Sin is Not the Issue – Episode 6

There’s this idea in the church that sin is what keeps people away from God. However the truth is sin was dealt with a couple thousand years ago. It’s no longer an issue as far as God is concerned.

And yet there is a prevailing mindset within much of Christianity that God is still angry about our sin today. On the extreme end of this twisted thinking we get people waving protest signs at funerals claiming that God is still mad at certain people because of what they do. (Don’t get me started on how messed up that is. Something tells me those sign wavers are in for a surprise when they step into eternity. I’m just saying.)

At best this is an Old Testament view.

Because yes, there are some passages in the Old Testament that say God hates those who do evil. There are several in Psalms, for instance. Although to be fair most of the time, even in the Old Testament, the Bible says that God hates the sinful acts and not the person doing them.

And please don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not saying that sin isn’t a problem in our world today. It’s a huge problem. In fact, it is the problem in our world. Everything that’s messed up about this life on earth can be traced back to a sin cause somewhere.

But there’s a big difference between sin causing problems between you and I, and sin causing a problem between God and us.

There is a penalty attached with sin, no doubt. And it’s pretty steep.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23

“The wages of sin is death.” When we do stuff that we know is wrong, stuff which pulls at our conscious, that’s sin. And those wrong actions come with consequences.

Of course to be fair, sometimes the consequences of sin might even be desirable. At least at first.

For example you can get a high from drugs or alcohol and that might feel pretty good. But several years as a chronic user or addict and you’ll end up with all sorts of bad things that weave into your whole life. It’ll affect your health, your relationships, your finances. That’s death moving in on you.

The same can be said for most any sin out there. The short-term benefits tend to get far outweighed by the long-term costs.

However, even though the costs are very real, those sins are not separating anyone from God today.

There’s a great big ‘but’.

Take a look at the second half of that verse in Romans 6. You see that big old ‘but’? It changes everything.

Sure the wages of sin is death. But.

But God offers everyone a free gift that deals with sin. It’s free for the taking and available to everyone who will accept the gift. Problem solved.

Thing is, it’s even bigger than that. The sin problem has been dealt with permanently. And for everyone, and not just those who accept the gift either.

John tells us this.

He [meaning Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. – 1 John 2:2

John’s talking about Jesus there and says that Jesus paid for everyone. Not just those who receive Him.

Sin no longer stands between humanity and God. It’s been dealt with. Done. Over. Problem solved. Absolutely and finally.

When Jesus said, “It is finished” moments before he died on the cross a couple thousand years ago He meant it is finished.

Sure sin still exists, and still has consequences. But it is not an issue between us and God anymore.

So what then is the real problem here? Does that mean that everyone will end up in Heaven when they die no matter what?

Some people actually do believe that everyone will. But the Bible is very clear that most folks will miss it and end up in Hell.

But we’re going to talk more about that next time.