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Religion

2012-06-05 09:45:44

Sins: big and little

Q: Which sins are big and which sins are little? Which sins are serious and grave, mortal and deadly (for the soul), and which sins are not so grave or venial? For example, if one person believes that pre-marital sex is not a sin or a small sin, and another person believes it to be a grievous sin: which person is right? If a person really believes something is not a sin or a minor sin, will he/she be held accountable for the sin as if it is a grievous or serious sin?

A: The questioner raises some good questions that many Christians have in the daily struggle with sin and its nature. Now I know some in Christendom have made a differentiation of sin in their doctrine like the Catholic Church with venial (forgivable) and mortal (acts that send a person to Hell) sins. But protestant churches don’t make such differentiation. Scripture sees sin as offenses against God and His law. David when he sinned, he saw his failure against God in Psalm 51:4 and His law in Deuteronomy 9:7. The Apostle James debunks that idea of big and little sins when he puts all sin on the same level when he says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”{2:10} Now it seems in the question today the standard is set by people and through their own wisdom, they measure what’s right and wrong by their feelings and standards. The problem with that is, man is sinful by nature {Jeremiah 17:9} or flawed with an inner pollution that wants to go against God’s way. {Romans 3:10-12} If you want to define sin, look at the middle letter. Right: it is “I.” Man sings along with the great American theologian Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way,” and not God’s. That is why from time to time good people turn bad and call things God calls wrong or sin, man declares them right or good. It may seem practical like sleeping together or living together before marriage, but is it right? {1 Corinthians 7:36; Exodus 20:14} When a person uses his or her feelings as the compass, they put themselves in grave danger and create a whole ocean of pain and suffering. How many homes and marriages have been destroyed by betrayal legitimized by “I don’t feel like I love them anymore,” or one day a person realizes they have more feelings for a co-worker than their spouse? That is why sin is a violation of God’s righteous character. Not what we think or what our government leaders think or say, but it is a violation to God’s standard of perfection. It is ignoring and violating His standard. It is missing the mark as if we are shooting an arrow at a target and miss it. Sin is going beyond the limits of what God says is good and right. It is the choosing deliberately to go against what God says because it feels good or it’s what I think is right, practical and reasonable. One of the influential men of our state in history was Psychiatrist Karl Menninger. He saw the maladies and problems in many patients’ lives were due to the lack of understanding sin and guilt. In fact back in 1973 he wrote a book entitled, “Whatever Became of Sin?” and asked the question because it was and still is hurting America. The whole idea of sin had dropped off society’s radar. It is killing individuals, families and society. Today we call adultery an affair, homosexuality a preference and abortion a right. But the question everyone will have to answer is, “What does God say about it?” His standard is the only one that matters now and in the end. {Revelation 20:11-15} God takes sin seriously and the consequences of sin make us lost, blind, fools, dead, enslaved and helpless. These are just some of the descriptions God gives in the Bible. Sin needs to taken seriously. You see, this is life, not “Comedy Central” or “Lettermen” where we can laugh at sin making it cute. Some reading this don’t believe we have a sinful nature but I ask you, what is your first reaction when you go by a sign reading “wet paint?” Why does a child bite another child or take a toy from another? Do we have to teach temper tantrums? Why do we have to lock cars in parking lots? It’s more than education because some of the brightest have bilked others from millions. Or developed perfect crimes? Cheated to get a degree! Now if you sin the bible says you have an advocate or attorney who goes before the Judge, Almighty God who knows our hearts, minds and actions. It is Jesus Christ who paid the debt we owe for our sin and gives us a clean slate to start all over. As long as we live, we will sin due to our nature. But not only are we forgiven but when a person accepts Christ, he or she becomes changed. The Holy Spirit enters into us and will give us the power to conquer our sinful nature and the sins. It is a constant battle internally {Romans 8:14-20}. There is also a battle from outside of us as described in Ephesians 6:10-17. The devil prowls like a lion trying to trip us up. (1Peter 5:8) But the promise is that no temptation can own us because God knows what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13) and provides an escape from it. Be aware of sin’s ability to take us down. {10:12} But we can win because God’s power is in us {1 John 4:4} if we use it. If we stumble we can be forgiven {1 John 1:9} because of our advocate {2:2}. Let us walk together in the victory of Christ over sin! Pastor Dave