When I was a new Christian I found what I thought was a short-cut to spiritual maturity. I was surrounded by older Christians who were more than willing to tell me everything that was a sin in my life. They seemed to know exactly what I should or shouldn’t do, buy, watch, eat or think. They focused on some sins which seemed to be worse than others, the “sinful seven” or “filthy five” or “nasty nine” or whatever the number was. If I followed their list I was assured I was right with God and if I didn’t, I wasn’t. That worked for a while, but my God of love soon turned to a God of anger and I began to live in fear of doing something wrong. That became my driving force in life. My joy was replaced by fear, guilt, legalism and a critical attitude – of myself and others. I soon discovered God didn’t work that way. There was liberty in Jesus and God wanted me to enjoy life and my relationship to Him. I was glad to be free from the dark cloud of legalism, but I soon realized that if I wasn’t going to let others tell me what was sin and what wasn’t, then I was going to have to decide for myself. And that’s not always easy.
How can we know for sure if something is sin or isn’t? How can we distinguish between what is and what is not OK? And when the act is OK, how can I be sure me attitude and motivation are not sinful? No wonder it’s easier to let someone else come up with a list for us. We keep the list and immediately we find acceptance and affirmation from them. But not always from God.
So how can we know? Proverbs 12:15 tells us, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes … ” How can I be sure I rightly discern sin from not sin? How can I tell the difference between my own personal preferences and God’s absolute standards? I have strong opinions about drinking alcohol, tattoos, rock music and many other things. But does God share my views on them?
We know that God has given absolute standards for right and wrong. Some today say truth is relative, we can make our own truth, establish our own right and wrong just for us. They say the majority rules, so whatever your culture approves is OK and what it condemns is wrong. Others say it is up to each one to determine what is right or wrong for them, there are no absolute moral values that apply to everyone. We know that is wrong, there are God-given standards of right and wrong recorded in the Bible. However, many Christians try to impose their own conclusions about right and wrong on other Christians. That isn’t right either. We must go by what God’s Word says. So, what is sin?
Sin is defined for us in God’s Word. The Apostle John writes, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Sin is defined not in terms of our opinion, or the opinion of others, or in terms of what makes us feel bad, or any other man-made criteria. Sin is defined by God in terms of His law. Sin is “lawlessness” (1 John 3:4) because when we break God’s moral, spiritual or relational laws we are going against His holy character (Romans 7:12). Thus, sin is “unloving disobedience” to God’s will as expressed in His holy law and Word. In it, He shows us what He requires and what He forbids.
We see that law lived out in Jesus. Therefore, anything Jesus wouldn’t do, say or think is sin. What would Jesus do, or not do? There are sins of omission as well as of commission, so not doing or saying something good which we should say or do is also sin (James 4:17). So is doing something good and right for self-centered reasons.
My motive, the reason I do something, is very important. “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:24). That’s why we can’t judge another person. We can evaluate sinful actions, but we can’t know person’s motives or reasons for things that aren’t Biblical absolutes.
So how are we to decide? As for me, I can’t trust my own evaluations for my heart is wicked and deceptive (Jeremiah 17:9), but I can ask God to convict me of sin. Then I must listen carefully to His still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13) and respond in obedience. Comparing my situation to Jesus and thinking about what He would, or wouldn’t do helps clear things up. If we truly want to be holy, God will work in us through His love and patience, just like a loving parent with a child who wants to obey and be good but doesn’t always have the maturity to or insight to know right from wrong. The parent reveals truth to their open heart, and God does that with us as well. God is full of love and mercy. He is not looking for any reason to condemn us, but shows us grace and works with us to help us grow and become more like Jesus.
1 John 1:8-10 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us.
Do you live in fear of what God or others may think of what you do?
Are you unsure if things are sinful or OK? How do you decide?
Pray now and ask God to show you any sin in your life. Ask Him to forgive you (1 John 1:9). Accept His forgiveness and thank Him for His mercy.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
ChristianTrainingOnline.org
(India & Africa & Spanish Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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