Are all mankind sinners? John tells us in his epistle “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4). The law spoken of here is God’s law. We have come to know this law as the ten commandments. Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not covet; thou shalt not bear false witness (lie); honor thy father and thy mother. These commandments govern our relationship to other men and women. The other four deal with our relationship to God, but these listed are sufficient to answer our question.
Jesus taught how these commandments were intended to be applied to our lives. He explained that these sins were not just the overt acts, but included the very thoughts we entertained in our hearts. For example, on adultery he said “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).
Paul reminded the believers in Rome that “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12). He could say that because the law reflects the holy character of God. After all, it is his law, and sin, or the transgression of the law, is necessarily a violation of his holy character even though committed against another man or woman.
Therein lies the rub. Face it, we tend to compare our sins to others whose list of sins is, perhaps, longer, and more frowned upon in society than our own list. How foolish is that! That is like one corpse in a cemetery boasting that it is not as dead as another corpse because it has not decomposed as much. When it comes to counting sins, we must see ourselves before a holy God. David, even after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband to cover his sin, understood that the perspective that mattered most was God’s. He was forced to acknowledge “against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (Psalm 51:4).
Returning to our question, are all mankind sinners, the inescapable answer is absolutely. Man is bent toward sin from the moment he is born. The Psalmist notes “the wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3). We know this is true. Whoever had to teach a child to lie?
Men sin and left to themselves will sin more. God provided government to aid in restraining evil. “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil… But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he [the ruler] beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Romans 13:3-4). Imagine a society without law enforcement officers – ugh!
The best news against this backdrop is Paul’s testimony to Timothy. “This is a faithful saying…that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Timothy1:15). Praise God!
From the Chaplain 