Typically, we don’t like to talk about sin unless it involves some one else’s sin. That’s way more comfortable than facing our own sin right? I have been guilty of this very thing too, so I am not condemning anyone for it. Ironically, talking about other people’s sin when they aren’t around is actually a sin because more than not it is gossip, hearsay, or judging the absent party’s actions. Even though we like to say “I am not judging” or “we just need to pray for them”. Surely I am not the only one who has done this or experienced this in the church body. Again, I say these things not to condemn you or me, but to expose these things for what they really are…Sin.

What is sin? The definition from the 1828 dictionary bible app defines sin as the voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Here’s my layman’s definition of sin. Sin is anything that goes against the commands of God Almighty & anything that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.

Sin wants to destroy us & others. Sin loves to get a two’fer. What’s a two’fer? Well it’s pronounced two-fur and it’s a made up word by me. So don’t try to look it up because you won’t find it. A two’fer is a sin that enters one person’s life to try destroy them, but also takes another person down in the process. Two points for the devil & zero for the believer. That’s a lie though. The devil just thinks he won. God actually wins in the end because the Bible tells us so. Even when we stumble or walk straight into sin God has a plan to bring us back to Him. God can use the devils schemes against us to humble us, shame satan, & glorify Him.

We can feel like the devil is winning especially if we don’t do the things God tells us to do in the Bible. It involves seeking God first, fleeing from sin, & pursing the things of God. You can’t just turn from sin. You must also turn to something holy which is God. God is the only One who is holy & pure. When we pursue Him we start to do more holy things. It’s the same when we hang out with people who do unholy things we start to do those things too. Go hang out with Jesus…I guarantee your life will start to look more holy than unholy over time. It doesn’t mean you won’t sin or stumble into sin. It just means you will start to be sanctified day by day to look & act more like Jesus.

So back to the s word, we all sin every single day. If you don’t believe that then you haven’t seen the Holy One in all His holiness. When we truly see God we see how holy He is & how unholy we really are. Isaiah 6:5 says it best, “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

That sounds a bit discouraging, BUT here’s the good news…Jesus loves us just as we are right now in all our unholy mess. Yes, even the ugliest and most unholy mess sometimes described as too messy for Jesus by the church is still loved by God. The church doesn’t actually say that, but sometimes our actions do. When I say the church, I am speaking of believers. So that means I am talking about myself too. We (believers) don’t mean to say some sins are too much for Jesus. What we really mean is the weight of sin is too much for us to bear. That’s why we need a Savior. That’s why we all need Jesus. We can’t save or sanctify ourselves. We can’t even reveal sin to ourselves. So, why do we try to play savior to others & point out their sins? That’s not our responsibility. Only Jesus can save & reveal sin that causes a real life change. We can point out sin, but it will likely just cause division & strife if not done in love or the prompting from the Holy Spirit. What would happen if we left that part up to Jesus?

What would happen if we chose to love others where they are even when they are walking in the worst kind of sin imagined? Who are we to judge how big a sin is anyway? I’m pretty sure God is the Judge not us. I know He tells us that we ALL fall short of His glory, so that NONE can boast!!!

Man I don’t know about you, but at times I have been quick to judge & boast to myself about my goodness. How quickly I can forget what God brought me out of & saved me from years ago. How easily I can minimize my sin because it’s not like your sin or it’s more of an “acceptable” sin. I have been guilty of thinking my sins are more like little sins. You know the ones we all struggle with daily like yelling at someone in traffic, screaming at our kids because we are tired, gossiping, eating too much, etc…the sins that are more accepted by others. But when someone sins in a different way that’s not socially acceptable, we can be quick to judge. We all do it in one way or another. We judge others sin even if we don’t mean to. We think a person must not be saved or their relationship with Jesus is not working right because they are actively sinning. We often shun those who struggle & sin differently than we sin even if we don’t say it out loud. Why do we do that? Scripture tells us ALL sin is the same to God. So, why do we see sin in different categories? The so called “little” sins & the “big ugly” sins all look the same from God’s perspective. When God looks down from heaven He sees each of us in the exact same category. Sinners. He doesn’t see a big sinner, little sinner, unacceptable sinner, struggling sinner, or even a Saturday night sinner. He sees us all as sinners in need of a Savior. When we label sin small we end up minimizing the grace of God. And when we expect people not to sin in a certain way we miss the whole purpose of the cross.

I have been convicted at times of minimizing my sins because of their acceptance by other believers. And because I don’t sin in the “big” ways like I use to. I have been convicted of seeing other people’s sins as worse than mine because of the lack of acceptance by the church. I was convicted of thinking those really ugly unacceptable sins can’t be present in a believer’s life. I was convicted of thinking a true believer can’t walk in sin and be right with God.

