No matter how much effort we invest, sin and its accompanying evil will remain unexplainable. Why? Because of the lies and the deceits. Inherent in sin is the denial of truth. We cover up our unwholesome motives and violent acts against others with a veneer of goodness. We sugarcoat our garbage. Everyone has a stake in hiding the truth of sin. This makes uncovering the mystery of how sin works difficult, because wherever and whenever we dig, lies rush in to fill the hole. Lying frustrates the process of reasonable conversation and thinking. More than this, sinful activity is at bottom both self-destructive and world-destructive.

We are born into the state of sin, even though we do not commit actual sins until after we arrive. But these moderns redefinition do not really erase our problem. Now the question arises again. If I am born into a sinful state, how can I personally be responsible for that state? Why am I in need of salvation?