Chapter 10: Understanding Sin

There are many ways to define wisdom, but Scripture defines it like this: “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28 NASB). We are never so wise as when we take seriously the rules and principles laid out for us in Scripture. These are the words of eternal life (John 6:68), which are at least as important as the food that we eat (Matt 4:4; Deut 8:3). The guiding principles are quite simple. Jesus explained them like this: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets” (Matt 22:37–40 NASB). The Lord urges us to listen to His voice, neither growing callous to what He has defined as morally correct behavior nor what He has forbidden as immoral behavior (Ps 95:7–8; Heb 3:12). Nevertheless, it is always our choice whether we will abide by the spiritual morality handed down to us through Scripture or ignore it entirely in favor of doing whatever seems right in our own eyes (Judg 21:25).

Jesus once said that the Father “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt 5:45 NASB). God is merciful to everyone, and we should do our best to emulate Him. Still, there are times when it seems as if the wicked are more prosperous than the righteous, growing old, spending time with their families, and enjoying material success (Job 21:7–18). They sin and reject God’s ways, yet they do not seem to be any worse for it. In fact, they often seem to get ahead by imposing no moral restrictions on their own personal behavior. This is just one of many injustices present in our earthly lives and one more reason why we look forward to the day when Jesus will right all wrongs (2 Pet 3:13). However, neither pervasive injustice nor perceived success through immoral behavior are valid excuses to follow the sinful ways of this world.

“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” and “having now been [made right] by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom 5:8–9 NASB). Those who regularly practice immorality cannot claim this same promise. There was a time when each of us was exactly like those who are dead in their sins, but God rescued us from sin and destruction and continues to do the same for those who have not yet discovered the truth of the cross. God loves all people and wants as many people as are willing to turn from their sins and enter into a relationship with Him. He is not slow about His promise to judge the sins of the world “as some count slowness, but is patient toward [us], not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9 NASB).

There will come a day when those who deny that Scripture contains truth worth following will be forced to reconcile with their immoral choices in this life. Until then, “mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’” because it will seem to them as if everything in the world has remained the same since the world was first created (2 Pet 3:3–4 NASB). But the fact remains that “the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people” (2 Pet 3:7 NASB). The Lord takes no delight in this and does not desire that outcome for anyone. Nevertheless, this is the destiny of everyone who refuses to recognize that there is a God and we are not Him; there is objective spiritual truth in this world and we cannot fully discover it on our own; there is a steep price to pay for every wrong thing we have ever said or done or thought; and the only way out of the mess we created for ourselves is to accept God’s free offer to help us. We who recognize these truths then act on them are mercifully spared from the eternal punishment of our own sins. “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation” (2 Pet 3:14–15 NASB).

Our responsibility as Christians is to not live our lives in the same way as unbelievers (Eph 4:17). There are many people who have wandered far from the light of God, hardening their hearts against His brand of morality and living for selfish and immoral pleasures of every variety (Eph 4:18–19). We must rid ourselves of that way of life and become renewed by the Holy Spirit in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions (Eph 4:21–23). We must “put on the new self” made available to us through our salvation in Christ, becoming closer to the likeness of God “in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:24 NASB). Sin “is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts… but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body’s parts as instruments of righteousness for God” (Rom 6:12–13 NASB). Yet the Lord knows this is often a struggle for us (Heb 3:13–14).

Like the apostle Paul, we frequently say to ourselves, “[T]he good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want… So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin” (Rom 7:19, 25 NASB). Doing what we know is right can be very difficult. It was for Paul; the same is true for us. This is the power of sin present in each of us that is at war with the things of God (Rom 7:22–23). We all inevitably stumble in our sins from time to time (1 John 1:8), but what we do after we go astray makes all the difference. “If we confess our sins, [Jesus] is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:9–10 NASB).

Sin is a thorny issue for everyone. Those who follow Christ may struggle to do what is right in His eyes because it is often at odds with our natural inclinations. Those who ignore Christ may not struggle with the same inner issues of Christian morality, but they will still reap what they sow and struggle as a result. After all, there are consequences for our sins—that is, our personal transgressions against God—for the believer and the unbeliever alike, and those consequences are not always pleasant. Just as the one who assaults a neighbor frequently ends up in prison, the one who violates God’s spiritual laws may suffer from broken relationships, persistent anxiety, or hard times as a direct consequence for immoral behavior. But by no means should we think of this as some mechanical system of cause and effect. What God does in response to our personal sins is context specific. He does not, however, hover on the periphery of our lives waiting in eager anticipation to hit us with a supernatural club whenever we stumble. Not only is God supremely merciful and patient, Christians are not imprisoned by God’s spiritual laws. “[W]e have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter” (Rom 7:6 NASB). We live by grace, not legalism.

The Law points out our sins so that we know when our actions are displeasing to the Lord (Rom 7:7–12), and we must do our best to live in such a way that reflects the glory of God in this dark world, but our inevitable infractions against the Law are exactly why Jesus died on the cross to save us. To say that something horrible is guaranteed to happen to the Christian believer after every single time we make a mistake is to not only deny the cleansing power of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf but also to put ourselves under a new law of our own making. That is not healthy. It is not what Scripture teaches.

God’s commandments exist for our own good. Although there are definite consequences for our sins, the Lord is merciful, and He is always the one who decides how best to correct our disobedience. Those who acutely feel the weight of an infraction against God and beg Him for forgiveness will be made right before Him whereas those who either downplay their transgressions or ignore them entirely are not in good standing before the Lord (Luke 18:9–14). Likewise, those who do not know they are sinning are less guilty than those who choose to willfully disobey God (Luke 12:47–48; Lev 4:2, 13, 22; 1 Tim 1:13). Our attitudes and responses to our sins are very important to God. Although we are never so far away from Him that He is unwilling to take us back should we wander away from His perfect ways—after all, nothing can separate us from His love (Acts 17:27; Rom 8:39)—becoming unburied from our sins and the consequences of those sins is not always easy. God allows us the dignity of choosing whether we will obey Him and does not force us to choose obedience even if we do not always comprehend the consequences of our sinful choices.

Some people must first understand their sins to know certain behaviors are a problem. Others must experience adversity to realize the gravity of their rebellion against God. Still others are completely blind and hard of heart to godly morality, and nothing short of the Lord drawing these people to Himself will break through their self-imposed barriers (John 6:44). The kingdom of darkness does not want anyone to live according to Christian values and will work to make that more difficult to the degree it is able to do so. Yet God can and does work in each of these situations. When it comes to sin, God will not turn His back on us when we stumble, but He does expect us to try and conduct our lives according to what He teaches in Scripture. To do that, we must first understand what Scripture says about sinful disobedience against the Lord.

Our Sinful Nature

Adam and Eve made a serious mistake when they disobeyed God (Gen 3:6). Their rebellion tainted what God said was good (Gen 1:31), and we have been struggling with the consequences of their sin ever since. Through their disobedience, “the many were made sinners” (Rom 5:19 NASB). Theologians debate whether we inherit guilt from the first couple as representatives of the entire human race. There are persuasive arguments on both sides of this discussion, yet there is almost universal agreement among theologians that we inherit the same sinful nature—that is, the tendency toward sin—Adam and Eve first exhibited. Through them, they passed the propensity to sin on to their children, and so Paul writes, “sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12 NASB). Solomon states a similar point when he writes, “Behold, I have found only this, that God made people upright, but they have sought out many schemes” (Eccl 7:29 NASB), which further suggests people operate from the basis of their sinful nature. Therefore, “[e]very one of [us] has turned aside; together [we] have become corrupt; / There is no one who does good, not even one” (Ps 53:3 NASB). We are filled with all manner of deceit, bitterness, murder, and destruction (Ps 5:9; 10:7; Isa 59:7–8) because we all trace our human lineage back to Adam and Eve.

