Watered-down Sin?

"This day, my God, I hate sin not because it damns me, but because it has done Thee wrong. To have grieved my God is the worst grief to me."  - Charles Spurgeon

Do we have a tendency to water down sin? To dilute the consequences of sin? To just shrug our shoulders and resign ourselves to "oh well, better luck next time?" Honestly, I feel that many of us don't take sin seriously, if at all.

Need proof? Just take a look at what's happening in the world today. It is an honest and repulsive reflection of ourselves in the mirror of sin. It's way too easy to excuse our lighthearted mindset on sin. Somehow, sin seems to have lost a lot of the impact that it used to have.

When I ask people about this I get responses such as: "Other people get away with doing stuff all the time," and "No one seems to really care that much anymore."  What gives? Maybe it's a false sense of security inspired by unbiblical sources which encourages us to think that God hates sin, but not sinners.

They downplay the severity of sin, making us feel as comfortable about sin as we would a favorite pair of old, worn jeans. But the reality of sin is far from being cozy, warm, and fuzzy. It is ugly and offensive to God. Sin degrades us in God's eyes. He detests sin. It is vile and revolting to Him.

Our sin forbids us from approaching God's presence because He won't allow sinners anywhere near Him (Psalm 5:5; Habakkuk 1:13; Revelation 21:27). Has the point been taken? All sin is disgusting to God. And yet, we still don't seem to get it. Have we just tuned it out of our lives?

Sin is an ancient adversary, one whom we've wrestled with from Adam in the Garden (Genesis 2:16-17) to this day. If we were to try to total all of our sins, we would never be able to finish. We have all sinned more than we realize. I know I wouldn't want to list all of mine. It would be far too depressing.

Thankfully, by grace, and through faith in Christ, we have been redeemed from sin (Ephesians 2:8-9). Because of him we are purged of the stench of sin and can get near the heavenly throne of God.This, however, doesn't mean that we have been given a free pass to sin without any consequences.

Christ's death on the cross did away with the penalty of eternal death, but only for those who accept him (1 Peter 2:24). Sin is still very much alive and kicking. We must come against it wherever and whenever it exists. We must also contemplate the effect of sin, both, in and on our lives. Do it today, you may not have the chance tomorrow!

Scripture: Psalm 5:4; Proverbs 6:16-19; Isaiah 6:3; Romans 3:23; 1 John 4:8-9

Prayer: Dear Jesus, may I never forget that You gave up Your life for my sinful one; and although I can never repay You, I can always love and praise You, amen.

Have a blessed Monday!

Hailey