Is Sin a Joke?
Have you noticed that our culture is a bit casual about sin? To many, the term “sin” is mostly a joke today. People don’t take sin seriously. Too often, this is true in the church. So to suggest that someone repents from something they find so inconsequential seems futile.
What might it take for people to repent? There are likely three reasons they don’t: 1) They simply have no faith in God and see no need, 2) They plan to at some point but feel like living it up and waiting until the last possible minute, 3) They have a distorted view of God and don’t believe repentance is required.
Evangelist Ray Comfort asked a mother and daughter, “Do you think God is angry about sin?” The mother responded, “No. I think He is disappointed but not angry.” Disappointed? So Jesus was nailed to a cross to rescue us from God’s disappointment? Not quite. Seeing God as a cuddly Daddy who wants nothing more than to spoil His kids, minimizes the need to repent. To some, He amounts to a permissive parent who never shows anger over disobedience, but pats the sinner on the head and says, “That’s OK, we all make mistakes.” That’s a nice thought, but it is a misrepresentation of the God of the Bible.
The Bible never minimizes sin to the level of a “mistake.” A mistake is when you attempt the right thing and accidentally do the wrong thing. (e.g., you meant to hit the nail on the head but mistakenly hit your thumb). Sin is a choice to disobey God, and that is a serious thing! Make no mistake about it! But sin has become the s-word that many pastors today find too offensive to their audience even to mention.
At the end of the New Testament, God deals a final blow to sin by pouring His wrath on the earth. Despite this, we see a glimmer of hope. He gives those who are steeped in sin, facing His punishment, the opportunity to repent. Yet even then, “they did not repent of their murders nor their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts” (Revelation 9:21). Is it possible that people like these lived their lives, not even knowing that their behavior required repentance? We don’t want to beat people over the head with sin relentlessly, but we don’t want to forget about it either.
There was the constant reminder of sin in the Old Testament through regularly repeated sacrifices (see Hebrews 10:2-3). They couldn’t help but take sin seriously when they witnessed firsthand what God required as payment for it. But since Jesus paid for sin once-for-all 2,000 years ago, many today forget that He didn’t die to offer us health, wealth, or more convenient living. He died to pay for our sins!
Unfortunately, today many see the grace of God as a license to sin—the very thing against which Paul warned. Professor and author Scot McKnight related the following story:
One day after I spoke at a church, a college student approached me and began telling me about her roommate, and I’m guessing you know someone like both of these young women. First, she told me her roommate had slept with more than one guy that semester; that her roommate got drunk most Saturday nights; that her roommate was very active in a Bible study; and that she was also in a worship band. I asked, ‘Does your roommate consider herself a Christian?’ The young woman responded: ‘Of course she’s a Christian.’…Her final words to me were, ‘God forgives, you know.’ Her tone wasn’t a tone of gratitude for God’s grace but presumption of God’s grace.
There is still time to talk about sin, warn of the wrath to come, and stop trying to tickle itching ears. There is still time to repent. That’s good news!
“Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” —1 John 3:7–8