Sin slays us spiritually. Although suffering the penalty of our sins does not necessarily mean sudden physical death, it always means spiritual death and eternal separation from God (Gen 2:17; Eph 2:1, 4–6). There are no exceptions. Sin of every kind causes us to be legally guilty before the God of creation in whom “there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 NASB); for “whoever keeps the whole Law, yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all” (Jas 2:10 NASB). Our inherited nature is hostile to God “for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are” controlled by their sinful nature “cannot please God” (Rom 8:7–8 NASB).

This is not to say humans have no value; we do (John 3:16). It is also not to say that we cannot do nice and virtuous things for one another; we can (Matt 7:11). But what this means is that we, as human beings, are spiritually incapable of pleasing God on His terms through our own power because our natural inclinations cause us to be wholly predisposed toward disobeying Him (Rom 7:18; 8:5–8; Titus 1:15). The world simply cannot save itself.

Christians share the same inherited tendencies as the rest of the world, but those who are saved through Christ are new creations and born again into renewed spiritual life, “the old things passed away” so that “new things have come” (2 Cor 5:17 NASB). God brings us back to Himself through the new covenant with Jesus Christ so that He no longer counts our sins against us (2 Cor 5:18–19). We were born into rebellion against God, but through Jesus, we are born into eternal life with God. Nevertheless, while we still live in our earthly bodies, we retain our sinful natures. The difference between believers and unbelievers, however, is that sinful human nature no longer controls believers. The Holy Spirit enables us to set our minds on the things of God (Rom 8:9); therefore, we are under no obligation to live according to what our sinful natures desire (Rom 8:12). This is good news for us since these desires inevitably constitute further rebellion against God, which can only lead to serious consequences (Rom 8:13).

Yet the Holy Spirit does not force us to do anything we do not want to do. We will still struggle at times to choose the things of God over that which is opposed to God because He allows us the freedom to choose obedience or rebellion. As a result, even though the Holy Spirit enables us to choose obedience, we will often end up making sinful choices whenever we fail to intentionally set our hearts on seeking the Lord (2 Chr 12:14). In giving us the freedom to choose, God has allowed the consequences of poor choices to exist in our world. This plays out in a variety of ways.

Sometimes our difficulties in life happen when other people exercise their personal freedom to choose behaviors that hurt us. Other times, we are solely responsible for making poor decisions that negatively impact our lives. Life as God designed it is all about choices and the consequences of those choices, which means that many times our decisions deny God what He wants. That is the essence of sin. While no one but Jesus can claim they have never sinned (1 John 1:8), those who do what is right show themselves to be a child of God (1 John 2:29).

Conversely, those who continually sin and seek to justify it, deny it, dismiss it, or ignore it are of the world. People who habitually choose to sin without remorse—or, in other words, flagrantly disobey God—are not true Christians. They are living their lives squarely within the confines of their sinful natures. No one who continually sins, with either a fundamental disregard for God or full knowledge that what they are doing is wrong, has a saving relationship with Jesus nor an understanding of who He is (1 John 3:6). “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love” other Christian believers (1 John 3:10 NASB). Everyone is either a child of God or a child of Satan; there is no neutral ground. The “one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:8–9 NASB).

We all have habits that can be very difficult to conquer. “John is not saying that if you sin, you are no longer a child of God. Though we try our best not to violate his will, we may sin at times—and he is ready, willing and able to forgive us. However, when your lifestyle is characterized by living in disobedience to the Lord, you show that you are not truly his (Lk 6:43–44).”¹ Consequently, there are two kinds of people. Those who belong to God strive to emulate Him and exhibit His righteous nature. Those who belong to Satan habitually sin without remorse and therefore exhibit his sinful nature. We can identify the tree by the fruit it produces (Matt 7:16–17); moreover, “the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His;’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to keep away from wickedness’” (2 Tim 2:19 NASB).

When Paul confronted a Jewish sorcerer on the island of Cyprus, He told him, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10 NASB). While the man in question may have claimed to know God, his true spiritual father was Satan, and that was evident by his attempts to keep the Roman proconsul from expressing saving faith in Jesus. The values in this world are in conflict with what God values and will never be reconciled while Satan is still at work in the hearts of unbelievers (Eph 2:1–3).

Some Christians chafe under the perceived restrictions of righteous behavior and believe grace affords them the opportunity to sin without repercussions. It emphatically does not! “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?… Are we to sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? Far from it!” (Rom 6:1–2, 15 NASB). We become the slave of whatever we obey, and if this happens to be a sinful lifestyle, that will lead to death one way or another (Rom 6:16). The fundamental reality of Christianity is that we “are to repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance” (Acts 26:20 NASB) because we are only fooling ourselves if we listen to God’s word but refuse to put it into practice (Jas 1:22).

Repentance is making an honest effort to change behaviors that God views as sinful. Acting immorally on Saturday night, asking for forgiveness on Sunday morning, and then repeating that same cycle the very next weekend is incredibly misguided when that sinner operates under the false notion that God will somehow excuse this behavior on account of His abundant grace. This is not what repentance looks like, nor is this Christian behavior. Should God excuse unrepentant sin because it gives us what we think we want? Or should God excuse unrepentant sin when we put a little extra into the offering plate on Sunday morning? Absolutely not! Solomon writes that such behavior is an abomination to the Lord (Prov 21:27).

Plotting future wickedness at the same time we ask for forgiveness is a flagrant abuse and misunderstanding of what grace actually means; for “if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” of God (Heb 10:26–27 NASB). This is trampling underfoot the Son of God, treating the blood of the new covenant with contempt, and insulting the Holy Spirit (Heb 10:29). The Lord does not and will never accept such behavior in His children no matter the excuses they may give.

The Consequences of Sin

Deliberately participating in evil thoughts, ideas, or actions to see firsthand why God forbids them contains no wisdom; personal experience with evil only brings misery. Nor is it wise to believe that we know better than God how best to identify wicked behavior; we do not. The Lord has given us the Bible as our best resource for understanding what He finds to be acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and attitudes. The desire for either firsthand knowledge of evil or morality independent from God only leads to problems.

Eve discovered this when she let her own harmful desires get the better of her, disobeying a direct command from God in order to eat the fruit that He had forbidden (Gen 3:5–6). What Satan failed to mention when he enticed her was that her newfound knowledge of good and evil would come from direct experience with personal corruption. This was not a happy outcome. Adam and Eve obtained firsthand knowledge of evil and succeeded in gaining a measure of independence from God, but the cost was steep, painful, and long lasting (Gen 3:16–19, 23).

Paul warns us to be “wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil” (Rom 16:19 NASB; cf. 1 Cor 14:20). Becoming personally acquainted with the many forms of evil so prevalent in this world only leads to unnecessary temptations that can easily pull us off the path of righteousness. Succumbing to those temptations is a problem because our actions in life almost always affect other people. Even when sin is the inadvertent result of a personal failing rather than the willful crossing of a line we know God has put in place, the sin of one person can still affect other people.

