Yes!

No!

Well, it depends……

If read in the wrong light, some of my posts may sound like I’m minimizing sin or making it sound like it’s no big deal. I don’t want to minimize it. I’d like to make a case for sin being both a big deal and not a big deal, and explain how I think both are true depending on what point of view that you view it from.

Yes, sin is a big deal!

Sin is extremely harmful. Sin is utterly destructive and will deeply hurt you and the people around you. It’s actually a lot worse than we think*. Sin is actually so ugly that we pretty much refuse to face it. Most people, including myself, tend to find it nearly impossible to voluntarily own up to our sin. It’s not pretty. We don’t want to bring it into the light where it can be seen. We do everything we can to distance ourselves from our association with it. This involves hiding, covering, isolating, lying, manipulating, or whatever else it takes to not have to own up to it. In other words, sin begets more sin. It spreads and infects and becomes more and more invasive and destructive. If there’s no way to cleanse our shame and guilty conscience, we’re stuck with either hiding it or embracing it. So to answer the question, yes, sin is a big deal.

No, sin is not a big deal!

Sin has been defeated! Sin is no longer the issue*. Christ has saved us from it. He has provided a way for us to be cleansed and forgiven and made righteous. Not just “positionally”, but in reality. The actual reality we live in. This is a gift that is free and waiting and ready for anyone humble enough to accept a free gift. Anyone humble enough to admit that they are in need of this kind of charity. Anyone humble enough to admit that they aren’t perfect and need saving. Anyone humble enough to change the way they think. Anyone humble enough to live to receive instead of live to earn. What a wonderful place to be!  Blessed are those who are devoid of spiritual arrogance! For theirs is the kingdom of God (Mt 5:3).

It is free! It is complete! It is finished! So to answer the question, no, sin is not a big deal.

So…….when is it a big deal and when is it not?

Let’s, for a moment, think of sin like cancer.

Cancer is not a good thing. It can spread through your body and do all sorts of horrific things. It often leads to death. It’s really bad.

Then someone comes along and discovers an absolute cure for cancer. The cure is simple and can be administered immediately because it is made from simple ingredients that everyone has access to. Hooray! We no longer have to worry about cancer killing us! We have a cure!

Now, if I have received this cure, wouldn’t it be strange if cancer remained a big, scary issue to me? Yes, cancer is still just as horrible and deadly as ever. But cancer isn’t the issue anymore. Now the issue is the administering of the cure.  If I continually focus on and worry about how bad cancer is now that the cure has arrived, I’m putting my time and energy in the wrong place. I can stop focusing on cancer and get on with life. If there are others out there living with cancer, it would make sense for my life to include sharing the good news that there is a cure.

If I’ve received the cure but continue to live cancer-conscious, I’m behaving as if I don’t believe the cure actually works. This is not honoring to the one who brought the cure about. It is not helpful to other people. What is honoring to the one who brought about the cure is to be thankful and trust that the cure works, and then to live life as though the cure works**.

Is bringing up cancer ever a good idea? Sure. It needs to be addressed before it can be healed. There comes a point where the person with cancer needs to uncover it, bring it into the light, and submit themselves to the administration of the cure. It’s not helpful for people with cancer to say “why worry about cancer when there’s a cure!”, all the while still having cancer. We shouldn’t give people the impression that cancer isn’t a big deal while still left untreated. It is a big deal left untreated. It’s only not a big deal in light of the readily available cure.

So my conclusion would be…..

Sin is a big deal!

(If left in the dark and untreated)

Sin is not a big deal!

(If brought into the light and submitted to the one who administers healing and forgiveness)

 

Thoughts?

 

*See also: Matthew 5 on how the disease is worse than we realized, Romans 6 on whether or not there is a cure, and Matthew 9:12 on who will and won’t be interested in the cure

**I’m guessing people would wonder why they still see signs of sin now that they’ve received the cure. If such a cure operates by faith, then faith is required to see the fruit of the cure. That is why it’s important to remain righteous-conscious on the basis of life in Christ and his righteousness, not sin-conscious on the basis of your own performance and self-righteousness.