It is important to know that every sin leads to Hell — even a sin as seemingly “small” as eating one bite of a forbidden fruit. There is no sin which, in the eyes of God, is “forgivable” in the sense of being too small or petty for God to care about.
Sin
Is Your Life the Same As the Unsaved?
In several places in Scripture Paul gives us a list of the kinds of sins that characterize the unsaved, along with the admonition not to tolerate these sins in our own lives as professing believers (1 Corinthians 10:7-12; Ephesians 5:3-7; Colossians 3:5-9). It should be incredibly sobering to us if we are regularly participating in the exact same sins that have brought others under the wrath and judgment of God!
Four Ways Self-Pity Distorts Your Perception of Reality
Along with so many other “small” sins in our lives, self-pity is actually very dangerous and self-destructive. The good news, however, is that the Bible gives us some very insightful help regarding this age-old sin. Some time ago I preached a message on self-pity, as part of a series “Beware of Small Sins.” Let me share a brief outline of it with you. Here are four ways that self-pity distorts your perception of reality, with some biblical solutions.
Jesus Died To Save Us From Our Own Solutions
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s true. You have seen someone trying to clean up their own mess before, and that this just ends up making things worse as long as they continue doing more of whatever caused the mess in the first place.
Any Unchecked Sin Is Ruinous
Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). I was thinking this past week about cases where a person who has been a professed believer, maybe even a well-known Christian leader, falls into public sin or even apostasy, walking away from the Christian faith. Sadly, there have been many such cases in the news lately.
There Is a Healthy Hatred
I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me (Psalm 101:3). There is, according to God’s Word, a kind of healthy hatred — a hatred for sin and its ravaging effects. As I was contemplating this reality recently, I thought of at least four ways in which a healthy hatred for sin should evidence itself in the sanctified life:
Entrusted With the Glorious Gospel
The church of Jesus Christ has been entrusted with the gospel of Christ. This is both a sobering responsibility and a beautiful privilege. It is not enough to identify and reject false teaching in the church. We have to embrace and foster affection for what is good and glorious and godly. This is how Paul addresses the issue of false teaching in his letter to Timothy.
To Us a Child Is Born
Christmas is now world famous, and so the only surprise many people expect during this season is while opening presents. But in fact the manner of the Messiah’s coming was unexpected for many, even among those who looked for him — and he will continue to be a mystery to us today, if we do not know him through his word, the Bible.
Judah, Tamar, & the Messy Messianic Line
Genesis 38 is nothing less than scandalous. Although a passage of Scripture that talks openly about embarrassing sin might at first affront our cultured sensibilities, the reality is this is exactly the kind of Bible we would wish for! A Bible that is about real sinners, who make really big mistakes, and mess up in horribly embarrassing ways, just like us – who God nonetheless saves, and even uses, in his great plan of Redemption.