King David once rebelled against the commandments of the Lord as part of taking an ill-advised census (1 Chr 21:1, 8), and while his exact transgressions are not entirely clear in Scripture, his guilt is apparent. David chose to pursue an immoral course of action in full view of the entire nation of Israel. This was a serious problem—King Saul lost the right to rule Israel for making similar mistakes (1 Sam 15:10-11, 23). God could not overlook something so serious in Israel’s king because this royal office set an example for the people to follow (1 Sam 8:19–22; 15:17). When David sinned, it also happened to echo the sins of the nation (2 Sam 24:1), so God became very angry at the Israelites and sent a divine plague among them for flagrantly violating the covenant agreement (1 Chr 21:14; cf. Deut 28:20–22; Exod 30:12). This was a consequence of sin that touched the lives of an entire nation. David may have been the final straw, but the Israelites were far from innocent (1 Sam 8:8; 2 Sam 15:10, 13; 20:1–2). Leaders and teachers are always held to a much higher standard than other people (Jas 3:1) and have an important responsibility to set a godly example for those whom God places in their care. But whether we are leaders or laborers, every one of us should be aware that our own immoral behavior has consequences.

To keep well-meaning people from making poor choices, God often provides warnings to steer us away from sin. This might happen through a verse from Scripture that speaks directly into the situation (2 Tim 3:16; Rom 15:4), an uneasy feeling from the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), or even the word of a fellow believer (Gal 2:11; Acts 8:20–23; 1 Tim 5:20). However it happens, we must listen and respond appropriately whenever God warns us because He will not force us to make a decision that pleases Him.

Joab, the commander of King David’s armies, is one example of God using a believer to caution another believer against sin. He warned David that taking a census of Israel—for whatever reason David had in mind—would displease the Lord (2 Sam 24:3; 1 Chr 21:3). This is especially noteworthy given that Joab had committed many sins in his own life ranging from murder to insubordination (2 Sam 3:27; 1 Kgs 1:7–8; 2:5). For him to point out the census was a bad idea could only have come from God. David received what we can reasonably view as a divine warning. He could have turned away from the action he was planning, but instead, the king of Israel ignored his commander. David forced his officials to conduct the census anyway, which led the nation deeper into sin to the point where God had to address it in an undeniable way. When we recognize yet refuse to heed the warnings that God places in front of us, it always leads to bitter consequences. “David pled for mercy, and God responded by stopping the angel before his mission of death was complete. The consequences of David’s sin, however, had already caused severe damage. God will always forgive our sins and will often intervene to make their bitter consequences less severe, but the scars will remain.”²

Every sin is wrong in the sight of God. There is no such thing as a “little sin,” and whenever we fail to meet the expectations God has set for human behavior, we are guilty of a serious transgression against Him. Our actions, attitudes, and intentions are all important to the Lord. That said, some sins carry more weight than others. “In general, we may say that some sins have more harmful consequences than others if they bring more dishonor to God or if they cause more harm to ourselves, to others, or to the church.”³

The Lord once told the Israelites they had done more detestable things than their neighbors in Samaria, making the Samaritans appear innocent by comparison (Ezek 16:51–52). The Israelites had “acted more abominably than they” (Ezek 16:52 NASB) and so carried more guilt than the Samaritans. Later, Jesus accused the Pharisees of neglecting “the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Mat 23:23 NASB), further indicating that some divine commandments carry more weight than others. So although breaking any aspect of the Law causes us to be guilty of breaking the entire Law (Jas 2:10), disobeying certain commandments is more grievous than disobeying others. It follows that the spiritual consequences of weighter sins are more severe. We also see the same principles at work in civil law. Striking a neighbor might result in a restraining order; murdering a neighbor might result in capital punishment or imprisonment for life. One offense carries more guilt than the other, yet both are illegal in the eyes of the law.

Deliberate Sin Carries Serious Risk

Those who willfully embrace immorality without any remorse will suffer for it. “All sin separates us from God, but some sins bring harsher consequences than others. Presumptuous sins—brazen, knowing, defiant, arrogant, premeditated sins—carry a heavy penalty.”⁴ Not only will those who adopt such behavior sow iniquity then “harvest a storm” (Hos 8:7 NASB), God will eventually give them over to their sins, rendering them incapable of discerning good from evil behavior (Rom 1:28–32; Ps 81:11–12; Prov 1:23–31; Hos 4:17) because they have rejected God one way or another. Deliberate sin in thought, speech, or action is a serious transgression against the Lord (Ps 19:13); the further one walks in that direction, the harder it is to recognize evil. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; / Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; / Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! / Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes / And clever in their own sight!” (Isa 5:20–21 NASB).

God disciplined the Israelites many times because they completely lost sight of all righteousness. If God saw fit to judge His own people in ancient times, why should we think the modern era would be any different? And if God judges His own people, how much more will He judge those who embrace everything that He has declared wicked (1 Pet 4:17)? The Lord’s righteousness demands that He respond to sin. He does not turn a blind eye to it! A person steeped in deliberate and unrepentant sin chooses to go out from the protection of God. These are serious sins; they carry a risk of either physical or spiritual death (1 John 5:16–17). The consequences of these willful sins can also result in severe demonization, an excruciating condition sometimes worse than physical death (Mark 5:3–5). While God places a hedge of protection around His children (Job 1:10; Ps 5:11), those who reject God have no such guarantee (Ps 5:4–6). Their protection against spiritual evil may be entirely absent.

Furthermore, anyone who acknowledges the truth that Christ represents yet continues to sin without hesitation is also in serious jeopardy (Heb 10:26–31). There is no longer any sacrifice that can cover those sins, nor can that person expect anything from God except His judgment. These actions prove a lack of saving faith. We cannot sin as we please, devoid of any heartfelt repentance, and still expect Jesus to pardon our sins. While this constitutes intellectual acknowledgement of Jesus’s authority, even demons manage to do that much (Jas 2:19). Deliberate rebellion against God ends in destruction because it signals a prideful attitude that refuses to submit to the Lord’s sovereignty—again, like demons. People within this category effectively consider themselves to be their own gods, no different than Satan who desires to be worshiped (Matt 4:9) and fell from grace in large part due to his pride (Isa 14:12–14; Ezek 28:12–17).

No one should ever reject God’s truth simply because it conflicts with a chosen lifestyle or a favorite philosophy. This inevitably leads to participation in behaviors that God has forbidden for good reason. Although some people—even those who claim Christ—will do this anyway, “all they are doing is moving further away from filling the empty void within them—what only the Lord can do. Even deeper emptiness, dissatisfaction and hopelessness always result. Eventually, those transgressions take over their lives and destroy them (Ro 1:26, 28).”⁵ Those who plan to do evil and those who are quick to involve themselves in wickedness behave in ways the Lord abhors (Prov 6:16–19). Their eventual destruction, whether physical or spiritual, is assured unless they change their ways. One is an end to life in the here and now; the other is eternal condemnation and separation from God.

Physical Death as a Consequence of Sin

Physical death can be a natural outcome for certain sins. For example, because the human body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19–20), abusing the body is a sin. Those who sin by abusing their bodies with illicit drugs or rampant alcoholism may die as a natural result of ingesting too many harmful substances. This is a consequence of sin with a clear cause and effect at work. There is nothing particularly surprising about this outcome; it just happens to coincide with how God delineates right and wrong behavior. Avoiding sins like this pleases God and keeps us healthy. Still, the decision is ours, and physical death may result when we cross the line. God never promises He will spare our health from the logical outcome of sinful choices.

Physical death can also be a divine outcome for certain sins. Scripture teaches that God may use death as a disciplinary measure, such as when a group of people in the early Corinthian church died for totally disrespecting Holy Communion (1 Cor 11:27–32; cf. Lev 22:9). A married couple in the Jerusalem church also died for lying about the money they had earned by selling their property (Acts 5:1–11). These both exemplify flagrant sins in the early church at a time when Christianity was still in its infancy. That God uses death as part of divine discipline demonstrates that there are certain situations where He would rather destroy the physical body and rescue that person from wholesale rejection of their faith than have anyone eternally condemned along with the world (1 Cor 11:32). It may also happen that physical death as a divine consequence prevents an influential person from corrupting other people in their faith.

