Faith & Sin

As i've been reading of some of the prevailing philosophical thought that developed out of the post-Enlightenment period leading up to liberal and neo-orthodox theology in the 19th and then early 20th century, I have been struck with Reinhold Neihbur's understanding of the real dilemma of humanity.  The problem, as he seems to define it, isn't so much that of finite human beings trying to understand an infinite God.  Rather, the problem is that of sinful human beings needing to be reconciled to a holy God.

 

Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson characterize Neihbur's understanding of faith and sin in this way: "Faith is the acceptance of our dependancy on God, whereas sin is the denial of our creaturehood."  Regarding sin, i take that to mean that it is the denial of our dependancy on God.  And while i think that understanding may be a good beginning, i think it is just the beginning of each.  Both "faith" and "sin" are more that.  The Bible says that "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the the conviction of things not seen." (Heb 11:1 - NASB)  Another translation puts it this way: "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (NIV) 

 

Faith must be more than just an acceptance of our dependancy on God.  This sounds rather passive.  I accept that I have colitis.  I accept that I have ADD.  But this can be done in a very passive way, in a way that not only does not require active response but that denies such a response is actually necessary.  Faith is not passive.  The Bible says that if a person has faith, that faith will somehow be made visible, tangible.  It's not that faith itself becomes something a person can see or touch but that true faith causes a person to act in particular ways.  Faith, apart from that kind of active response, really isn't faith - just strong feelings.  If there is one thing that ought to be clear about what faith is and is not, faith is not about strong feelings.  Faith is about conviction that leads to behaviors in correspondance to that conviction.

 

Sin, on the other hand, is more than just a denial of our "creaturehood."  In a sense, sin is two-fold.  There is that aspect of sin that is the denial or rejection of our utter dependance upon God.  There is also that aspect of sin that is ignorance of our dependance upon God.  The Bible talks about sin that is willful as well as that which is our of ignorance, sins of commission and sins of ommission.

 

So here's the question that i won't explore much more than to ask the question.  If faith is recognition of and response to our dependancy upon God and if sin is both intentional as well as ignorance, is it possible to sin "in faith," at least in terms of that letter aspect of sin?