The Orthodox Christian view of sin - by Mike Ratliff

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Mr. Ratliff will tell us that either you believe in Original Sin or you believe in no sin at all. But there's more than two alternatives. 

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1 In the beginning was that Word, and that Word was with God, and that Word was God.
2 This same was in the beginning with God.
3 ,All things were made by it, and without it was made nothing that was made.
4 In it was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 And that light shineth in the wilderness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. John 1:1-5 (1599 Geneva Bible)

Those who have a problem with the Doctrine of Original Sin and the Wrath of God against all sin attempt to paint the God of Reformation Theology as some sort of ogre full of anger with very little love manifest except in the case of a chosen few. (Everyone who disagrees with his theology does this?)

In their examples of how God operates in saving people, sin is never the issue. (Everyone who disagrees with the author minimizes sin?)

They portray God as loving everyone to the maximum and even if their sin amounted to open rebellion against Him on their part. (Everyone who rejects Original Sin believes this?)

In their theology He just looks the other way and attempts to save everyone, but the point of contention is that the God in their example is unable to save anyone. The salvation of people is only made a possibility with those actually being saved being those who hear the Gospel and respond by exercising their “sovereign free will.” (?? We were on the topic of Original Sin, but now we seem to be talking about the Calvinistic "irresistible grace." Why? We don't know.)

On the other hand, the God of the Bible is not anything like this. (Well, we certainly agree that God rejects the unrighteous. But as far as the connection to free will, it is a mystery how Mr. Ratliff makes this connection.)

He is Sovereign. (Mr. Ratliff will not define this word.)

He saves those whom He has elected or chosen unto eternal life. (This is straight up Calvinism, presented as an absolute, but Mr. Ratliff does not connect it to his idea of God's sovereignty.)

No one limits Him in any way. Man’s will is in no way a barrier to God fulfilling His will. From these two vastly different understandings of theology comes two very different understandings of sin. Let’s look at a biblical view of sin (Before, Mr. Ratliff described his view of God as the "God of Reformation Theology," which is an honest assessment, but now he says he will describe the "biblical view of sin" and not the Reformation view of sin.)

and I invite you to compare your own understanding of it to what we unpack here. If your’s (sic) is different, I suggest to you that the Bible is not in error. (Surprising arrogance. Mr. Ratliff's view is the "biblical view," and if you believe something different, well, you're wrong.)

5 This then is the message, which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness. 1 John 1:5 (1599 Geneva Bible)

5 Καὶ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ ἀγγελία ἣν ἀκηκόαμεν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς φῶς ἐστιν καὶ σκοτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεμία. (1 John 1:5 NA28) (Mr. Ratliff has a penchant for quoting the Greek as if it's somehow helpful. It's not.)

5 And this is the message we have heard from Him and we proclaim to you, that God is light and there is not any darkness in Him at all. 1 John 1:5 (translated from the NA28 Greek text to English)

What did John and the other apostles preach? Did they preach what the people wanted to hear? Did they preach a message that was designed to reach a changing culture? Did they alter their message to reach the next age group? No, they preached the ἀγγελία (message) they ἀκηκόαμεν (had heard) from God, not men (Galatians 1:12). Isn’t this the difference between man-centered religiosity and true God-centered preaching? You know the answer to that one. I would really like to hear someone try to justify their rejection of God’s truth to go after the man-centered, feel-good message of the day after they read this. What is the message that ἀναγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν (they proclaim to you)? John proclaimed, “ὁ θεὸς φῶς ἐστιν καὶ σκοτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεμία” or “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all!”

That sounds profound, but what does it mean? In Sacred Scripture, light and darkness are symbolic both intellectually and morally. Intellectually, light refers to biblical truth, while darkness refers to error or falsehood (Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 6:23; John 1:4; 8:12). Morally, light refers to holiness or purity, while darkness refers to sin or wrongdoing (Romans 13:11-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-7). (Mr. Ratliff neglects the revelatory nature of light [2Co. 4:6, Ep. 1:18].)

All those with a wrong view of sin and the nature of God toward it claim to be the truly enlightened ones, walking in the real light, however, since they reject the seriousness of sin, they prove they are walking in darkness so, in this, they have denied their Christian authenticity. (Mr. Ratliff persists in a binary view of the issue, that anyone who rejects Original Sin must reject sin entirely.)

They do not recognize their sin. In God is no darkness at all. With this doctrinal phrase, John forcefully affirms that God is absolutely perfect and nothing exists in God’s character that impinges upon His truth and holiness (James 1:17).

