HCLM BLOG

One of the difficulties of our faith is how we deal, talk, and interact with sin. The Bible says that when we sin, if we confess it to Jesus we are forgiven. This forgiveness comes to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And many times, because I know that to be true, I believe that I’ve been desensitized to the impact and weight of sin. What I mean is this, “If I know I’m going to be forgiven, then, it doesn’t really matter if I sin, right? It’s no big deal. God will just forgive me.” I don’t know how many times in my past when wrestling with temptation I’ve used that rationale. This is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer has called “cheap grace.” It cheapens the grace God wants to give to us. And we’re not the first ones to wrestle with this question.

Paul says in Romans 6:1: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” Later in 6:15, “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

Paul’s pretty emphatic about this. Sin is serious. The Bible says that God hates sin! I was reminded this morning of Galatians 6:7-8 which tells us that every time we sin there is a consequence. ” Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

God knows your heart and he can’t be tricked or mocked. Every time you sin, you do something that the God that died on your behalf and in your place hates. And Galatians tells us that every time we do sow (sin), we reap something from that. There’s always some sort of consequence, or destruction, etc. that comes from our sin. No exceptions!

My goal here is not too guilt you into not sinning, but to make you think twice before you do that thing that you’re tempted by. It’s not right. And you shouldn’t do it. So how do we deal with this?

If you’re struggling with a math problem, you get help from your teacher because he/she can help you answer that. You don’t go to the person who got the worse grade in the class. If you need help with a marital problem, you go to someone who’s been trained like a counselor and can help you with that. You don’t go to a teenage kid who plays video games and eats Cheetos for breakfast. If I’ve got a question about parenting, I ask my parents, because well, they’re parents and they’ve been there and done that. The best way to surrender to sin is to spend time with the one who has conquered it. Think about it, if you want to conquer a sin in your life, wouldn’t you want to go to the only one who’s done it? It makes sense, right? The next time you are struggling with sin or temptation go to Jesus. He knows what it’s like to conquer sin:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16