosexual behavior is wrong. It is a choice. Homosexual people should stop choosing to be gay and become heterosexuals.” However, if we have an orthodox doctrine of sin we can say that homosexual behavior is wrong. But, that it’s not necessarily something that is chosen (sometimes it might be). I was born with a tendency to be prideful. Some people are born with violent tempers. Some people might be born with same sex attractions. But just like it’s not okay for me to be prideful, or for someone to get angry and hit another person, just because someone is born gay doesn’t make it acceptable. Therefore, the solution to the problem is not to just stop being gay. The solution to the problem is to rest in what Jesus has done for them in the gospel, and to allow him to change us over time. (Just like I need to do for my pride.)
So, both views of sin will recognize that many of the same behaviors are sinful: unacceptable. And we’d both encourage people not to engage in those behaviors. But the orthodox view will allow us to recognize that leaving sin behind isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. There are deeper reasons for why we sin than just our will. Therefore, we expect change to come gradually, and over time. We will uphold and promote biblical morality. But we won’t make it our battlefield. Our battlefield is the gospel. Because only Christ, in the gospel has the power to enable us to live biblically moral lives.
I find a strange comfort in my imperfection, as you said, Gene. Very good post. I believe we have become so focused on fixing our sins, or problems, by doing things “right”… that we have ignored our consistent need for Christ. Said differently, we don’t just need Jesus on the days we do dumb stuff…. but that’s the habit we have formed.
Great points. I am challenged by your writing. I appreciate it!
Convicted.
Thank you Gene.
Another example. With the Pelagian/behaviorist model of sin we’ve got rules like, “Don’t kill anyone.” Or “stay a virgin until you’re married.” Now, both of these are good things. I’d recommend them to everyone.
But they’re also quite doable. We can easily go through life without taking anybody else’s. And while it might be a struggle, we can also save sexual intercourse for marriage.
But the biblical standard goes deeper. We’re called to be completely loving, and to be sexually pure. If we’re angry with someone, we’re guilty. If we have sexual desire for anyone other than our spouse, we’re guilty.
When we see that this is the definition, we see how deeply rooted sin is in our hearts. We see that our only hope is Christ’s mercy.
Convicted
thank you gene
Yeah…it’s been convicting me too…
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