This is the second entry in the Blog series entitled "Embrace These Truths."  The intent of these posts is to challenge us to think Biblically, and to distinguish between Biblical Truths and distortions of Biblical Truth. The previous post addressed the idea that God wants to make you healthy, prosperous, wealthy and successful. If you have not read that entry, I encourage you to do so.

The Truth I want to challenge each of us to embrace today is this: 'There are no 'respectable' sins. ' 

What do I mean by 'respectable sins?'

Simply this: There is a tendency among many Christians to put sins in two categories: 'serious sins' and 'not so serious sins.' It is in the latter category that we find 'respectable sins,' meaning, sins we really don't take that seriously, sins that are 'normalized,' or sins that are dismissed by saying things like 'we're only human,' or 'everyone does it,' or some such things.

What might 'serious' sins look like for many professing Christians? Here are some examples: murder, adultery, sexual immorality, drunkeness, drug abuse, stealing, pornography use, same sex sexual relationships, dabbling in the occult and so on. 

Don't get me wrong: these are all sins. These are all offensive to God, who is holy, holy, holy, as well as righteous and just and pure. Christians are to 'put to death the deeds of the flesh,' ( Romans 8:13) and that means we are to fight sin and we are to most certainly fight any of these sinful inclinations in the power of the Holy Spirit with great intentionality. 

The problem arises when we look at other sins and put them in a 'less sinful' category. The reality is, all sin is an offense against God. All sin. What does this kind of thinking look like? First an illustration to explain what I am writing about.

Over the past thirty-eight years in ministry I have heard variations of the following in every church, every ministry context I have served, not once or twice, but many times.

'I have never drank or smoked or cursed. I grew up in church and I've served as a (in whatever the capacity) for a long time,' says the person who slanders, stirs up division, struggles with a wrathful temperment, has an anger problem or gossips. 

Pride (I've never done this or that) along with making assumptions (this sin or sins are the worst sins and I've never committed those sins) while also being spiritually blind (not seeing the seriousness of slander, wrath, gossip and so on) leads the person to assume that the sins he or she wrestles with are lesser, or, are more 'respectable sins,' because, after all, 'we are all human,' or 'everyone does it.' 

Until we come to terms with the fact that God hates gossip and wrath and divisiveness and slander  (see: Psalm 101:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9,10; Titus 3:10; James 1:20), we will not repent and we will continue to harm others and ourselves and our relationship with God because we have justified our sinful disposition, attitude, actions or words. These other sins are not 'respectable' or less offensive to God. 

Read Galatians 5:19-25. Notice that as Paul lists some of the sinful deeds of the flesh, not only does he include things we might immediately identify as sin, he also includes some things that some of us might well be comfortable with in our lives. 

If we are to walk in the light, to embrace the Truth, we must not buy the lie that some sins are basically 'no big deal.' We don't run around trying to remove the speck from other's eyes first, instead, we as the Spirit to search our hearts and we address the log in our own eye, and yes, these 'respectable sins' are logs that blind us. 

The good news of course is that God's grace is greater than all our sin, so no matter what you are struggling with, His grace is greater. However, for you and I to experience freedom and forgiveness, we must call sin, 'sin' and confess that sin and repent of that sin and ask for forgiveness. That is actually where our freedom is found! 

May we all continue to grow in love, holiness and obedience to the Lord our God!

Grace to You,

Pastor