Sin has many biblical words and dimensions. A basic Bible dictionary identifies them. But basically sin is seductive. It seduces people to forget about Jesus and to forsake his way of new, full life. When they are seduced, sin enslaves them. In bondage to it, they are slowly, inevitably destroyed: their relationships, their integrity, their sense of meaning and self-worth, their joy and delight in life. Satan seduces people in order to devastate them and undercut Christ.
A native of Paterson, NJ and the son and grandson of pastors in the Christian Reformed Church, James Allan De Jong graduated from Calvin College (1963), Calvin Theological Seminary (1966), and earned a Th.D. from the Free University of Amsterdam in 1970. He was ordained in 1970 and taught at Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL and later Dordt College, Sioux Center, IA. An author and editor, he specializes in church history, particularly the history of Reformed theology and the history of missions.