Spiritual Death as a Consequence of Sin

Sin can also lead to spiritual death. Those who reject the Messiah’s offer of salvation (John 3:18), together with those who once professed belief in Jesus but later turned away (Heb 6:4–6), live under the eternal penalty of their sins. That penalty is the “second death” (Rev 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8). Jesus’s sacrifice is the one and only acceptable means of our atonement, and by rebelling against Him, it removes the bridge God has set in place between humanity and Himself. The blood of Jesus is the only means to bridge this gap and reconcile our sins without requiring eternal separation from God as a penalty for our transgressions. The “unforgivable sin” is closely related to this wholesale rejection of Christ.

Jesus teaches, “[W]hoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:29 NASB; cf. Matt 12:32). The context for this verse is key. Jesus says this in a confrontation with the Pharisees who knew that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of God, yet their pride and rejection of Jesus caused them to knowingly attribute what He did to Satan. The Pharisees could not deny the truth of His miracles, nor could they deny the miracles happened through the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, they knowingly and willfully claimed that it was Satan—not the Holy Spirit—who was behind these successful exorcisms. This was a misguided attempt to discredit Jesus. “When a person deliberately and disrespectfully slanders the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit in pointing to the lordship and redemption of Jesus Christ, he forfeits any possibility of forgiveness of sins… because he has wholly rejected the only basis of God’s salvation.”⁶

A Christian, by definition, is not guilty of this sin. It is not some casual slip of the tongue or a moment of disappointment that leads to this situation. Rather, it is a deliberate, total rejection of the Holy Spirit who points the way to faith in Jesus Christ. This is no different than rejecting God Himself.

Demonization as It Relates to Sin

People commonly believe that demonization is a direct consequence of sin. There is some truth to this claim, but the broader narratives of “commit a sin, receive a demon” and “commit a sin, probably receive a demon” are so incredibly wrong that they can only have originated from demons themselves (1 Tim 4:1). It is important to make one point absolutely clear: Scripture does not contain anything that teaches demonization automatically results from every sin we commit. There is not one verse, one chapter, or one book throughout the entire Bible that makes this claim. Committing to that belief is no different than becoming bound once again to the curse of the Law (Gal 3:10).

The ancient Israelites all agreed as part of their covenant with the Lord that “[c]ursed is anyone who does not fulfill the words of this Law by doing them” (Deut 27:26 NASB). The misguided notion that we receive a demon whenever we sin is like the covenant curse⁷ associated with strict adherence to the Law. However, Christians live by grace; we are not bound by the Law. That is what it means when we enter into the new covenant with God through Jesus Christ. Even the ancient Israelites were wholly dependent on the Lord’s mercy and grace to be made right in His sight (Rom 4:1—16). It was definitely not strict adherence to the Law because they were inevitably going to break it (Rom 4:14–16)!⁸

Scripture is mostly silent on the topic of what causes demonization. There are times when sin plays an outsized role in determining who experiences demonic adversity (1 Sam 15:22–23; 16:14), but Jesus and His apostles simply cast out demons without ever commenting on why these victims suffered from this particular affliction in the first place. Given that there were no recorded conversations about the whys and wherefores of demonization, it strongly suggests that Jesus was primarily concerned about the spiritual health of those He helped. Now, the Lord may choose to use a demon as an agent of His judgment.⁹ That is His sovereign right. And there are times when the consequences of sin do result in demonic oppression (Judg 9:23–24; 1 Sam 16:14; 1 Kgs 22:22; Rev 9:4–5). But this is always at the Lord’s discretion and never guaranteed.

A very long time ago, a man named Bildad accused Job of having so much sin in His life that it caused the dramatic suffering Job experienced (Job 8). It was unthinkable to Bildad that there could be any reason other than sin for Job to suffer sudden and terrible loss of family, property, and health all at the same time. But Bildad was wrong. It would have been better for him not to speak at all because he had no actual insight into what caused Job’s situation, and his speculation only made Job’s suffering worse. Neither man was privy to the heavenly conversation between God and Satan preceding Job’s situation. God said of Job, “[T]here is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8 NASB). Sin was not the cause of Job’s suffering.

Likewise, sin is not necessarily the only cause of demonization. Since demonic oppression is a form of adversity, the real question is what causes adversity. There are many reasonable answers to that question,¹⁰ and sin is a possibility, but by no means is it the only answer. Whether serious demonic oppression does or does not occur in the life of any particular person is entirely up to the Lord. It is not determined by some automatic cosmic process meant to terrorize us into adopting morally correct behavior.

Some have said more specifically that unforgiveness¹¹—which is clearly a sin (Matt 18:21–22; 1 John 3:10; 4:20)—also leads to demonization (cf. Matt 18:21–35). Yet, as with sin in general, the consequences for unforgiveness are also entirely up to the Lord. Jesus tells a parable about an unforgiving debtor who failed to have mercy on a fellow debtor so was tortured until he could repay his own considerable debt (Matt 18:34). Jesus finishes the story by saying, “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart” (Matt 18:35 NASB). The details of this are vague; Jesus never specifies who or what acts in the role of torturer.

“We dare not say that the ‘tormentors’ are avenging angels, or demons… More truly, we may see in them the symbols of whatever agencies God employs in the work of righteous retribution, the stings of remorse, the scourge of conscience, the scorn and reproach of men, not excluding, of course, whatever elements of suffering lie… in the life beyond the grave.”¹² The implication in Jesus’s parable is that the unforgiving debtor—and those, like him, who hold grudges and never forgive—are stepping out from the grace of God into a spiritual wilderness. The consequences of willfully leaving the presence of God are quite severe all by themselves. This parable points to that reality.

Scripture also does not teach that demons can force us to sin. “We need to accept our own responsibility to obey the Lord and not to shift blame for our own misdeeds onto some demonic force.”¹³ Peter would not warn us to stand firm against the evil machinations of Satan if his schemes were guaranteed to cause us to stumble (1 Pet 5:8–9). There is no need to resist something outside of our control. Peter would have given us entirely different advice if Satan could force us to sin. The Lord, however, does not allow Satan to have that kind of freedom.

Similarly, there is no scriptural evidence that the kingdom of darkness assigns demons to us with responsibility over the specific sins they hope to cause in our lives; demonic jobs may or may not be that granular. Although Scripture does not address this question, neither Jesus nor Paul nor any other biblical figure taught us to cast out spirits of “dissension,” “incest,” “litigation,” “selfishness,” “strife,” “disorder,” “anger,” or any other presumed demon thought to be assigned to a particular sin. Paul simply advises us to live in unity with other believers (1 Cor 1:10), appropriately deal with sin in the church (1 Cor 5:1–5), avoid litigation with other believers (1 Cor 6:1–8), live selflessly (1 Cor 11:28–33), and not let anger become a driving force in our lives (Eph 4:26–27). Again, his advice would be very different if a demon directly caused every problem we face, but that is simply not the case—we are responsible for our own sins. “Therefore, though the New Testament clearly recognizes the influence of demonic activity in the world… its primary focus regarding evangelism and Christian growth is on the choices and actions taken by people themselves (see also Gal. 5:16–26; Eph. 4:1–6:9; Col. 3:1–4:6; et al.).”¹⁴

We are all guilty of sin. What we do with that knowledge makes all the difference in our lives, especially for those who are suffering from a demon problem. The story of King Saul provides scriptural evidence that unrepentance can cause demonic oppression to become more severe. His tormenting demons (or demon) were part of the divine judgment against Saul for very public disobedience against the Lord (1 Sam 15:10-11, 23), a big problem given Saul’s royal station. Demonic tormentors never completely departed from Saul during his lifetime because he was never truly repentant for his sins. He continued to disobey God until his dying breath, and in doing so, God’s hand continued to be against him. The demons seemed to push Saul toward ever spiraling extremes of ungodly behavior; Saul would cross a new line, not repent for his mistakes, not seek forgiveness from the Lord, and land in an even deeper pit of torment.

