Respectable Sins: Ch 3. The Malignancy of Sin

“The very word, sin, which seems to have disappeared, was once a proud word. It was once a strong word, an ominous and serious word … But the word went away. It has almost disappeared – the word, along with the notion. Why? Doesn’t anyone sin anymore? Doesn’t anyone believe in sin?” 

– Karl Menniger

  

Cancer is a dreaded word that none of us like to hear. Another term used for cancer is malignancy which medically describes a “tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally into adjoining tissue by invasion and systemically by metastasizing into other areas of the body”. Sin is cancer. It is a spiritual and moral malignancy. Some forms of cancer grow undetected until they reach a terminal stage and likewise sin – especially the “acceptable” sins – can exist in our lives, undetected and dangerous.  

The acceptable sins - such as complaining, gossiping, impatience– are deceiving. These sins are subtle and have me thinking they aren’t so bad or even worse, not sins at all.  This leads me to live in unconscious denial of these sins!

The reality is I don’t live in a spiritual island. What I do and how I act affects my life and the people around me therefore...

Tolerating acceptable sins is as dangerous as to tolerate cancer in my body!

Now the question is, how does MY sin affect God?

Sin grieves God's heart. I'm not just rebelling against God's sovereign authority -  I'm going against my heavenly father.  When I sin, I'm not only turning my back on God's law but God himself!

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were slated for the day of redemption." 

- Ephesians 4:30

Yet, we still do it right in front of Him.

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; 

you discern my thoughts from afar. 

You search out my path and my lying down 

and are acquainted with all my ways. 

Even before a word is on my tongue, 

behold, O Lord, you know it altogether." 

- Psalm 139:1-4

"Even before a word is on my tongue..." God knows what I am going to saw before I even say it.  He knows my every sinful and evil deed before I commit it. Yet, I still do it right in front of Him. 

I know that my sins are forgiven because of the blood Christ shed on Calvary. That doesn't mean I should presume on God's grace and tolerate my sinful habits. That very sin that I tolerate is the sin that nailed Christ to the cross. God does not tolerate such sin.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the inquiry of us all."

 - Isaiah 53:6

I don't know about you but I want to fall on my knees before God in repentance over the sins that I so effortlessly tolerate in my life. I'm excited to dig deeper into this study and learn the remedy for sin.

Respectable Sins: Ch 1. Ordinary Saints

Hey everyone! It's Seneca again. I'm excited to be back behind the blog and join the ladies in our new Bible Study - Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. Wednesday evening we dove right into the first chapter.

Bridges begins by clarifying the true definition of a saint.  Most often the term is used for those known for one's good deeds and unusually godly character. The truth is every believer is a saint. A believer who has been separated or set apart by God for God. The biblical meaning of a saint is someone whom Christ bought with His own blood and has separated unto Himself to be His own possession.

What does it mean to be separated, or set apart? 

It means you are set apart to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. You've been separated from your old sinful way of life and set apart by God to live a new life glorifying Him.

Contrary to what modern culture believes sainthood is not a status of achievement but an entirely new condition of life. We don't become a saint by our actions. God promised us in Ezekiel 36:26 to "...give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

Have you ever thought of how much you sin in a day? How about in an hour? Tainted by our inner motivations we sin in thought, word or deed every waking hour!

"The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." - Galatians 5:17


Daily our hearts face guerrilla warfare between the flesh and Spirit. We must learn to be aware of internal struggles with sin and remember we are all saints called to live a life that is set apart FOR God.

Obviously, there are degrees of seriousness of sins. But sin is sin. Gossiping, impatience, judgmental thoughts ... they are all sins! We and the rest of society live in denial of our sin. In the next chapter, we will dig deep into the denial we frequently face in our daily lives.