God showed me a clear picture of my sin measuring stick and where I was on it in comparison to Him. I don’t even know when I started measuring sin or labeling it big & little…Acceptable or unacceptable. What had I been thinking and more importantly believing??? A lie… that’s what. I think it’s one of the biggest lies I’ve ever believed about my sin and other people’s sin. I’ve told myself a true believer can’t walk in sin. I can’t walk in sin if I am a follower of Christ. If someone has a relationship with Jesus Christ they won’t walk in sin. If I date someone who is a Christian he won’t sin in ways that are “big”. If I train my child up in the way she should go then she won’t sin like I sinned as a rebellious kid who didn’t know Christ. That’s the mantra I’ve been telling myself & come to believe for years. But, if that is true I placed conditions and exceptions on the grace of God as well as salvation.

ALL my sins were nailed to the cross & forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ when I got saved. Meaning all my sins before salvation & after have been forgiven. Even the sins I haven’t committed yet. I don’t know how I will sin in the future. It’s only by the grace of God I am who I am today and that I don’t sin like I use to. It’s not because of my hard work or my will to not sin. Believe me, my flesh wants to sin, but the Holy Spirit inside of me wages war against my fleshly desires, so that I will walk in obedience to God. I know I am capable of committing any sin because I am a sinner. Yes, I am saved, but never will I be without sin in this fleshly body of mine here on earth.

God knows we can’t be perfect (without sin) here on earth. Which is good news for all of us who believe in Jesus Christ. We don’t have to worry about what type of sin we will commit in the future. Whatever sin we commit it has been forgiven. I’m not saying it’s ok to knowingly walk in sin by any means. I’m just normalizing the possibility of it happening at some point. God doesn’t put conditions, exceptions, or limits on our sins that have been nailed to the cross. As a believer, all our sins were nailed to the cross, covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, and forgiven once and for ALL. God made a way for all to come to Him through the death, burial, & resurrection of Jesus Christ. A person is saved when he or she places their faith in Jesus Christ believing He died on the cross for their sins so that they might live for Him. Which means All their sins were forgiven at the moment of salvation. But, they will still sin while alive on planet earth. God didn’t expect us to get saved & never sin again. Let me say that a different way. God didn’t expect me or you to never sin again after receiving the gift of salvation, so why do we expect others to be sinless after salvation?

I’m not saying a believer who is practicing sin/walking in sin is to keep doing it. Or that someone close to them should keep silent. They need accountability & truth spoken to them in love. Walking in sin deliberately does reveal a heart problem in their relationship with Jesus. But that’s for Jesus to reveal & to work out in that persons life. Especially if the person walking in sin doesn’t even know they are sinning. Or better yet isn’t ready to surrender their will at the feet of Jesus. If we try to force it we can end up hurting instead of helping. But, we can speak truth in love, pray for them, disciple them, & show them the love of Christ while they are intentionally walking in sin. I am pretty sure that’s exactly how Jesus wants us to love each other.

Jesus loved me while I was lost, dead in my sin, & blazing a path of destruction leading to death. Initially, Jesus didn’t point out all my sins and tell me I was walking in sin that leads to death. Instead, He called me to follow Him & He called me beloved child of God. He knew my sins had already been nailed to the cross. He knew victory over all my sins had already been declared. He pursued a relationship with me first and then began to reveal and deal with my sin aka sanctification. He did this for all of us. We tend to forget how much He saved us from and how bad our path of destruction was that Jesus delivered us from.

If Jesus is the only One without sin, then we all walk in sin daily. That means the believer & unbeliever walk in sin every day. The difference is the believer is forgiven & the unbeliever is not. The unbeliever can still be forgiven the same way we were saved through repentance & faith in Jesus Christ. As believers our sins are forgiven & God promises to perfect us day by day so that we don’t practice sin, but instead we practice righteousness. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit inside of us willing and enabling us to walk in obedience. When we became a believer He clothed us with His righteousness. We were declared righteous only because of Jesus. God sees Jesus’ righteousness on us when He looks at us. So we can’t even boast about the good things we do because it is still Jesus accomplishing the righteous work in us.

Let us be people known for loving others the way Jesus loved us to Him. Let us repent of minimizing our own sin and surrender our will to measure sin as big, little, unacceptable, acceptable, or unforgivable just because it looks different from our own sin. Let us remember what God says about sin…All sin and all fall short of the glory of God. Rebuke the lies of the enemy who wants us to believe there are “little sins” and conditions for the type of sins able to be nailed to the cross. Those are lies!! All sins are a big deal to God, but He is greater than our sin and has the final victory over all sin.

Let us not measure each others sin, but instead remind one another of our true identity…Beloved children of God.

CAT