SIN is the spiritual disease..... It is all those things Piper mentioned. It is self-centeredness, self-worship, self-deification. It is a SICK, TWISTED, BENT quality that is part of our new, fallen, "human" nature (that's not TRULY human at all). It is part of who we are from conception.
SINS are the symptoms, the consequence of SIN. If I had a cold (a disease), I'd likely (occasionally anyway) cough, sneeze, etc. - those are SYMPTOMS of the disease. There are symptoms of sin of thoughts/will, word, deeds. Of things done and left undone. Intentionally, knowingly, willfullfully..... or unintentionally, unknowningly, very much oppossed to our will: Makes no difference whether I sneeze willingly or not. Makes no difference if I'm aware my nose is running or not. I still have a cold. And likely, symptoms will be present. But let's say I have a lot of self-control (or perhaps just take a handfull of powerful drugs!) and the symptoms entirely disappear. Do I still have a cold? Yup. Same with sin and sins. This is why it is VERY dangerous to confuse symptoms with disease as the Pharisees did (and a lot of Christians still do), it can lead one to OPINION that THEY are well when they are terminally sick.
Lord, have MERCY.
- Josiah