A Society Crumbles That Doesn’t Recognize Sin!

I often ask in my articles: When’s the last time your pastor spoke about sin? Called sin out for what it is: an abomination to God.

Why are so many pastors and Christians afraid to use the word “sin” when the New Living Translation of the Bible mentions sin 1792 times!

You hear in church that Jesus went to the Cross to offer forgiveness for our sins, but pastors usually stop short of actually delineating the definition of sin. Listing and outlining sins that break Jesus’ heart and soil your relationship with Jesus.

Here’s a good Scripture passage to start with that does require some explanation but that’s what a pastor is trained to do. Verse 16 also acknowledges that contrary to what we’re often told about not confronting a fellow believer over their sin because that might be judging, it’s what we’re called to do and pray for them!

¹⁶ If you see a fellow believer^[a] sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. ¹⁷ All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

¹⁸ We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 1 John 5:16-18 NLT

In deciphering this passage, I read a commentary by Pastor John Piper who answers the question of what is a sin that does not lead to death. “Here’s my [Piper’s] answer: the sin that does not lead to death (that is, eternal death or damnation — which is what I think John means) is any sin that we commit that we are, by grace, capable of truly confessing and repenting from. . . The sin that does not lead to death is any sin—that we are still, by grace, able to authentically, humbly confess, and repent from.”

1 John 3:9 NLT further explains that Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.

So we know that even as Christians we still have a propensity to sin in this world (Romans 3:23), but as born-again Christians, we should recognize our sin, repent, and ask for forgiveness. We don’t intentionally keep on sinning.

⁸ If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. ⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 John 1:8-10

We can’t claim as believers that we’ll never sin again nor that every sin leads to damnation. But there is a sin that does lead to death and damnation and that’s the denial of Christ in your life.

So if you know someone who claims to be a Christian but they’re living a sinful life with no repentance, there’s a good chance they’re not actually saved and you want to pray that their eyes will open to the truth before it’s too late.

One commentary explains further: There is a sin unto death; which is not only deserving of death, as every other sin is, but which certainly and inevitably issues in death in all that commit it, without exception; and that is the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is neither forgiven in this world nor in that to come, and therefore must be unto death; it is a sinning willfully, not in a practical, but doctrinal way, after a man has received the knowledge of the truth; it is a willful denial of the truth of the Gospel, particularly that peace, pardon, righteousness, eternal life, and salvation, are by Jesus Christ, contrary to the light of his mind, and this joined with malice and obstinacy; so that there is no more or other sacrifice for such a sin; there is nothing but a fearful looking for of wrath and fury to fall on such opposers of the way of life; and as the presumptuous sinners under Moses’s law died without mercy, so must these despiteful ones under the Gospel; see ( Matthew 12:31 Matthew 12:32 ) ( Hebrews 10:26-29 ) . 1 John 5:16 – Meaning and Commentary on Bible Verse (biblestudytools.com)

Does God Ever Turn His Back on the Sinner?

Romans 1:18-32 lists sins that are so depraved that if the sinner will not truly repent from and stop sinning, God will turn them over to the sin and turn away from them. I can’t imagine the emptiness of a soul where God turns his back and says I’m done with you. Live your sinful life.

¹⁸ But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.¹⁹  They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

²¹ Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. ²² Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. ²³ And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. ²⁵ They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. ²⁶ That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. ²⁷ And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

²⁸ Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. ²⁹ Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. ³⁰ They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. ³¹ They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. ³² They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:18-32

So Why Am I Writing About Sin Today?

I had an ah-ha moment listening to two people on a news program last week who provided a credible perspective on a question I think many of us have:

How could Democrats so unashamedly support and encourage sin?

• Murdering babies.
• Releasing dangerous criminals back onto the streets to kill and maim innocent people.
• Allowing cartels to stream illegals, drugs, and sex trafficking, even of young children, across our borders.
• Refusing to punish theft and robbery.
• Lying, lying, lying!

How could they promote, even in our schools, homosexuality and transgenderism and deny that there are scientifically only two genders?

Where is there conscience?

I watched the National Prayer Breakfast where politicians from both sides of the aisle participated and professed faith, and yet the left is championing and even legalizing so much evil and sin?! How can this be?

The answer came from an unlikely place but it awakened me to the answer as to “Why?”

I was listening to Jesse Watters new Primetime Show and was startled when in his opening monologue discussing Democrat leaders instituting soft on crime policies, he said the following:

“Why is it so hard for Dems to hold criminals accountable? Psychologically, many on the left can’t process the concept of good and evil. They can’t recognize sin. It takes on too much of a religious connotation and they’re very much uncomfortable with the idea of judgment.”

Wow! I said to the TV screen: “That’s exactly it Jesse! You nailed it!”

Watters doesn’t typically speak on religious topics, so I was surprised that he articulated this phenomenon so clearly. It made perfect sense as I’ve asked myself so many times how the left could be endorsing and enforcing such evil. You can hear Jesse’s entire monologue here. I recommend listening to it because his conclusion was that the Democrats have their own “savior complex,” insinuating that they’re trying to replace the real Savior. They want to be gods!

Sen. John Kennedy of LA commenting on Jesse’s monologue said, “the Dems have all gone woke and “the ‘wokers’ motto when it comes to crime is, ‘hear no evil, see no evil, prosecute no evil.’”

It’s true. When is the last time you heard a liberal denounce the deterioration of civility as “evil,” unless they’re referring to a conservative?

The 70^th National Prayer Breakfast was truly pathetic. I didn’t hear anyone say Jesus even once and I think God was only mentioned in the salutation, “God bless America.” Democrat Senator Kristen Gellibrand introduced Biden as a “man of faith” and yet when he spoke, he never once mentioned his faith. He just predictably talked about himself. Harris patronizingly said she remembered going to church with her parents as a little girl but said nothing about having “faith” as an adult. The keynote speaker focused on you guessed it, racism.

Here’s what Rev. Billy Graham said at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1964. It’s still so true today! Sadly, our society is crumbling because those in power are progressively embracing sin, endorsing evil, and excluding the One and Only Savior, Jesus Christ!

“Home problems, business problems, health problems, family problems, personal problems. We want to scream at life. We want to bury our heads in the sand and say, ‘That maybe it’ll go away.’ But it doesn’t go away, it’s still there…Jesus said there would come a time in history when men would be pressed like this from all sides and He said there will be no way out. Except one. He said there will be one way out and only one. He said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man can enter the Kingdom of God except by Me.’”

¹⁶ These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; ¹⁷ do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord. Zech. 8:16-17

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