Sin and the Glory of God by William Temple

Leviticus 9:1-24

We tend to think of sin as consisting of acts which are done in defiance of conscience or are, whether we know it or not, contrary to God's command. Some people even say that so long as man follows his conscience he cannot be committing sin. (The theologian would say that he is certainly not committing "formal sin" but he may be committing "material sin.") Certainly a man should follow his conscience; but that is not the whole of his duty. Still more important is it to enlighten conscience itself, lest "the light in you is darkness" (Matthew 6:23). The greatest crimes in history have been perpetrated at the bidding of conscience - such as the Spanish Inquisition. The disciples were warned to expect a time when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God (John 16:2). A sin committed against the light is more wicked than another; the man who does it is more guilty. But sin is something much wider and deeper than guilt. Everything which is other than God would have it be is sin. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23); that is the definition of sin - to fall short of the glory of God! It is not enough that we should be as good as the people about us; nothing is enough except that we should be as good as God - "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). But we shall not set ourselves that standard, to say nothing of attaining it, if we are left to our own resources. And we do not know what the perfection of God is until we have seen it in Christ. Unless we believe on him we are bound to be wrong in our whole idea about sin; for apart from that faith we have neither the stimulus nor the capacity to frame the true standard.