Every one of our sinful actions has a suicidal power on the faculties that put that action forth. When you sin with the mind, that sin shrivels the rationality. When you sin with the heart or the emotions, that sin shrivels the emotions. When you sin with the will, that sin destroys and dissolves your willpower and your self-control. Sin is the suicidal action of the self against itself. Sin destroys freedom because sin is an enslaving power.
Interpretation
Sin has a destructive impact on our mental, emotional, and willpower faculties, ultimately leading to a loss of freedom.
In this quote, Timothy Keller discusses how engaging in sinful actions negatively affects various aspects of our being. He argues that when we sin mentally, emotionally, or through our will, we diminish rationality, emotions, and self-control, respectively. Therefore, Keller portrays sin not merely as a moral failing but as a self-destructive act that leads to spiritual and emotional enslavement, stripping individuals of their freedom and agency.
In practice
During a discussion about morality, one might quote this to emphasize the consequences of actions.
Falling in love in a Christian way is to say,'I am excited about your future and I want to be part of getting you there. I'm signing up for the journey with you. Would you sign up for the journey to my true self with me? It's going to be hard but I want to get there.
Only in Jesus Christ do we see how the untamable, infinite God can become a baby and a loving Savior. On the cross we see how both the love and the holiness of God can be fulfilled at once.
All human problems are ultimately symptoms, and our separation from God is the cause.
While your character flaws may have created mild problems for other people, they will create major problems for your spouse and your marriage.
To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.
God's Kingdom is "present in its beginnings, but still future in its fullness. This guards us from an under-realized eschatology (expecting no change now) and an over-realized eschatology (expecting all change now). In this stage, we embrace the reality that while we're not yet what we will be, we're also no longer what we used to be.
Retire at various times into the solitude of your own heart, even while outwardly engaged in discussions or transactions with others, and talk to God.
The Law of Raspberry Jam: the wider any culture is spread, the thinner it gets.
Whatever the misery, he could not regain contentment with a world which, once doubted, became absurd.
For a long time, I have been making many predictions, far in advance, of events since come to pass, naming the particular locality. I acknowledge all to have been accomplished through divine power and inspiration.
Hypocrisy is a fashionable vice, and all fashionable vices pass for virtue.
You do not explain the tree by telling of the water it has drunk, the minerals it has absorbed, and the sunlight that strengthened it.
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