There have been discussions about the nature of sins. Are some sins worse than others? Should we point them out or leave them be? Is it judgmental to see a sin in Scripture and recognize it in someone? Easy stuff, really. Yes, Scripture indicates that some sins are worse than others. (For instance, Jesus said, "And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you" (Matt 11:23-24). The sins of Sodom were bad, but the sins of Capernaum were worse. So, while all sin earns death (Rom 6:31), the anguish of that death varies. On the other hand, Christ redeemed us from our sin, so while all sin earns death to varying degree, those who trust Christ for their salvation have all sin forgiven. Some worse than others? Yes ... and no. Should we point them out? Jesus said, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother" (Matt 18:15). So, yes, it is important to seek to restore a fellow believer who sins. (See also Gal 6:1.) But "righteous indignation" carries no concern for the sinner, so that's right out. So it is not judgmental to see sin, but the aim is repentance and the danger is failing to judge ... yourself (Matt 7:3-5).
Here's the problem. The world (currently) likes to tell us to not be judgmental and to just nod and smile, nay, embrace the sin. Today if you call out the select sins the world is currently in love with, you aren't merely "judgmental"; you're a hater. So we're not supposed to notice ... except that Christ did (see, for instance, Matt 11:20-23). And we're supposed to be followers of Christ. Turning a blind eye to sin -- let alone calling sin "good" -- is outside of our operating guidelines. Calling sin "sin" may put us on the "wrong side of history," but it puts on the right side of our Savior's example and instructions. To fail to see sin and call it such is to fail to follow Christ. On the other hand, Jesus was quite clear. Look to yourself. And we are pitifully bad at that.
It is said that when you point a finger at someone, three are pointing back at you. You get the idea. We point at people and their homosexual activity and decry it as sin without checking our own sexual immorality in our minds or our porn use or our sexually immoral liaisons, as if "my sin isn't as bad as theirs." We decry the drug users while we ignore our drug of choice -- Internet or TV or political conflict or ... a whole host of "narcotics" that occupy our hearts. We rail against false teachers while we turn a blind eye to our refusal to sacrificially love our wives, submit to our husbands, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything ... you know, clear and obvious commands that we can recognize and even quote but simply choose to ignore. We point out their sin accurately if not lovingly but we blatantly ignore our own. Too many fingers pointing back. Our own fingers. Brothers and sisters, before you go listing up the sins of others around you, inside and outside the faith, "first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matt 7:5). It is my suspicion that this will be a full time job. Well, okay, for me. You're probably much more righteous than I.
3 comments:
Even though I'm pretty sure that I do minimize my own sin, I also realize that there aren't three fingers pointing back at me, because mine is pointing at me as well. Talking about sin is weird because when you talk to someone about their sin, they seem to assume that you are blind to your own sin which isn't always the case.
Obviously, the folks who really do minimize sin by calling certain sins normal, or minor, or usual, don't help matters. It's almost like they are trying to set a threshold for acceptable sins, while pretending as if there are people who somehow manage to commit so few sins as to get by on their virtual sinlessness.
A heightened awareness of our sin as Christians should lead to a heightened awareness of our need for a savior. That awareness should push us to help others reach that point as well.
Hypocrisy is not in committing the same sin you warn others about. It is in denying you are committing the same sin you are warning others about. It is not hypocritical to say, "That's a problem and I know it because I have that problem myself." Recognizing sin doesn't mean we're ignoring our own. They always seem to think it does.
I agree, I'd argue that the attitude you are displaying is the antithesis of hypocrisy.
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