On The True Horror of Sin
The Being Liberal’s caption said, “If the picture on the left shocks you
more than the one on the right, you need to revise your views on
immorality.” The picture on the left
showed two young men in an intimate embrace.
The picture on the right showed two starving children.
There
Are Degrees of Sin.
To be sure, there are degrees of sin, and some sin is more
heinous, more horrible than others.
Nevertheless, have we completely forgotten what Christianity is all
about?
“But if you have [biased]
respect for persons, you commit sin, and are convinced of the law as
transgressors. For whoever shall keep
the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all. For He Who said, “Do not commit adultery,”
also said, “Do not kill.” Now if you do not
commit adultery, and yet you kill, you are become a transgressor of the law.” —
James 2:9-11
A wise pastor, preaching on this text from James, once
pointed out that, “The Law is a seamless garment.”[1] It is impossible just to break part of The
Law. In human courts, we assign levels of
guilt and appropriate punishment, we weigh one sin against another. But in God’s court, the only court of last
resort, all sin is worthy of death, and all sin is punished by death.
The Being Liberal’s picture asks us to decide which sin is
more heinous: the sin of homosexual perversion or the sin of oppression of the
poor. However, that is only the surface
question. The real demonic question asks
us to be the judges of sin, to set ourselves up as self-righteous judges of
that which is moral or immoral.
Satan, in posing this question, invites us to believe, that
we are not as bad as all that. Surely,
we are good and nice Christian people and our sins are not as wicked or heinous
as the sin of homosexual perversion; our sins are not as wicked or heinous as
the sin of oppression of the poor.
Consequently, we think we have the God given right to decide which sin
is worse.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends
thereof are the ways of death.” — Proverbs 14:12
Being Liberal would have us become judges of morality. In becoming judges of morality, we arrogantly
make ourselves into judges of The Law.
There are degrees of sin: none of these are ours to decide. In becoming judges of The Law, we commit
ourselves to a path that leads only to Hell.
Our
Business is Forgiveness.
In the process of deciding this case, we are tempted into
the trap of believing that one of these acts, being more sinfully heinous to
the eyes of corrupt flesh, might not even be sinful at all, and ought to be
excused.
Of course, as soon as we excuse a thing, we have forfeited
the right to forgive the thing. The one
thing The Church must do, is show the path to repentance and forgiveness of
sin. Yet, this is the very thing that
many so-called churches are forfeiting.
Such groups have completely forgotten what Christianity is about.
To be sure, James also warns us against the perversion of
singling out any one sin for special emphasis.
All sin breaks The Law of God. It
is just as bad to overemphasize the sin of homosexual perversion, as it is to
excuse it. It is just as bad to
overemphasize the sin of oppression of the poor, as it is to excuse it. Yet here we are.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends
thereof are the ways of death.” — Proverbs 14:12
In denying forgiveness to sinners, we commit ourselves to a
path that leads only to Hell.
All
Sin is Horrifying.
As far as social evils are involved, the sin of Debt Slavery
is of far greater concern that the sin of homosexual perversion. One need not go far to prove that nearly all
of the social evils that grip our society are driven by Debt Slavery. The idea that some petty tyrant, who fancies
himself a great emperor, and thus has the power to starve innocent children to
death, is horrifying. The idea that the
Sacrament of Marriage may be freely trampled underfoot may be a lesser social
evil, but it is no less horrifying.
My
Sin, Our Personal Sin is the Most Abhorrent of All.
Oh the black granite hardness of our darkened, unrepentant
and impenetrable hearts. How can we fail
to see that it is our sin that Christ is after?
How long will we continue to hide behind our false masks of niceness? Do we really believe that the mask will eat
the face, and we will thus become truly nice people? Do we not realize that the day will come when
Christ rips the masks from our faces, and exposes the rotten stinking horror of
what we really are? Have we really
ceased to Abhor all sin?
“The transgression of the wicked tells my heart, [that
there is] no fear of God before his eyes.
He flatters himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity is found to be despicable. The words of his mouth [are] iniquity and
deceit. He has left off being wise,
[and] doing good. He devises mischief on
his bed. He sets himself in a way [that
is] not good. He does not abhor evil.” —
Psalms 36:1-4
In becoming judges of The Law and sin, we cease to see our
own sins as utterly horrifying; we cease to abhor evil.”
The
Law of God is Precious.
Many people who want to think of themselves as Christians
have forgotten that The Law of God is a precious, delicate, cut-glass goblet
filled with Christ’s blood. The least of
unrepented, unforgiven, and un-absolved sin shatters the whole goblet for us
and spills the blood of Christ on the ground.
Shall we continue to live lives where all sin is not abhorrent to
us? Do we really want to hear that final
verdict?
“I never knew you?” — Matthew 7:21-23
Do we really wish to drink the dregs of God’s cup?
“For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the
wine is red. It is fully mixed; and He
pours out of the same. But, the dregs
thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.” — Psalm
75:8
The same cup is the cup of life and the cup of death. For the judges of The Law it is the cup of
death.
Christ
Alone is the Judge of All.
It is not our place to choose. It is not our morality to decide. Christ is the judge and punisher of all such
things. Christ alone knows the depths of
the heart. Our job is to proclaim Christ
Crucified, and Christ Risen from the dead, as the only cure for sin. Our job is to proclaim faith, repentance,
confession, forgiveness, absolution, and restoration to fellowship. Our job is to obey the Law of God. Our job is to hate and forsake out own sins,
whatever they are.
Our
Warfare is Against the Sins of Our Own Hearts.
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” — Ephesians 6:12
Our warfare is spiritual, not physical. The root sin of both homosexual perversion
and oppression of the poor is not the reprehensible fleshly acts; but the
demonic sin behind them. Satan wants us
to believe and act as though God has not spoken clearly to these issues. Satan wants us to doubt and disobey the
authority of God’s Word. Satan wants to
disarm us and make us powerless. Satan succeeds
whenever he gets us to question God’s absolute authority and the authority of
God’s Word.
“Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the
flesh. The weapons of our warfare are
not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting
down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ. So we are ready to avenge all
disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” — 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Satan is a defeated foe.
He cannot overcome the power of God with his cheap tricks. He cannot escape the punishment due him.
“Then He shall say to them on the left hand, Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels.” — Matthew 25:41
That’s right. Hell
was created for Satan and his demons, not for man: but we can and will follow
him there.
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire.” — Revelation 20:15
As soon as we lose sight of the horror of our own sins, we
cease to abhor evil, and we set ourselves on the inevitable path to Hell.
Surely,
That Can’t be True.
“Hath God said?” — Genesis 3:1
Absolutely! God has
spoken. We just refuse to admit that He
has complete authority over our lives.
We simply refuse to obey.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know
my thoughts. See if [there is any] wicked way in me, and lead
me in the everlasting way. — Psalm 139:23-24
“The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but
prophesy?” — Amos 3:8
Which
Way are You Going?
Are you walking the way of eternal life in full obedience to Jesus
Christ, in full abhorrence of your own sin, in assurance of the resurrection
from the dead? Or have you become a
judge of The Law, walking the way of certain death?
Being Liberal wants us to walk the way of certain death.