The man who started out very humble, even timid (1 Sam 9:21), eventually suffered from intense jealousy, anger, insanity, rage, fear, depression, and paranoia that obscured his understanding of right and wrong to the point where he was successfully tempted to commit murder, participate in occultism, and eventually kill himself (1 Sam 18:8–12; 22:6–8, 17–19; 28:3–24; 31:4). We can conclude from Saul’s biography that while the Lord is very patient with us, He will eventually allow us to face judgment for our disobedience. When we continue in our disobedience, the consequences will become increasingly more severe.

If the Lord has allowed demonic oppression to enter into our lives, we must pay attention to what He has to say because there is a strong chance He is using the situation to get our attention (Lam 3:37–38). God typically speaks through Scripture, Christian believers, or the Holy Spirit, though what He says will be context specific. In Saul’s case, the Lord’s message was repentance and obedience. Saul failed to acknowledge this message, continued in his sin, and suffered for it. Everyone in a similarly uncomfortable situation will experience unique circumstances, so the reasons for demonic torment will be different from person to person. Yet we must keep in mind that the Lord desires repentance and obedience as part of our relationship with Him (Lam 3:39–42). When we do these things and earnestly seek His help, the Lord will help us. “The Lord is good to those who await Him, / To the person who seeks Him” (Lam 3:25 NASB). He “will not reject forever, / For if He causes grief, / Then He will have compassion / In proportion to His abundant mercy” (Lam 3:31–32 NASB). He does not enjoy hurting anyone or causing us harm (Lam 3:33), but He does expect to get our attention whenever we experience unusual, adverse circumstances outside of our control or understanding.

Misdirected Worship Is a Crime against God

One of the most serious sins we can commit is worshiping anything or anyone other than the Lord, “for the Lord your God who is in the midst of you is a jealous God; so follow Him, or else the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you” (Deut 6:15 NASB). We cannot make anything else into an object of our worship and expect the Lord to approve of our actions. On the contrary, this greatly offends Him. Worshiping any other gods—which are all either lifeless statues or demons in disguise (Isa 45:5–7; Ps 96:5; 1 Cor 10:19–20; 2 Chr 32:19; Rev 9:20; Deut 32:17)—is the same as committing spiritual prostitution and adultery (Lev 17:7; 20:6; Jer 3:6–10; Ezek 23:37). “As adultery rouses an offended spouse’s wrath, so idolatry rouses the anger of God.”¹⁵

This is a grave sin with severe consequences. When the Israelites committed this very sin while wandering in the wilderness, God judged them with a plague that killed many people (Num 25; Ps 106:28–30). Although this was a unique situation in the timeline of God’s redemption plan for humanity, it demonstrates that serious consequences exist for those who claim the Lord but also choose to worship something that is not Him. The Lord is the one and only god, and we must worship Him alone (Exod 20:3). There are no other gods besides Him (Deut 32:39).

Idolatry is a related sin that many who will refuse to worship statues of wood, stone, and metal may still be guilty of committing. This is “trusting in what one has made, and therefore, in one’s own power as creator and sustainer. If we say we worship God but put our trust in bank accounts, homes, businesses, and organizations, then we are idolaters.”¹⁶ Similarly, our “modern idols are those symbols of power, pleasure, or prestige that we so highly regard. When we understand contemporary parallels to idolatry, Paul’s words to ‘flee from idolatry’ [in 1 Corinthians 10:14] become much more meaningful.”¹⁷

There is nothing God has made nor anything we have made that should ever take His place in our lives. It is foolish to trust in a created thing or an appealing philosophy to sustain us in the place of God (Hab 2:18), but this regularly happens anyway. For example, modern culture would have us create idols out of love, inclusion, and diversity. These are not inherently bad concepts; the Bible teaches these same principles! But when we begin to create our own definitions for these principles and set them above God and how He expects us to behave or what He defines as righteous and wicked behavior, we become guilty of idolatry because our personal beliefs have contradicted God and replaced Him as our top priority.

Idols obscure our relationship with the Lord. They get between Him and us in a way that deflects the reverence and trust that should be His alone. There is a parallel seen with spouses who habitually allow distractions like work, hobbies, or children’s activities to come between them. Eventually, their relationship with one another suffers, and taken to an extreme, the other person in the marriage will begin to seem more like a roommate than a husband or wife. This situation is very hurtful to the people involved. Additional sins like adultery can easily creep in if the pair does not work to become recommitted to one another. Idolatry is no different. Our relationship with the Lord should be our most intimate relationship, and we should acknowledge that what God teaches through His holy Word must become the guiding principles for every area of our lives if we wish to please Him. When we let anything come between God and our relationship with Him, our relationship suffers in a very serious way (as will the other relationships in our lives). This is not what the Lord desires from us. He expects better of the people He has chosen to be His own.

Pride is similar to idolatry (1 Sam 15:23). While positive self-esteem is very healthy, excessive appreciation for the self is a sinful attitude. The same can be said for feeling superior to other people, pushing others down to lift oneself up, and craving fame or adulation from the people in this world rather than looking to the Lord for approval. God does not tolerate pride because it causes us to become our own object of worship. Pride tells us that we are more important than the people around us, a false notion in direct conflict with what Scripture actually teaches (Jas 2:1–9; Gal 3:28; Rom 2:11; Mark 12:31; Acts 10:34–35; Lev 19:33–34). One person is not more valuable in the eyes of God than any other—we are all important to Him. We are also not on the same level as the Lord. We are the creation, and God is our creator. By definition, that means God commands far greater authority than we do and is worthy of immeasurably more acclaim than we are.

Furthermore, pride, arrogance, and conceit are attitudes that oppose God because they all imply we know better than Him, as if we are the exception to the rules He has set in place. This, of course, is false (Job 38–39); when we begin to think along those lines, we become vulnerable to God’s judgment (Prov 16:18). “If we constantly challenge the Lord’s commands and question his authority, we reveal that there is a terrible strain of pride within us. The enemy has a foothold, and it will not end well.”¹⁸ When we make the Lord our spiritual father, we must do everything in our power to distance ourselves from the actions and attitudes that He finds reprehensible—disobedience to God is obedience to Satan (1 John 3:10). Those who reject the Lord’s Word will stumble in the dark; for “rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of divination, / And insubordination is as reprehensible as false religion and idolatry” (1 Sam 15:23 NASB).

Common Sins Are Still Spiritual Crimes

Sin as the Bible defines it can be so widespread and ingrained within our culture that our concept of evil does not necessarily align with what Scripture actually teaches. What God calls evil, our culture frequently calls good (Isa 5:20). For example, Christians usually know that God finds fortune-telling to be a detestable pursuit (Deut 18:10), but how many people regularly read their horoscope and think nothing of it? Normalized immorality exists because Satan is very much involved in the world. Deception is his native language; he and his demons are expert liars. If Satan must leverage widespread cultural acceptance to relabel good as evil, send a friend who lovingly encourages a wicked practice, or concoct a destructive situation so tempting there is little desire to reconsider, he will do so within his limits. Our enemy pulls no punches. Peter describes Satan as “a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8 NASB), the very picture of a dangerous animal that will do whatever it takes for a meal. We are that meal!

