The Problem was “Sin,” Not “Sins.”
In his 1996 song “That’s the Point,” Charlie Peacock sings, “Sin is a sickness, not just a thing you do from time to time,” and “Sin is a cancer, not just a thing you do from time to time.” These lines remind us that there’s an important difference between the overall condition of sin—like a deep-seated sickness or cancer—and the specific acts of sin that people commit from time to time.
In the New Testament, two main words are translated as “sin.” One is the verb hamartano, which means “to miss the mark” when referring to specific sinful actions. The other is the noun hamartia, which also means “to miss the mark” but describes the inner state or condition of sin—an ongoing problem rather than just isolated missteps. (Hamartia can even refer to a controlling principle or power, but that’s a discussion for another time.)
A key point is that the Apostle Paul uses these two words very differently. In all of his letters, Paul uses hamartano (the idea of committing a sinful act) only 14 times, compared to 55 times for hamartia (the underlying sin condition). In the book of Romans, this difference is even clearer—Paul uses hamartano just 6 times but hamartia 39 times. This shows that, especially in Romans, Paul is mainly talking about the condition of sin in people rather than just the occasional sinful behavior.
In a recent series I wrote called “Christ Is the End of the Law,” I looked at Paul’s words in Romans 5 and 7. There, he speaks of “sinful passions which were aroused by the law” and says that sin “abounded” when the law came into effect. At first, this might seem to suggest that the law caused more sin or increased sinful desires. However, a closer look reveals that Paul was not referring to sinful acts at all.
The term “passions” in this context actually means hardships or pain—not an increased desire to sin. Moreover, the word “aroused” was added by translators. A better way to understand the phrase might be “the affliction of sin that came with the law.” What Paul is saying is that the sin condition already existed before the law; the law simply made it clear to everyone by defining what sin is. In other words, the law didn’t create more sinful actions—it exposed the underlying sin condition that was always present.
To sum up, when Paul talks about sin “abounding” or being “aroused” by the law, he isn’t talking about individual sinful acts. He is referring to the deep-rooted sin condition within all people—a condition that is like a sickness or cancer. While sinful behavior shows that this condition exists, it is only a symptom of the real problem. Just as someone might have signs of cancer without understanding the disease itself, a person’s sinful actions only reveal the deeper issue at hand.
The purpose of the law was to make this sin condition visible and to hold everyone accountable—from Adam to the very last person. Once the law had done its job of exposing the sin condition, it no longer needed to continue in the same way. It was, in effect, “nailed to the cross,” making way for the ministry of Jesus Christ—the ministry of life.
As Galatians 3:22 puts it, “But the Scripture has confined all under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
with reference to a similar article from www.eccincanada.com