Sin - What's YOUR Favorite?
I was born in a place called "Sin City" - Las Vegas, Nevada. It was ALL there. Billboards with scantily-clad women. Gambling. Streetwalkers. Crime syndicates. What's your pleasure? Come to Vegas and indulge!
There are resorts in Jamaica called "Hedonism". According to one web definition, it is the belief that pleasure is the greatest good and highest aspiration of mankind. In early utilitarian thinking, this belief provided the interpretation of 'utility' or 'good'. An online travel review of the resort says, At the resorts Hedonism II and III the term pleasure is synonymous with, SEX! So Webster would define the resorts as "a way of life devoted to sex."
But, aside from sex, there are other sins. Lying, gluttony, pride, theft - all self-indulgent sins. Why are they fun? Why will Christians go to great lengths to justify these sins for themselves or others?
I have been watching, with great interest, a discussion on the Bible's stance on homosexuality. I have two concerns with this:
I define a sinful lifestyle as any lifestyle an unrepentant sinner undertakes. One is unrepentant if they acknowledge their sin and choose to continue in it, or if they refuse to acknowledge it as sin (denial).
Let's look at pride. In all reality, this is the worst of the sins. Pride is what caused Lucifer's fall. Pride led many kings to be declared gods. Pride has led to many, many splits in Christ's Church. Does anyone honestly want to approach this issue? Why not? Because it might hit home. For anyone to preach against pride, one must preach against themselves. Only after one has been humbled by defeat in their personal plans can one preach against pride. And, if the sermon is a success, people will be heaping praise upon the speaker -- which leads to pride.
Or, perhaps after you deliver your sermon, someone in your church gets offended - someone with a lot of money - and they leave the church with their money, never to return. Truth be told, you would probably be better off without their negative influence (1 Corinthians 5). But can the church survive without their financial support? So, the preacher decides not to preach that sermon out of fear of stepping on toes.
That's really what it boils down to - stepping on toes. Let's preach on sin, but not any sin that might be happening in our institution. Let's not say anything that's politically incorrect.
What is sin, after all? It's so watered down. Some people say that since Jesus said nothing about a certain issue it cannot be a sin. After all, the New Testament overrides the Old Testament, right? Wrong. Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
The Old Testament defines sin as anything that separates us from God. Our pride causes us to not admit that our pleasure is sin. We then become separated from God without knowing it. Satan provides a convincing illusion that we are in tune with God and His desires, when in reality we are far from Him. For 36 years, I believed I was walking with God. I claimed to be a Christian while I spent my time getting drunk in topless bars. I sang in the choir with a hangover. I believed I was walking with God, but I was walking with His enemy. And I honestly believed that "Drunkenness is not a sin - it's what you do when you're drunk that's a sin. Looking at naked women isn't a sin - it's actually doing something with them that's a sin." Not to mention, I did the things when I was drunk, and I did more than look.
Can anyone honestly tell me that any sin is acceptable to God? Can you read the Bible objectively and tell me that some of the things listed above are not sins?
What's YOUR favorite sin? Are you willing to give it up?
There are resorts in Jamaica called "Hedonism". According to one web definition, it is the belief that pleasure is the greatest good and highest aspiration of mankind. In early utilitarian thinking, this belief provided the interpretation of 'utility' or 'good'. An online travel review of the resort says, At the resorts Hedonism II and III the term pleasure is synonymous with, SEX! So Webster would define the resorts as "a way of life devoted to sex."
But, aside from sex, there are other sins. Lying, gluttony, pride, theft - all self-indulgent sins. Why are they fun? Why will Christians go to great lengths to justify these sins for themselves or others?
I have been watching, with great interest, a discussion on the Bible's stance on homosexuality. I have two concerns with this:
- Why just homosexuality? There are a great deal of sinful lifestyles that the church does not address, including corporate greed (hey, as long as they give us some $, we don't care), bigotry (race, appearance, financial status, etc.), pride (we're the only ones going to Heaven!)...
- Why would any Christian want to condone any sinful lifestyle?
I define a sinful lifestyle as any lifestyle an unrepentant sinner undertakes. One is unrepentant if they acknowledge their sin and choose to continue in it, or if they refuse to acknowledge it as sin (denial).
Let's look at pride. In all reality, this is the worst of the sins. Pride is what caused Lucifer's fall. Pride led many kings to be declared gods. Pride has led to many, many splits in Christ's Church. Does anyone honestly want to approach this issue? Why not? Because it might hit home. For anyone to preach against pride, one must preach against themselves. Only after one has been humbled by defeat in their personal plans can one preach against pride. And, if the sermon is a success, people will be heaping praise upon the speaker -- which leads to pride.
Or, perhaps after you deliver your sermon, someone in your church gets offended - someone with a lot of money - and they leave the church with their money, never to return. Truth be told, you would probably be better off without their negative influence (1 Corinthians 5). But can the church survive without their financial support? So, the preacher decides not to preach that sermon out of fear of stepping on toes.
That's really what it boils down to - stepping on toes. Let's preach on sin, but not any sin that might be happening in our institution. Let's not say anything that's politically incorrect.
What is sin, after all? It's so watered down. Some people say that since Jesus said nothing about a certain issue it cannot be a sin. After all, the New Testament overrides the Old Testament, right? Wrong. Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
Matthew 5:17-18, NIV
The Old Testament defines sin as anything that separates us from God. Our pride causes us to not admit that our pleasure is sin. We then become separated from God without knowing it. Satan provides a convincing illusion that we are in tune with God and His desires, when in reality we are far from Him. For 36 years, I believed I was walking with God. I claimed to be a Christian while I spent my time getting drunk in topless bars. I sang in the choir with a hangover. I believed I was walking with God, but I was walking with His enemy. And I honestly believed that "Drunkenness is not a sin - it's what you do when you're drunk that's a sin. Looking at naked women isn't a sin - it's actually doing something with them that's a sin." Not to mention, I did the things when I was drunk, and I did more than look.
Can anyone honestly tell me that any sin is acceptable to God? Can you read the Bible objectively and tell me that some of the things listed above are not sins?
What's YOUR favorite sin? Are you willing to give it up?
posted by ClayMan at 6:14 AM
1 Comments:
My favorite sin? As in...which one do I enjoy the most? Geesh! I hate to admit I enjoy sin - any sin! Gluttony is such an easy one to fall prey to. Theft is an easy one to identify..for some. Hmm....food for thought Clay - I'll have to leave it at that....
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