Why Sin Matters: The Surprising Relationship Between Our Sin and God's Grace Mark R. McMinn Tyndale, 192 pp., $17.99 |
Mark McMinn, a clinical psychologist and professor at Wheaton College in Illinois, admits he's spent a good deal of his adult life trying to understand grace. Insight came as he read Henri J.M. Nouwen's Return of the Prodigal Son and eventually stood in front of Rembrandt's painting of the same name.
"The father's lavish mercy could not be understood without the story of the son's outlandish rebellion and rejection of the father," McMinn writes, adding later that "Sin and grace are part of the same story, and if we leave out either part, we end up with a shallow, life-draining theology."
Sin matters because "the language of sin is the way we shed the armor of prideful self-defense."
Changing our disordered passions—our sinfulness—is a lifelong calling, not a quick fix. Gently, through personal stories that are by turns humorous and poignant, McMinn reminds us that, "God knows every darkened corner of our existence, every rebellious thought, every distorted passion, every insecurity … and still God chooses to reach out with forgiveness and grace."
Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.
Annual & Monthly subscriptions available.
- Print & Digital Issues of CT magazine
- Complete access to every article on ChristianityToday.com
- Unlimited access to 65+ years of CT’s online archives
- Member-only special issues
- Learn more
More from this Issue
Read These Next
- TrendingAmerican Christians Should Stand with Israel under AttackWhile we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
- From the MagazineThe Evil Ideas Behind October 7The Hamas attacks in Israel have a grotesque ideological history and deserve unflinching moral judgment.Português
- Editor's PickA Theologian’s Vision of ‘Peasant’ Politics Is Surprisingly Lordly in ScopeEphraim Radner’s “narrow” concern for protecting the mundane goods of earthly life isn’t so narrow after all.