The reality is that sin is not serious because of what the sin is, it is serious because of whom it is against.  I grew up with two brothers and it was nothing for us to slap each other for no good reason at all.  And it was not that big of a deal; that’s what brothers do.  But if I would have slapped my mom, that same insignificant action would have become the end of life as I knew it.  Our sin is not just against other people, first and foremost it is against a perfect and holy God.

In John Piper’s book The Passion of Jesus Christ, he writes: ”Sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign.  The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted. The Creator of the universe is infinitely worthy of respect and admiration and loyalty.  Therefore, failure to love Him is not trivial – it is treason.  It defames God and destroys human happiness.”

Let’s change how we view sin.  Stop dividing sin into different categories based on its perceived seriousness.  All sin is the same in that it is against a righteous God.  Romans 3:23 tells us that everyone sins and comes short of God’s standard.  Regardless of what that sin is…the result is the same.  It results in missing the mark.  “Sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign [God].”

Now, let’s get back to that statement that we all have probably heard; ‘All truth is relative’.  Those who use and hold to the teaching of this statement deny absolute truth.  The problem is that this statement is actually in contradiction with itself.  If all truth is relative and those who use that statement claim it to be true and absolute then that statement, of its own admission, isn’t always true.  And since it must include itself, we can conclude that there are exceptions to it.  The exception to that statement is that there can be and is absolute truth.  All truth is not relative, by the statements own admission.  So the fact is, the statement, ‘all truth is relative’ is in itself a relative statement.

Just some food for thought.  

I acknowledge that it is possible for both statements to be true, but which is more likely to be the real issue?  If we look at Scripture and see the changes that salvation brings to a life as well as the warnings concerning those who claim to believe in Christ but have really never been born again, I think we would have to conclude that the real issue is that our churches are permeated with people who have never really been saved!   

Any thoughts?

The problem facing the Church is centered on this issue. If we focus completely on loving God and loving each other to the neglect of doctrinal instruction, the people in our churches may be moral but will still miss the true message of Christianity. This is a message that can only be found in sound doctrine. What divides and separates true Christianity from other belief systems are major doctrines such as original sin, substitutionary atonement, justification apart from works, repentance, the reality of a Heaven and Hell, and the need of the new birth as the sole means of entrance into Heaven. These are the issues that divide. These are the major doctrines of Christianity that are being left out of many churches. True Christianity cannot be taught apart from these doctrinal truths.

This leads to a mentality that says ‘what I experience and what I feel is more important than doctrine or Truth’. As Horton puts it, this results in a viewpoint where “sin is not a condition from which I need to be saved, but actions that I can keep from doing with sufficient motivation and instruction. Christ’s death is not an atoning sacrifice that satisfies God’s just wrath, but an example of God’s love that moves us to repentance. Hence, ‘What would Jesus do?’ is the main question, not ‘What has Jesus done?’”

I’m not saying that we should not love God and others. Obviously this is a clear teaching in Scripture. The point I am making is this: focusing on love to the neglect of Truth is dangerous and gives people a false view of true doctrinally-based Christianity. The true message of Scripture is divisive and will be rejected by many. When we try to water it down for the purpose of mass acceptance, true Christianity is not what is being accepted. All that is being accepted is a moral code based on love and good works. Morality is important in a Christian’s life, but morality is not the same as salvation nor does it result in it. God is love and Scripture is filled with examples of God’s love, but the greatest illustrations of God’s love are found in understanding biblical doctrine.

This balance is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. It is the balance of focusing equally on God’s holiness as well as His Love and forgiveness. What I realize now as I think back, is that each one of these churches under-emphasized one of these two attributes. They either were under-focused on God’s love or they were under-focused on his Holiness. I use the term “under-focused” because it is not possible to over-emphasize these attributes, just to under-focus or to neglect them. This may not seem very important, but if this balance is not kept there will be an unbalanced view of the Christian life.

In churches that under-emphasized God’s love or only focused on His holiness there was a very legalistic mindset. The people in those churches seemed to live the Christian life out of duty…they seemed to lack joy in their lives. People who I have known in these churches were very focused on the outward appearance…they neglected the condition of the heart.

In the churches that under-emphasized God’s holiness or only focused on His love and forgiveness there was little if any concern for personal holiness. They were so focused on God’s forgiveness that there was no regard for how one lived his life.

There must be a perfect balance between these two attributes of God. How we view God and His attributes will directly affect how we live our lives and how we lead our churches. Any imbalance in our viewpoint of these attributes will result in an imbalance in our churches and in our lives. A perfect balance must be our goal.