Peter admonishes us to resist Satan “firm in your faith” (1 Pet 5:9 NASB). We resist by first understanding what the Lord requires of us by studying Scripture, putting that into practice, and then regularly praying for His help. This should be our first response every time we run into trouble. It is the primary way we are meant to resist evil in our personal lives. Remaining ignorant of how God expects us to conduct ourselves only lands us in trouble because the world so often shouts an entirely different message at everyone who will listen. Sinning in ignorance may incur less guilt than had we sinned in open defiance of what we know to be a biblical prohibition, but we are still guilty nonetheless (Luke 12:47–48; Lev 4:2, 13, 22).

Satan’s lies will only become stronger and more convincing over time until he is performing demonic miracles on the world stage in full view of many people (Mark 13:22). Jesus has warned us in advance to be on guard against these powerful deceptions (Mark 13:23). Now is the time to study and take seriously the Word of God. As the Lord once lamented to the wayward Israelites, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos 4:6 NASB). He would probably say the same thing about Christians today! God wants us to know Him and to know what He expects from us.

Once we understand what God requires, He then expects us to hold fast to it with His help. Obedience is the ultimate expression of worship and service to the Lord (Prov 21:3; 1 Sam 15:22; Ps 81:13–16), and He counts obeying His commands as a righteous act (Deut 6:25). Consequently, knowing what we must do and failing to do it is a sin (Jas 4:17). We must act when the Lord prompts us to act and behave according to the standards He has set for us in Scripture because defiant sin is blasphemy against God. The Lord made it very clear to the ancient Israelites that stubborn defiance was unacceptable behavior for His people: “But the person who does wrong defiantly, whether he is a native or a stranger, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Since he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him” (Num 15:30–31 NASB).

There are many sins the world overlooks or even celebrates. Christians, however, are called to live by an entirely different moral standard than our neighbors. The only way to spot transgressions against the Word of God is to understand His Word well enough to use it as a guide to daily living. We must then commit to it; these are the words of life itself (John 6:63, 68; cf. Deut 17:18–20)!

One might think the list of behaviors an orthodox Christian should find offensive would see widespread agreement among believers, but unfortunately, it often does not. Sins that are not perceived as transgressions against God have wormed their way into many cultures and many families where they work to destroy Christian morality from the inside. When a Christian behaves no differently than their non-believing neighbors, they have lost their “saltiness,” the essence of what makes an effective follower of Christ. “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:34–35 NASB). There are many common sins that could be mentioned as examples, but here are three to consider: blasphemy, sexual immorality, and vicious criticism.

Examples of Common Sins

Exclamations like “Oh, my G–d!” occur so frequently in speech they often go unnoticed. Not only is this habit reinforced by repetition throughout popular media, parents also routinely use phrases like this. Their children learn to include these phrases in their own vocabulary after observing their parents and observing the pervasive speech patterns around them. However, this is not just empty talk; this is casual blasphemy. The Lord said, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain” (Exod 20:7 NASB).

What are phrases like this if not a misuse of His holy name? There is no reverence in it, there is no respect in it, and there is no acknowledgement that the invoked name belongs to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. In fact, this phrase is so common that even unbelievers sprinkle it into their speech without a second thought. They do not even worship our God! Christians are the last people who should profane the name of the Lord because we best understand the consequences. We should never be the reason why unbelievers feel free to misuse the name of God (Rom 2:21–24). Casual blasphemy is still blasphemy no matter how socially acceptable it may be.

Another worldly notion that leads to a wide variety of common sins is the idea that we own our bodies and have the right to do with them whatever we please. This is emphatically untrue for Christians since Scripture directly refutes that philosophy. “[D]o you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:19–20 NASB). Recreational drugs, alcohol abuse, and casual sex are all sins against the body (1 Cor 6:18). Civil laws may permit us to do any of these things, but not everything is good for us, and participating in addictive behaviors easily leads to becoming enslaved to them (1 Cor 6:12).

With regard to human sexuality, Paul spends a fair amount of space in his letter to the Corinthians specifically denouncing sexual sin precisely because it is so destructive. The body was not made “for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord” cares about what we do with our bodies (1 Cor 6:13 NASB). This is a completely foreign concept to the world; many people take offense at the idea that God does not permit us to behave however we want. Nevertheless, it bears repeating that Christians are called to live by an entirely different moral standard than our neighbors.

Half of all Christians in the United States (and about two-thirds of Catholics specifically) believe that “casual sex between consenting adults is sometimes or always acceptable.”¹⁹ Paul—an apostle of Jesus Christ with full authority to comment on what God does and does not consider sinful (Gal 1:1)—would disagree. He tells us, “Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Cor 6:18 NASB). Remaining single is good; getting married is also good (1 Cor 7:1–2, 28, 32–35). What is not good is sex outside of marriage. There is an expectation in Paul’s letter that Christian men and women should remain virgins until married (1 Cor 6:12–20; 7:8–9, 36–38), and this expectation is also fully present in Mosaic Law (Deut 22:13–30; Exod 22:16; Lev 21:7, 13). Although the world views this practice as incredibly juvenile (1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15–16; 4:3–4), it comes directly from God. He is the one who knows our bodies and psychology the best!

Paul advised the Corinthian church “not to associate with sexually immoral” Christians (1 Cor 5:9 NASB)—“not even to eat with such a person” (1 Cor 5:11 NASB) unless they repent of their sins. “This kind of church discipline may not sound either loving or kind to many today. But true, unconditional love works to restore the sinner, not tolerate the sin… Godly love also protects those who would be tempted to compromise their relationship with Christ because of the offender’s example.”²⁰ Our cultural values are so far removed from the Lord’s values that the biblical advice in Paul’s letter seems both incendiary and highly controversial to many modern Christians. Yet God does not limit our freedoms because He takes perverse joy in watching us struggle. Sexually transmitted diseases, sexual addiction, abandoned children, broken families, destroyed relationships, emotional crises, personal insecurity, and intense depression are the fruit of this particular kind of sin. The Lord often provides boundaries for our own protection.

A third example of a common sin is the notion that we are somehow entitled to viciously criticize every person who disagrees with us, thinks differently than the prevailing cultural narratives, or has ever made a public mistake. Scripture has something very different to say about this: King David refused to tolerate anyone who slandered a neighbor and would not put up with self-righteous pride (Ps 101:5). King Solomon said that anyone who slanders a neighbor is a fool (Prov 10:18). Paul cautioned the Ephesians that they would grieve the Holy Spirit by practicing behaviors and attitudes including bitterness, anger, harsh words, and slander (Eph 4:30–31). Jesus was even more forceful when He taught that insulting other people in anger makes us guilty of a very serious transgression (Matt 5:21–26; cf. Matt 7:1–6). In fact, “Jesus suggests that verbal abuse stems from the same sinful motives (anger and hatred) that ultimately lead to murder. The internal attitude is what the law actually prohibits and, therefore, an abusive insult caries the same kind of moral guilt as an act of murder.”²¹

What gives any of us the right to condemn another person? We are all sinners; we have all sinned. “But do you suppose this, you foolish person who passes judgment on those who practice such things, and yet does them as well, that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Rom 2:3 NASB). No, because we are never good enough on our own merits to save ourselves; we must all depend on the grace of God (Rom 2:1). “We need to speak out against sin, but we must do so in a spirit of humility. Often the sins we notice most clearly in others are the ones that have taken root in us. If we look closely at ourselves, we may find that we are committing the same sins in more socially acceptable forms.”²²

Misplaced self-righteousness underestimates our own guilt. God shows patience and restraint with us—not immediately punishing us for our own personal sins as we deserve—precisely because He intends to use kindness to turn us away from our sins (Rom 2:4). Angry, self-righteous, harsh, and insulting criticisms are not what God desires from those who want to follow Him. “The one who speaks against a brother or sister, or judges his brother or sister, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you, judging your neighbor?” (Jas 4:11–12 NASB). In other words, God prohibits slander and insults, so by participating in this anyway, we are effectively saying that God’s morality does not apply to us. God’s morality applies to everyone!

