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Our world thinks sin is hilarious. The formerly suggestive lines and scenes in movies and TV have given way to the explicit. The dirty joke and four-letter vocabulary are sources of great fun to most people. Lying, cheating, sexual promiscuity and drunkenness are all passed over with a wink or a chuckle. Sin is merely a laughing matter to the millions. But surely it would not be if men were not so deep in their self-imposed ignorance of the simplest spiritual principles. Consider:
What sin is. Sin is the violation of God’s perfect laws, whether by transgressing a prohibition or failing to obey a command (1 John 3:4). When we fall short of God’s perfect standard or when we go beyond it, whether by ignorance or by design, we sin.
The way God views sin. God is absolutely perfect and holy, as is His law. He has given man his inspired Law so that he might know what sin is and so that he might live above it. He exhorts man to be holy even as He is holy (1 Pet.1:15). Since God is perfectly sinless, he cannot tolerate sin in His presence, nor can He be pleased with men when they sin. The perfect illustration of this truth is that in eternity, the saved will be in Heaven where no sin will ever be allowed to enter, while all unforgiven sinners and their sin will be sealed up in hell forever (Rev. 21:3–8; 2 The. 1:9).
What sin does. It dishonors and offends God because of God’s perfectness. It therefore causes a breach, a separation, between us and Him. When we sin, we move away from God and alienate ourselves from Him (Isa. 59:1–2). Sin defiles and pollutes us in the eyes of God, who made us to live on a higher plane. Sin destroys our minds and our bodies and renders us utterly useless to serve God’s holy purpose for us on earth. Sin makes us comrades of the devil and his destructive work. Worst of all, sin will destroy us eternally if we do not receive forgiveness of God.
What sin costs. Sin has cost many a woman her purity and many a man his honor. Sin has robbed many of their health, their wealth, their families, and even their lives. As previously mentioned, it will cost most men their souls (Mat. 6:13; Rom. 6:23). The most dramatic demonstration of the cost of sin is seen in the coming of Christ. Except for sin, Christ would never have needed to come to earth. Sin cost God His Son and Christ His life. Please don’t ever laugh at sin!
[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in The Edifier, weekly bulletin of Pearl Street Church of Christ, Denton, TX, June 17, 1982, of which I was editor.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
