Sin – There I’ve Said It

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24

Sin – Let’s Talk

I’ve heard complaints that we don’t talk enough about sin anymore. If that is said about me, I don’t want it to be justified. So I’m going to talk about sin. Get ready.

Everyone reading this is a sinner. I don’t mean once was a sinner. I mean a sinner today. I include Mother Theresa, the Apostle Paul, Barrack Obama, and Rush Limbaugh. Okay, so those guys probably aren’t reading this, but I hope you get the point.

Sorry if you feel insulted, but you are a sinner. I don’t care what prayer you might have said or if you had water sprinkled on  you or you got dumped in it. You are still a sinner. Those events were, no doubt, of great significance in your spiritual journey, and mandated by Jesus, but they didn’t make you a non-sinner.

Saved and Sinning

Perhaps you are confusing being a sinner and being saved from your sin. The death of the sinless one, Jesus, makes it possible (not automatic) for you to be saved from the eternal condemnation that comes with sin. It doesn’t turn you into someone who never sins.

But, you say, and quite correctly, “I am a new creature.” When we are born again we are a new creation, a special child of God, a man or woman with a commission, capable of being more like Christ, one who has turned away from his sins: BUT STILL A SINNER.  Our turning away, our repentance, is never perfect or perpetual. We fall back into sin. Hopefully, less often and less “grievously” but fall we do.

Sin is missing the mark and falling short. Even after salvation, we still miss the mark and we still far short. Sometimes we get closer to the mark and fall less short, but the standard is Jesus. The standard is perfection.

Failing to recognize this is hurting the church more than ever. The quickest way to feel better about our imperfections is to compare them to others. It’s no problem finding someone who missed the mark by more and fallen far shorter than we have. However, God doesn’t grade on the curve. If you miss the mark, you miss the mark. If you fall short, you fall short.  Read it again: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24

Just So You Can’t See My Sin

Some sins are much more visible than others. Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery illustrates that some sins are just out there for public consumption. Her public sin made the Jewish leaders feel better about themselves, until Jesus’ question about casting the first stone, sent them slinking away.

The church has stood strong against some public sins to the point that those struggling with such sins stay away from the church houses. It hasn’t stood strong against all obvious sin. Gluttony is okay; homosexuality not so much. Secret sinners are no problem at all. Addictions are okay, as long as it doesn’t become obvious.

Sinners Unite

Until we acknowledge that we all sin, we will minister as cripples. Churches and each Christian need to welcome all sinners, public and private. Jesus knew in advance we would have this problem. It’s why he hung with public sinners. Our churches should be filled with “obvious” gays, along side couples who live together unmarried, in the same row with those struggling with pornography in secret and fudging the tax numbers annually. If we did that we would deflate the arguments that certain things clearly labelled as sin in scripture, aren’t really sin at all. We could stop the silliness about who among us is the bigger sinner and start helping each other deal with our sin. Acceptance into fellowship, isn’t enabling or approving sin; it’s the first step in ministry.

In prison ministry, we secret sinners go to those certified by the state as sinners. It’s glorious to see what happens when the secret sinners become vulnerable about their failings and struggles. It fires up the process of reconciliation. It promotes sanctification. It frees the captives, those in physical prison and the “free men” as well. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if churches in the “free world” were really that free?

“Sin” I’ve said it. Doesn’t it need to be said more?