Our tongues are “set on fire by hell,” defiling us while also spreading destruction to everything around us (Jas 3:6 NASB). Perhaps this is one reason why Jesus says, “Do not judge by the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24 NASB). We must exercise restraint when we evaluate the behaviors of others, using careful discernment always rooted in love or else we are at risk of violating God’s moral principles. Jesus, Paul, James, David, and Solomon are not saying there is never a time and a place to evaluate behaviors that we perceive to be in conflict with Scripture (cf. 1 Cor 5:12–13; Jude 1:23). Rather, they are forbidding hypocrisy, self-righteous legalism, harsh bitterness, and the prideful attitude that our own mistakes are somehow less egregious than the mistakes other people have made.

The difference between a sinful criticism and a loving criticism is a product of the internal attitudes we hold and the words we use to express ourselves. Jesus says, “I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt 12:36–37 NASB). Our words always reveal the state of our hearts; for “the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things” (Matt 12:34–35 NASB).

Casual blasphemy, sexual immorality, and vicious criticism are just three examples among many others to illustrate the broader point that common sins are still sins. The Lord does not view any sin as a trivial matter; every sin is a spiritual crime against God. There are many practices that are acceptable in our culture but conflict with Christian morality. The Lord has called us out of the darkness and spiritual death from which these alternative moral standards originate. Christians should not then look at the moral conduct of our worldly neighbors and seek to emulate them. We “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9 NASB). Worldly desires wage war against our soul (1 Pet 2:11). Knowing this, we should live righteously and honorably among our unbelieving neighbors so they may observe something so radically different and refreshing about the Christian lifestyle that they cannot help but glorify God (1 Pet 2:12).

Only Repentance Leads to Forgiveness

Not everyone who breaks the law experiences remorse for the pain inflicted upon other people. Similarly, not everyone who commits a spiritual crime experiences remorse for the pain inflicted upon God (cf. Hos 11:7–9). Such people have no part in the kingdom of heaven unless they undergo a serious change of heart (2 Cor 7:10; 1 Cor 6:9–10; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; John 3:20). The good news is that we can never be so far away from God that salvation or forgiveness becomes impossible for us. Where there is life, there is hope, and God longs to welcome back His wayward children who have gone astray (Luke 15:11–32). Once we finally realize that sinful paths only lead to death and destruction, true repentance becomes much easier. We must agree with God that certain actions are objectively wrong and then renounce them, immediately stopping all involvement in behaviors that displease the Lord. It is not our punishment that God desires but faithful obedience to Him (Ezek 18:23). The Lord is holy and must address sin, yet He is also filled with love and compassion toward us (1 John 4:8, 16), so much so that He is merciful to even the worst of sinners when they finally turn to Him.

Ahab was one of the most evil kings in Israel’s history (1 Kgs 16:30–31). He married a pagan woman against God’s wishes. He officially condoned and encouraged the worship of idols and false gods. He held grudges. He disobeyed God at every turn. He murdered God’s prophets, and he murdered a neighbor in order to steal his land. Yet for all that, having committed many grievous sins against God and other people, the Lord showed mercy to Ahab in the following ways:

1. God allowed Ahab to reign for twenty-two years (1 Kgs 16:29).
2. God spoke through Elijah to warn Ahab there would be a long drought as punishment for sin (1 Kgs 17:1).
3. God softened His initial judgment against Ahab when Ahab showed signs of repentance (1 Kgs 21:27–29).
4. God showed Ahab that his false prophets were lying to him (1 Kgs 22:23).

If God demonstrated mercy to Ahab despite Ahab’s many terrible sins, we should never doubt that God will show mercy to us too. But we should also note that God will not tolerate sin forever. We must repent of our sins if we are to receive His forgiveness (Acts 3:19; 17:30; 1 John 1:9–10; 2 Chr 7:14; Rom 2:4). This is not the same as compiling a detailed list of everything we have ever done wrong then going line-by-line to ask God for specific pardons.²³ There is not necessarily anything wrong with that, but God does not require us to do this in order to extend His forgiveness. Our job is simply to admit that we have rebelled against God’s perfect morality at one time or another in our thoughts, words, and actions because neither belief in God nor good works are sufficient to pardon our sins. We must actually make Jesus the Lord of our lives and actually turn away from behaviors that He despises. Doing anything else is just an exercise in self-deception.

Partial repentance is not enough. “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4 NASB). No one can be “somewhat sorry” for the wrongs they commit against God. Each of us is either sorry for what we have done and eager to change our sinful habits or we are not. There is no middle ground. Godly sorrow leads to repentance, but worldly sorrow leads to death (2 Cor 7:10). One is remorse for disobeying the Lord, the other is remorse for suffering the repercussions of our actions. Whenever we sin, it is like soiling our clothes with the worst kind of filth and excrement (Zech 3:3). Some may say that because there are shades of gray in real life, only the more flagrant sins are worth avoiding. This is not true. Although it can be difficult at times to discern what is and is not sinful behavior, sin and guilt are forever linked. The degree of sin is irrelevant because even a single splash of filth on an otherwise spotless garment still defiles the entire garment.

Only through our repentance and God’s subsequent forgiveness do we replace our defiled clothing with the new, clean garments that Christ freely offers us (Zech 3:4–5; 2 Cor 5:21; Eph 4:24; Rev 19:8). The blood of Christ makes us clean; He makes us worthy of drawing closer to God. No powerful king would grant an audience to a criminal covered in reeking filth. For that to happen, the criminal would first need a pardon, new clothing, and a hot shower—only then would the situation look different. So it is with us. We are all criminals stained with our many sins. We cannot draw close to God without respecting His station, but the difference between Him and earthly kings is that the King of Kings is a compassionate and powerful ruler who freely offers these benefits to us. He only requires that we recognize His royal station, accept His rule, ask for His pardon, and do our best to stop participating in behaviors He has outlawed. Once we meet His terms, however, He is delighted to scrub us clean of our transgressions and place a crown of everlasting life upon our head (Jas 1:12; 1 Pet 5:4; 2 Tim 4:8). There is no king on earth who can or even would make the same offer!

Still, it can be difficult to admit our mistakes, even to God. That was certainly true for Adam and Eve. They were ashamed after they ate the forbidden fruit and knew they had committed a serious error. When God asked them why they were hiding, Adam blamed Eve (Gen 3:12) and Eve blamed the serpent (Gen 3:13) rather than either of them taking personal responsibility for their own actions. Theirs is not an example we should follow. After we accept Jesus as our Savior and He has forgiven our rebellion against God, we will inevitably sin again. At that point, once we have sinned, the very best thing we can do is act against what our instincts may be telling us and seek God’s forgiveness. Denying our sins or denying responsibility for our actions only makes our situation worse. Sin is a heavy burden, and no one can successfully bear it apart from God (Ps 32:3–5). Because God loves us, however, He freely extends His forgiveness.

God’s initial pardon washes us clean of all our transgressions; asking for forgiveness for specific sins after that is like rinsing our feet (John 13:10). Jesus’s atonement covers new sins too, so we need not fear that our salvation somehow failed to “stick,” though addressing our guilt with God refreshes us by renewing our relationship with Him. There is no reason not to admit our faults to God, take responsibility for our actions, and ask for His forgiveness. Hiding from the Lord—who knows everything and sees everything—is one of the worst things we could do.

