![Stamp Duty Paid mark for British cheques from 1956, By British Government. (Scan of original) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AStamp_Duty_Paid_mark_for_British_cheques_from_1956.jpg)
That is an everyday scenario in our consumer society. How are we going to pay down those debts when daily living costs more than we make?
As the old Tennessee Ernie Ford song put it,
“You load sixteen tons. What do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.”
When it comes time to pay those bills dread, panic, and despair fight each other for attention.
The writers of the Heidelberg Catechism thought that was a great metaphor for where we all are spiritually.
13. Q. Can we make this payment ourselves?
A. Certainly not.
Actually we increase our debt every day.
This comes just after a discussion of the misery we cause ourselves by the choices we make — aka our “sins.”
It is near the beginning of the Catechism’s discussion of God’s solution to our misery — aka our deliverance through Christ.
Christian theology has a lot of ways to talk about the consequences of our bad choices:
- Economics: In the quotation the consequences of sin are “financial”: misdeeds place us in debt.
- Justice: American Christianity is more prone to talk in “courtroom” language: sin is crime and leads to punishment.
- Relationships: Another common emphasis is interpersonal: sin is disobedience and it makes God really angry.
You’ll find elements of all three in Heidelberg. However,
it is worth highlighting this idea of debt. It is the least familiar. It also rings true to our experience.
Most people do not actually feel like they have done anything criminal. They probably do not feel like they have done anything to get God angry. If people don’t feel like they have the problem Jesus solves, they are going to have a hard time finding much good in the Good News.
But we know what debt feels like. We know what it feels like to add to our debts every day.
That is an understanding of sin that translates pretty well into today’s familiar language.
Let me be clear: I do not think that Jesus promises us a way out of our financial debts. But I think the Heidelberg Catechism is right — and wise— in saying that the Good News is that Jesus has the resources to pay our spiritual debts in full.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments. What do you think are the key consequences of sin?
————
You owe me nothing (and I won’t be wrathful if you don’t) but it would be fantastic if you shared the post using the buttons below — especially the Facebook “Like” button!
I think the key consequence of sin is disconnectedness, both externally and internally. We’re in pieces.
That is a very insightful response, Sandra. Have you ever read “On the Incarnation of the Word” by St. Athanasius of Alexandria? That is his view of the consequences of sin too.
The key consequence of sin is not having a relationship with Christ.
Thanks Shelley! Sorry I didn’t comment sooner, but I’ve been preoccupied with setting up the blog and the start of a new semester.
You name what I think is the great modern understanding of the consequence of sin. The focus on relationship is so prominent now that it can seem baffling that in previous eras they didn’t name it that way!
Glad you are reading the blog and joining in.
Dr. Hansen, I really like the comparison here of our sins to debt and let me explain why. Think about a time that you have had to incur debt and then think about the feeling you have when that debt is gone. It takes sacrifice to make all those monthly payments but then when it’s gone, oh what a feeling. Now, think about our sin…..a debt I cannot pay on my own, how joyous is it when we really think about the sacrifice that Jesus paid for us and that God allowed to happen to pay my debts….OH what a feeling….