(...) (We deleted a large section of largely correct and accurate explanation)

10 If we say, we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not: and if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just.
2 And he is the reconciliation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 1:10 – 2:2 (1599 Geneva Bible)

My brethren, carefully read this passage. Are you in Christ? Notice that John insists that we all sin, but then he says he is writing these things that we “may not sin.” However, we all do and we do have an advocate with the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ. This is awesome my brethren. Jesus Christ is our defense attorney before God. (No, He's not. There is no courtroom scene in heaven. There is no presumption of innocence, no jury, no evidence presented, no pronouncement of guilt or innocence. Jesus does not enter the court room and substitute Himself for punishment.

There's no Bible verse which suggests such a scene, which is probably why Mr. Ratliff does not document his assertion. We will do his work for him:

1Jn. 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (NIV)

This is a truly awful translation which is probably due to pre-conceived Calvinistic doctrines by the translators of the NIV. The literal translation is, 

and if anyone [should sin], [an advocate] with the father [we have] Jesus Christ, [the righteous one].

[The brackets denote single Greek words. The underlined words in the NIV quoted above are not in the Greek text.] So we clearly see the doctrinal bias in the added words inserted by the translators.

Advocate" is parakletos, which means helper, comforter, one who comes along side. Not an attorney.

Mr. Ratliff does not mention this verse, nor does he include the Greek as he usually does, but it's clearly where his doctrine is derived.)

Satan is the prosecutor who accuses us before God continually, (Again, no verse documenting this claim. We shall continue with our help to Mr. Ratliff. Here's where he gets this idea: 

Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night."

"Accuses" is katégoreó, of an extra-judicial accusation (Xenophon, mem. 1, 3, 4): absolutely, Romans 2:15; τίνος, John 5:45 (cf. Buttmann, 295 (254)); Revelation 12:10 R G Tr: solecistically τινα, Revelation 12:10. 

Satan's accusations are not a court proceeding. He's not a prosecutor, he supplies no role in the justice of God whatsoever. In fact, the judgment is already rendered:

Jn. 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already...

This is the answer to Mr. Ratliff's false binary equation. Because of Adam's sin we inherited death. Original Death is our condition, until Jesus brings us life.

The Bible says no one is bringing charges against us:

Ro. 8:33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

Further, we find in Revelation at the end of time, on the Last Day, that Satan has already been cast into the lake of fire (Re. 20:10) prior to the Great White Throne scene:

Re. 20:10-11 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it...

Therefore, there will be no accuser at the Great White Throne judgment either. Conclusion: Satan cannot bring charge against us, because there is no courtroom with Satan accusing.)

but Christ’s high priestly ministry guarantees not only sympathy, but also acquittal (Hebrews 4:14:-16). (We never have appeared in a court proceeding, for which we were acquitted of charges. It hasn't happened. Jesus spilled His blood for us, and the blood is completely effective to wash us of all sin. 

It's a sacrificial proceeding, not a legal one.)

I think it is foolish to set a goal to be sinless. (John would disagree: 

1Jn. 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.

(...)

Is sin that costly that death is the result? Yes, look at the Cross. That is why our Lord went to the Cross to be that perfect sacrifice to redeem a people for Himself. (What happened to the imagined courtroom scene? Here Mr. Ratliff gets it correct.)

These people, however, were sinful people and that death on the cross was the payment for their sin, (Jesus' death was not a payment for sin. There is no Bible verse that says this. He paid for us: 

1Co. 7:23 You were bought at a price...)

therefore, if I am to live in the light as Jesus is in the light, can I also play around with sin like its nothing? Not on your life! John made that very clear in these passages. We have to learn to live in this life in the light and stay out of the darkness by the grace of God, not by the works of the Law.

16 Then I say, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary one to another, so that ye cannot do the same things that ye would.
18 And if ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the Law.
19 Moreover the works of the flesh are manifest, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, wantonness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, debate, emulations, wrath, contentions, seditions, heresies,
21 Envy, murders, drunkenness, gluttony, and such like, whereof I tell you before, as I also have told you before, that they which do such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperancy: against such there is no law.
24 For they that are Christ’s, have crucified the flesh with the affections and the lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:16-26 (1599 Geneva Bible)

1 I Beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye give up your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable serving of God.
2 And fashion not yourselves like unto this world, but be ye changed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God is. Romans 12:1-2 (1599 Geneva Bible)

Soli Deo Gloria!