Heavenly Father, I come before you on bended knees as your child saying thank you this morning. Father I thank you for allowing us to see another day, I thank you for choosing me as your son and you being my Father. Father I ask that you renew a clean heart in me as well as those who love you. I pray Father that you instill in us the heart to forgive those who trespass against us. I pray oh God, that you bless this day, and that I will be a light and a blessing in someone’s life. I pray a blessing on all who reads this message and a blessing on the readers or doers of your word. Father, I pray that in all that we do and say, that you get the glory Father. All that we have are because of your grace and mercy towards us, so I thank you this morning Father. And Father, I pray that any sin committed, that you have mercy and forgive us for it. You deserve all honor, glory, and praise and I pray these in Jesus name, Amen.
People today, meaning in today’s society has made a grave error. The error they have made is dividing sin into different categories. In one category are the small sins that are seemingly innocent and really, in our eyes, hurt no one. In the other category are the sins that they consider to be big that do the most damage and are the most noticeable. This is something that we all have a tendency to do. However, this is dangerous in attributing this type of mentality to ourselves. When we think that there are some sins that are worse in God’s eyes than others, we begin to categorize ourselves as good and others as bad based on the perceived seriousness of one’s sins.
This can be attributed to how our law is set up. The crimes that are committed ranges from misdemeanors, and you have different classes such as class a, b, etc; to felonies which are have different classes such as class a, b, etc. The law is set up to determine the level of punishment due to one who has committed a crime based on these levels. As a society we have accepted this. However, this is a secular view, which has no bases on our faith walk. Suppose I was to share that we commit sins that God hates, and these sins in a secular view are not illegal. What would we do with that information? It seems we are more willing to obey secular law because we will physically be put in jail, than obey the word of God, because we do not see any immediate judgments. Oh, how wrong can we be with such thinking.
Anyone who reads the bible, or even take the time to look at nature or how our bodies are created, can see how God’s love is manifested. However there are things that are detestable to God. The bible states these things in Proverbs 6. It states “These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.” (Pr 6:16-19) We would be a liar if we have not partaken in at least one of them. I am sad to admit this, but I know of family members who have and may even now have continually engaged in six of these.
As there are consequences when we violate society’s law, so are there when we continually and willfully violate God’s word. The bible states “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1Co 6:9-10) So we know that people who willfully engage in this behavior will not see the kingdom of God. If you notice, only two of these are parallel with society’s law which base on the seriousness, can land someone in jail. The rest are behavioral, and yet God is clear where they will not be. So where would they be? The bible states "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Rev 21:8) Am I to understand that immoral behavior is worth what awaits?
The reality is that sin is not serious because of what the sin is, it is serious because of whom it is against. We are sinning against the One who can dispatch angels to assist us during of peril. We are sinning against the One who can create a hedge of protection around us and our families. Most importantly, we are sinning against the One who can place us in heaven or hell. What we have to understand is sin is of the devil. The devil and his demons are not only present when we sin, they are present when we don’t hoping that we can give them the opportunity for them to take control of us so we can continue to sin. So how can we fight back? We can repent, deny ourselves, and follow Christ. We can look unto Jesus for help. We can change the way we think, and mirror it according to the will of God. We can learn to allow the Holy Spirit to convict us. We can learn how to resist the devil and tell him to flee. In my opinion, I think many would refrain from sinful behaviors if they remove certain company from amongst them.
Family, sin is serious. We need to get away from the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality and change how we view sin. We need to stop dividing sin into different categories based on its perceived seriousness. All sin is the same in that it is against a righteous God. Romans 3:23 tells us that everyone sins and comes short of God’s standard. Regardless of what that sin is, the result is the same. It results in missing the mark. “Sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign God. Let’s try and do better together. Amen.
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