- Jun 8, 2021
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Recently I raised a matter that really deserves its own thread, so that it doesn't get confused with other issues. It is the matter of differentiating between classes of Sin.
Over the course of my lifetime I've heard things like, "All sins are the same." Well, I don't find that to be true. It is true that all sins would keep us out of heaven were it not for the grace of God. However, the sin of murder is greater than the sin of name-calling. It may be argued that name-calling could lead to murder. But they are not the same, obviously.
So what is my point here? The OT Law spoke of intentional and non-intentional sins. I don't think Moses was saying that non-intentional sins were entirely innocent, but that they were matters of indiscretion--acts done consciously and aware, but not done in blatant rebellion against God's word. There was some rationalization involved that mitigated the offense.
On the other hand, "intentional sins" were, I think, in the category of overt rebellion against God's law. They were not only the product of conscious, deliberate decision-making, but they were an expression of hostility against God's authority to control human behavior.
So there are things we all do, as Christians, that indicate we have a sin nature. We are predisposed towards carnality, but are able to overcome it by leaning on the Spirit of God. We indulge, at times, many incidences of carnal behavior, even as we attempt to check these behaviors by resorting to God's Spirit.
But these "smaller sins" are merely "specks in the eye" in our brothers, which Jesus said we should avoid trying to pick out. Nit-picking, in other words, is not something a Christian should engage in, if he or she is to participate in Christian edification, and correction in love.
The accountability we owe to one another does not concern "nit-picking," but rather, matters of gross sin and rebellion against God, which if these things are not repented of can lead to terrible consequence. If we love our brothers and sisters, we need to try to persuade them to avoid gross sins, which can lead to terrible punishment, and even death.
Matt 7. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
1 Cor 5.9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
Over the course of my lifetime I've heard things like, "All sins are the same." Well, I don't find that to be true. It is true that all sins would keep us out of heaven were it not for the grace of God. However, the sin of murder is greater than the sin of name-calling. It may be argued that name-calling could lead to murder. But they are not the same, obviously.
So what is my point here? The OT Law spoke of intentional and non-intentional sins. I don't think Moses was saying that non-intentional sins were entirely innocent, but that they were matters of indiscretion--acts done consciously and aware, but not done in blatant rebellion against God's word. There was some rationalization involved that mitigated the offense.
On the other hand, "intentional sins" were, I think, in the category of overt rebellion against God's law. They were not only the product of conscious, deliberate decision-making, but they were an expression of hostility against God's authority to control human behavior.
So there are things we all do, as Christians, that indicate we have a sin nature. We are predisposed towards carnality, but are able to overcome it by leaning on the Spirit of God. We indulge, at times, many incidences of carnal behavior, even as we attempt to check these behaviors by resorting to God's Spirit.
But these "smaller sins" are merely "specks in the eye" in our brothers, which Jesus said we should avoid trying to pick out. Nit-picking, in other words, is not something a Christian should engage in, if he or she is to participate in Christian edification, and correction in love.
The accountability we owe to one another does not concern "nit-picking," but rather, matters of gross sin and rebellion against God, which if these things are not repented of can lead to terrible consequence. If we love our brothers and sisters, we need to try to persuade them to avoid gross sins, which can lead to terrible punishment, and even death.
Matt 7. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
1 Cor 5.9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
