Q.-What is the difference between sin and sins?
A.-Sin is the nature we inherit from Adam. It is the root out of which the fruits come. "By one man sin entered into the world "-not sins. Adam brought in sin, -not sins. From him we have received the principle of sin, the sap that supplies the branches, that is his work, and we are not responsible for that, but sins are our work, and these we are responsible for. I can't help having a bad nature, but I can help letting it act. The distinction is well and uniformly maintained in scripture, and the distinction is most important not only for our own souls' profit, but for the true understanding of the cross of Christ. Christ is said to have borne away " the sin of the world," but never the sins of the world. He has borne the sins of those only who believe in Him, and He "has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Sin as sin, no longer stands in the way of the sinner's approach to God, the blood is on the mercy-seat and all may freely draw nigh; those who do draw nigh find out not only that they can draw nigh, but that all their sins are forgiven by Him to whom they come. The double value of the work of Christ putting away sin and sins becomes known to the soul, and it learns. that the evil nature as well as the evil fruits are all gone through the blood of Christ from the sight of God.
Some teach that sin is only what we do; scripture teach& us that sin is what we are, and that sins are what we do. It is a far harder thing to say as a sinner, I am sin, than to allow that I have sinned. All will admit the one, but many will by no means allow the other. One text much used in support of this view, is that in 1st John 3:44Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (John 3:4), where in the received version it says, " sin is the transgression of the law," and they infer from this that unless there is a breach of a known command, there is nothing for the conscience before God to be troubled about. All know, who have any acquaintance with the original, that this is a false translation, and that the true rendering is " sin is lawlessness," in other words, having my own will. Hence Gentiles who never had the law are said to be lawless, or without law, the word in the Greek being the same, ('αυομια). Whereas Jews, who are under law, are said to be law-breakers, or transgressors of the law, (παραβασις) being the word used for this, hence "where there is no law there is no transgression," the same word.
Sin does not give a bad conscience. I know it is in me; but the blood of Christ meets it before God. Sins dos" I''' need forgiveness for them, and the conscience knows no rests till through confession forgiveness is known. s'
Q,-How can I say " I am crucified with Christ'," when I feel sin still working in me?
ANS.-The mistake here, is in confounding the work of Christ for us on the cross, with the work of the Holy Ghost in us. It is as participating in the value of the cross that I can say, " I am crucified with Christ." It I have not been crucified with Christ I am no Christian all, but only a living sinner before God. All believers in the Lord Jesus were crucified with Him when He was crucified, just as all their sins were put away when He bore them in His own body on the tree. It is the work of the Holy Ghost to show me my sins, and then to show me that Christ has put them away on the cross. In the same way it is the work of the Holy Ghost to show me I have an evil nature, and then to show me that it, too, has been put away by Christ on the cross. The Holy Ghost does not tell me the evil is gone out of my heart, which would not be true, but that I have been crucified with Christ on the cross when He was crucified.