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The Gravity of Sin

Right now I am reading a book title The Crucifixion by Fleming Rutledge and I cannot recommend it enough. One thing that has stood out to me has been the way she unflinchingly stares right into the darkness of sin. I have never read a book that so plainly, thoroughly and expertly examined the true horror of sin. 

One of the main quotes she uses is from St. Anselm of Canterbury, who lived from around AD 1033 - 1109. Anselm, in his work Cur Deo Homo or The God Man, says "You have not yet considered the gravity of sin." It is a work concerning the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. In the book Anselm is writing as if he is having a dialogue with a student named Boso (not a comment on his intelligence but just a name in those days). Boso tends to ask questions which Anselm then answers, and this is his answer to one of Boso's questions concerning why Jesus needed to suffer as he did.

I think this is especially true today. We haven't truly considered the gravity of sin. We aren't aware of how utterly broken we are and how enslaved we truly are to sin and death.

The old school way of sharing the Gospel with people was to first try to get them to realize that they are a sinner and need a savior. We would go around and essentially try to get people to see their own sinfulness, which was ironic because we very often don't see our own. The problem with this approach is that I just don't think it works. Someone who is the dark cannot see the true extent of the darkness. It takes shining a light.

It is when we consider Jesus that we can begin to comprehend the gravity of sin. When we look and see what the forgiveness of sins cost our Lord, then we begin to see just how big a deal sin is. It is only by coming to know Jesus that we can really come to know ourselves and our own condition. It is only then that we can begin to consider the gravity of sin.

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