Back to it...

Over Christmas we took a break from the New City Catechism, returning to it on the first Sunday in the new year... but I have been neglecting blogging on it.  Nothing else for it but to get back to it now! We pick the catechism up at Q16 - What is sin?  And to help us catch up, shall include Q17 - What is idolatry?  However it is more that expediency - these questions belong together.

Q16. What is sin?

Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, rebelling against him by living without reference to him, not being or doing what he requires in his law - resulting in our death and the disintegration of all creation.

Q17.  What is idolatry?

Idolatry is trusting in created things rather than the Creator for our hope and happiness, significance and security.

Here are a few things these answers teach us.

• Sin is serious

We can brush off sins as trivial.  We can excuse someones behaviour - it is just the way they are.  We can resign ourselves to always being this way - you can't teach an old dog new trick after all.  We say, sure it doesn't do anyone any harm. But sin is serious.  All sin is serious. The catechism draws this out, in some shocking words.  It describes sin as 

rejecting, ignoring and rebelling against God.  

It might not feel like it at the time.  In fact it might feel pretty good, but EVERY sin you or I commit, is an act of open defiance against God.  That is serious.

• Sin bears fruit

The fruit of sin is death.  It has been that way from the beginning - when in Genesis Adam and Eve rebelled against God, bringing death and decay into God's good creation. One aspect of death was immediate, as humankinds relationship with God was shattered.  The fruit of death continued to grow, in their relationship with each other, within their own minds and bodies, and within creation itself.  Our sin - the way we mistreat other people, ourselves and creation - bears the fruit of death.   As the catechism puts it 

Sin... results in our death and the disintegration of all creation.

It is important to recognise the harm we are causing as a fruit of sin.  Knowing this shows us we need a Saviour to fully and completely deal with the issues we face in our relationships, minds, bodies and creation.  All other solutions may work for a time, but they are sticking plasters.

• Our hearts are idol factories

So said John Calvin, and it is true.  We were made to worship.  Our hearts latch on to something, anything to worship. We worship idols, when we take a good thing and say it is the best thing.  On the Sunday we looked at Q17, we paraphrased CS Lewis, saying we often settle for less than the best.  We play in a puddle at the car park, instead of going over the hill to the beach.    That is a vivid picture of idolatry. Idolatry is a specific sin.  It is breaking the first commandment.  In one way it lies at the bottom of all sins.  In another, it is something we can 'get away with'.  If I am making an idol of my work, and am driven to succeed, it looks OK.  People may even commend my work ethic.  It surely isn't as bad a sin as murder is it?    But when I make an idol out of work, I trust the money I earn for my security, not God.  That is sin.  And sin is serious.  All sin. It is a painful, but rewarding to expose the idols of our hearts.  We need to do so, to repent and place our trust in the one true God.  Can I encourage you to take some time, and consider the X-Ray questions, given here as a method of examining your heart.