 | Reverend Terry G. Fox is Senior Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church. He is Chairman of the North American Mission Board, member of its Executive Committee and the FamilyNet Broadcast Communications Committee, as well as numerous other subcommittees. He's listed on the Who's Who Among Outstanding Corporate Executives. He is a sought after speaker and has traveled and ministered in many places in the United States, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Rev. Fox and his wife Barbara have three children. You may contact him at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 South Topeka, Wichita, Kansas, 67211; phone (316) 262-1452; or Fax (316) 262-4704. |
Religion
2002-10-01 12:20:00
How does one know how big a sin is?
Question: Which sins are big and which sins are little? How is it determined? For example, if one person believes that pre-marital sex is not a sin or a small sin, and another believes it to a grievous sin . . . who 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? Answer: Maybe we have been in school too long, because most people think their eternal destiny depends on getting "a passing grade"....a grade dependent on the ratio of good-to-bad deeds. Since only the bottom half of a class ever fails the course, you only have to make sure you're above average. I have asked many crowds to raise their hand if they were in the bottom half of the human race morally. No one ever raised his hand.One student said it well: "If God grades on the curve, I'll be a hard man to beat in the Judgement"! This attitude brings people to ask your question: "How many points will THIS sin be worth on the Final?" Christianity differs from other religions in its answer to the question, "How good do I have to be, to be acceptable to God?" At this point other religions tend to become bookkeeping systems for rights-and-wrongs done. But the Christian answer is startling: "PERFECT!!" (Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.") The human race is infected with a rebellious, selfish nature. (All parents discover this quickly.) God will not permit this disease to infect heaven. A changed nature is necessary....but first there is the guilt problem. The penalty for our sins is beyond our ability to pay, so God Himself has come in human form to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He died for us on the cross! Then He rose from the dead, showing God's acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice and His victory over death. Because He was perfect, He could die for others. Because He was Deity, He could die for everyone."God made Him (Jesus) Who had no sin, to be a sin offering for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (II Cor.5:21)If I admit my guilt and accept His forgiveness, and invite Him to invade my heart and rule my life, He will credit me with the righteousness of Christ, implant a "new nature", and assure me of His eternal acceptance and love. The Bible's says it this way: "God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that anyone who trusts in Him would never perish, but would have eternal life." (John 3:16) But, you ask, "What about doing good or bad? Isn't this important"? Certainly. But not as a payoff to earn your way to heaven. That costs more than you can ever pay. "Won't really bad people be punished more than ordinary people?" Surely. And we all agree that sins usually cause suffering in the sinner, as well as in other people around. And some sins have worse consequences than others. But the big "crime" which affects everything else is an attitude toward God that says, "You can be God everywhere else, but I wanna do what I wanna do, so don't try to be God to me." When two or more persons who are trying to be their own gods get together, all sorts of problems occur. Just read the newspaper or watch the TV to see illustrations. Am I ducking your question? Well, let me go on. A person who has received the New Life that Christ gives still is tempted, often lacks wisdom, and is very aware that he/she sins. God's grace is that He begins to make true in practice the perfection He has already given credit for being true. It is unconditional acceptance, just like I have for my children. The process of dealing with evil is lifelong, and as a loving Father, He has high standards for His sons and daughters. Disciplinary action is taken, but the joyous relationship is settled. Christ made it difficult to set up a "ranking of sins". In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, He raised the standards of the 10 Commandments by emphasizing the motives. He said hating was the same as murder, and lustful looking was the same as fornication. Perhaps He meant that the only difference was the "opportunity". And in Matt. 25:31-46, He said that His judging would be on the basis of GOOD acts done or not done; "sins of omission". But in this story, both the good and bad persons asked Him the same question: "When did I do that?" Neither had done these things in relation to getting God's approval. Their true character was displayed by their response to other people's needs. I once had a reclusive, retired neighbor who said that she never sinned any more. "Why, I go for days without seeing anyone, so how could I sin." She defined sin as "harming someone". When Jesus was asked to rank the Commandments, he selected two old Jewish instructions: (1) "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind"....and (2) "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." (Luke 10:27) My retired neighbor seemed to be unfamiliar with either of these, unless "loving" meant "not harming". But practically speaking, the opposite of loving for most of us is not "hating" or "harming", but is "not caring". Sins of omission!So don't try to get away with doing something wrong because it is only a "minor" sin. Any willful sin disturbs your relation with God. When we get married, we do not receive a list of Forbidden Acts, ranked in order of severity. A loving committed relationship is disturbed by ANY ugly act or insulting word. Similarly, those who have committed themselves to Christ must live in a loving relationship. If you are not in that committed relationship, don't play games. Your sins will have their natural costs in this life, and eternity demands much more attention than just trying to minimize your "sin score".
