Confession of Faith

The General MB Conference Board of Faith and Life has been in the process of revising the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith since 1993. BFL has completed a draft and is now in the process of gathering feedback. BFL invites your participation in this important process. This is the third in a series of reports that will focus on several of the new or most significantly revised articles. The full draft has been sent to every North American MB congregation. Additional copies are available through the internet.

Article 4
EVIL AND SIN

We believe that sin is the defiant opposition to God, the rejection of God's good purposes for humanity and the created order. Satan is the adversary, leading the rebellion against God and deceiving humankind. Sin can be either active or passive. The Bible describes sin as alienation, idolatry, law-breaking, waywardness, unrighteousness, ungodliness, injustice, and the like.

Sin is the evil force that rules all humanity and the created order. In seeking to be like God, Adam and Eve unleashed sin's power in the world. Sin produced physical and spiritual death. Subsequently, all humans submit to sin's domination and are unable to overcome its power.

Seeking freedom, individuals turn against God and find themselves enslaved by sin. Bent on satisfying their own desires, people attempt to live as if they were God. As a result, they have marred the image of God with which they were created and live in alienation from God and creation.

Although humans commit sins of word, deed, thought, and attitude, sin goes beyond individual guilt. Evil is individual, corporate, and cosmic. Principalities and powers seek to establish a system independent of and in rebellion against God. Humans sin corporately by participating in the evil systems of the world.

Though Jesus entered a world ruled by sin, he chose not to submit to its evil power, resisting sin's appeal. By his obedience Christ reversed Adam's curse, demonstrated God's saving power, and overcame death with life.

Gen 3; Ps 14; 36:1-4; 52:1-7; 58; 82; Is 5:7-23; 53:6; Amos 1-2; Rom 1-8; Eph 2:8-9

This article makes several points about sin. First, humans are responsible. Even though we are slaves to sin, Christ's example demonstrates that sin can be resisted. We can't dodge responsibility by claiming "The devil made me do it."

Second, the power of evil is demonstrated in two arenas. On the one hand, every human sinful act is a sin. We sin by what we do, what we say and what we think. We sin both by doing evil and by neglecting good. On the other hand, the "principalities and powers" work within human institutions, often for evil. Even when individuals would prefer to do what is just, the systems often harm innocent victims. An example is the problem of world starvation. Even though food production is sufficient to feed the world, political and economic factors inhibit adequate food distribution. Sin is both individual and corporate.

Third, sin's enslaving power demands divine emancipation. It is not enough for our sins to be forgiven. God must set us free from the strong tendency to continue in evil patterns. We need to be freed from sin's power. This hope is explored further in Article 5 on Salvation.

Questions to consider:

1. Does the article adequately define the nature of sin? Are the relationship of sin and evil clear? Do we agree that the Bible teaches that sin functions as an evil force in society?

2. Does the article clearly express the corporate nature of sin? Do we agree that evil systems in the world enlist human participation?

3. Can we confess that Jesus was tempted by sin but reversed sin's power through his obedience to God?

4. Do you suggest specific Scriptures that could be used to support this article?