Imagine this scene with me: My wife comes to me and says, “I forgive you.” My immediate response is (with an awkward face), “Why?” For all I know, I have no need to be forgiven. So her statement makes very little sense.
I believe this is how many respond to the typical Gospel presentation, “Jesus loves you and died to forgive you.” In response many think, “So what?” Then we're left trying to convince them how sinful they really are. John Ensor is correct in saying:
In terms of the Gospel … It seems to scratch where we feel no itch. It offers as a matter of first importance what we consider the least concern--God's forgiveness, reconciliation, and a new life through the life and work of Jesus Christ. (The Great Work of the Gospel, p. 21)
In order to receive the Gospel, we must first realize the enormity of our sin. Ensor also points out that, as we read God’s word, we find a shocking discovery:
The wrath of God revealed in the Bible is so terrible, so fierce, so awful, that it forces us to reach a shocking conclusion: either our sin and guilt is far, far greater than we ever knew, or God’s punishment far, far exceeds the crime. ... If we conclude that God is just and believe that his punishments always fit the crime, then we will have made the frightful discovery of what the old preachers called "the exceeding sinfulness of sin." (The Great Work of the Gospel, pp. 46-47)
But we must ask ourselves. Are we really that bad? Are we really that sinful? Well, the Bible seems to think so. The prophet Jeremiah summarized the nature of Israel’s sin before God like this:
… for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13)
So the essence of sin is 1) we have rejected God (Creator) as our source, and 2) have turned to other things (creation) as our source. In other words, we first of all reject our Creator, Father, and Spouse (all images of our relationship to God) in an act of rebellion, betrayal, and adultery. And we have turned to any number of other sources in replacement of God. There is no small rebellion, betrayal, or adultery. So the slightest of our sin stands infinitely egregious. As one Puritan put it, "... the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature the sin committed, as in the greatness of the Person sinned against."
The nature of sin is that we make a million false gods or “functional saviors” in order to replace God. Even the best things in this life (sex, relationships, love, ministry, etc.) can be turned into a new source.
This means that I must live a life of constant repentance. It means repenting of my sinful acts. It means repenting of my “goodness.” It means constantly turning back to the true Source of life, joy, and everlasting satisfaction.
Because yes, I am that bad.