Similarly, the pride that results from believing our sinful actions are somehow justified only compounds our problems. God often softens His judgment when we confess and repent of our sins (1 Kgs 21:27–29; 1 Chr 21:7–17), but stubbornly persisting in sinful behaviors and attitudes will never lead to joy, peace, or happiness. The only way to escape our bondage to sin is to agree with God that certain actions are sinful. Peter teaches that times of refreshing only come when we choose to repent of our sins and turn back to God (Acts 3:19–20), so “if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 NASB).

For those who earnestly seek God and want His forgiveness, it is freely available (Acts 3:19; Matt 4:17; 11:28–30; John 6:37; Rev 22:17). We do not have to earn it (1 John 1:9). And once our forgiveness is complete, God has thoroughly blasted away our sins. “As far as the east is from the west, / So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us / Just as a father has compassion on his children, / So the Lord has compassion on those who [revere] Him” (Ps 103:12–13 NASB). There is never any need to condemn or reject ourselves over what we have done because as far as God is concerned, the spiritual crimes in question are totally erased. Our record is clean, our sins are forgotten. “We are fragile, but God’s care is eternal. Too often we focus on God as a Judge and Lawgiver, ignoring his compassion and concern for us. When God examines our lives, he remembers our human condition… God will deal with you compassionately.”²⁴

Forgiveness Does Not Always Remove the Consequences of Sin

After the Lord has forgiven us, however, we may still need to deal with the fallout from our mistakes. Sin—even forgiven sin—has consequences. Those who are made righteous in God’s sight are not guaranteed to be exempt from this cause and effect. We see this with King David. The Lord chose David to replace Saul as king over Israel. David was “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam 13:14), the highest praise anyone could receive from the Lord. Still, David made some serious mistakes in his life. When he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah, God severely punished David for his transgressions (2 Sam 12:10–14). When David took an ill-advised census of Israel even after he was warned that the Lord would not look favorably upon his actions, the result was a divine plague that killed many people (1 Chr 21:14). These were specific circumstances for a specific time in history; not every sin is going to result in a royal coup or divine plague. But the consequences of our sins are determined by the Lord, and even the saints who typically walk closely with God are not exempt from the painful outcomes of their sinful choices.

The fact is that God requires obedience from us. This is the fundamental basis of the original covenant with the Lord: God said to Zechariah about Israel, “If you walk in My ways and perform My service, then you will both govern My house and be in charge of My courtyards” (Zech 3:7 NASB). Nehemiah said that God “keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Neh 1:5 NASB). These sentiments both refer to the terms of the covenant with God from many generations earlier. Moses, when he reviewed these terms with the Israelites, said, “I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you may live and become numerous, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it” (Deut 30:16 NASB).

There was a clear condition here for the ancient Israelites: if and only if they obeyed what the Lord commanded would He bless them with possession of the Promised Land. Disobedience amounted to breaking a legal contract with God, unacceptable behavior for the Israelites if they wanted to enjoy the benefits of living in their new country. Modern Christians are not under this same covenant; nevertheless, the former covenant clearly demonstrates that God expects His people to be obedient to Him. Jesus puts it like this: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15 NASB). He also says, “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love” (John 15:10 NASB). John repeats the same message when he writes, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3 NASB). This is a clear pattern throughout the entirety of Scripture. Those who truly love God must try their very best to keep His commandments. We demonstrate instead that we do not love God when we habitually fail to obey Him (1 John 1:6; 2:4).

Jesus is our perfect advocate who has atoned for the sins of everyone who places their trust in Him (1 John 2:1–2). If we happen to sin while striving to live a godly life, the Lord may still choose to discipline us, yet this is no different than a parent who disciplines a wayward child. Although the parent still loves the child, sometimes the best way to learn from a mistake is to experience the repercussions from it. God disciplines His children not only to bring them closer to Himself but also to protect them from going in directions that lead to pain and destruction. Moses (Exod 20:20), Solomon (Prov 3:11–12), the author of Hebrews (Heb 12:7–11), and John (Rev 3:19) all consistently report this same aspect of our Heavenly Father. Jesus says, “Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent” (Rev 3:19 NASB). Put another way, “[D]o not reject the discipline of the Lord / Or loathe His rebuke, / For whom the Lord loves He disciplines, / Just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights” (Prov 3:11–12 NASB).

The Lord can and often does use trials and suffering to educate, discipline, and spiritually mature His children. Rather than seeing this in a negative light (“Why would God allow this to happen to me?”), this is instead a cause for celebration because it provides evidence that God deeply loves us. He will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle (1 Cor 10:13), and “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from a trial” (2 Pet 2:9 NASB). In fact, “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” for them (Rom 8:28 NASB). Those who successfully weather the storm often become support for others who are facing similar trials. Fathers and mothers who never discipline their children inevitably raise adults who either have a very underdeveloped sense of morality or none at all, which only leads to problems for the entire family. Bad parenting tends to resonate throughout successive generations. Our eternal God is fully aware of this, and because He desires godly children in all eras, He disciplines the children He raises within His spiritual family.

Therefore, when it comes to sin, God sets boundaries that He expects us to honor to the best of our ability (cf. Gen 2:16–17). The Lord may have different reasons for setting that boundary, and we may not always know the reasons why He restricts certain actions, but it is enough to trust that He always has the best intentions for His children. Failing to honor His boundaries may bring consequences, but when we learn from our mistakes and use the experience to grow closer to our Heavenly Father, His discipline has produced its intended effect. “God cannot condone or excuse even the smallest sin. Therefore we cannot excuse ourselves for sinning only a little bit. As we grow spiritually, our sensitivity to sin increases… As God makes us aware of sin, we must be intolerant toward it and be willing to change. All believers should strive to be more tolerant of people but less tolerant of the sin in others and in themselves.”²⁵ This is a fundamental part of what it means to follow Christ.

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1. Charles F. Stanley, ed., The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New International Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2017), 1806.↩
2. Ronald A. Beers et al., eds., Life Application Study Bible: New International Version (Wheaton, IL; Grand Rapids: Tyndale House; Zondervan, 1997), 696.↩
3. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester; Grand Rapids: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan, 1994), 502.↩
4. Beers et al., Life Application Study Bible, 198.↩
5. Stanley, The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, 1573.↩
6. John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 1206.↩
7. See Chapter 9 for more on biblical curses.↩
8. See Chapter 11 for other erroneous beliefs about demons and exorcism.↩
9. See Chapter 4 to learn more about demons as the occasional agents of divine judgment.↩
10. See Chapter 12 for more on the causes of adversity.↩
11. See Chapter 13 to learn more about the necessity of forgiveness.↩
12. Ellicott’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (BibleSupport.com, (1905) 2014), https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/ §Matt 18:34.↩
13. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 421.↩
14. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 421.↩
15. E. Ray Clendenen and Jeremy Royal Howard, eds., Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2015), 126.↩
16. Beers et al., Life Application Study Bible, 1591.↩
17. Beers et al., Life Application Study Bible, 2077.↩
18. Stanley, The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, 1599.↩
19. Pew Research Center, “Half of U.S. Christians Say Casual Sex Between Consenting Adults Is Sometimes or Always Acceptable” (Pew Research Center, 31 August 2020), https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/31/half-of-u-s-christians-say-casual-sex-between-consenting-adults-is-sometimes-or-always-acceptable/.↩
20. Stanley, The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, 1608.↩
21. MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary, 1131.↩
22. Beers et al., Life Application Study Bible, 2029.↩
23. See Chapter 11 for more discussion of why this is unnecessary or Chapter 14 for why this may still be a helpful exercise.↩
24. Beers et al., Life Application Study Bible, 1016.↩
25. Beers et al., Life Application Study Bible, 904.↩