1 Peter 1:14-16: As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
The same satanic evil force that causes the most heinous crimes you hear about, that same evil that cause us to be incensed at the outrageousness of these acts, is the same exact evil force inside us that causes us to lie or hurt others. We so easily hurt our family, friends, and co-workers in little ways and we do not even give it a second thought. Then we watch the news and see somebody taking a hostage or killing their own family and themselves and we shudder in horror thinking we cannot relate to this kind of incredible evil. Yet God’s rule of order says all of our righteousness is as filthy rags.
To God a little sin is not okay any more than a lot of sin is wrong. If God did not call all sin wrong—no matter how small in our eyes—then where precisely does he draw the line? How much sin is okay and how much sin is overboard? That is how humans judge. Each person creates his or her own ratio factor of what amount of sin is acceptable and what is not.
One man may cheat on his wife and then watch the nightly news and think that what happened on 9/11 is shockingly wrong. That is what Hollywood does all the time. The heroes fighting so-called evil foes are cursing and sleeping with women they just met and we look on as if this is normal and acceptable. However, to God, all sin is evil including swearing and adultery. Yes, terrorism is blatantly evil, but so is the way people hurt someone’s feelings when they are inconsiderate. The same evil force is at play in both situations and to God sin is sin.
God’s mercy (receiving forgiveness we do not deserve) and grace (receiving a gift we do not deserve) is also outrageous. We need God’s forgiveness and grace through the blood of Christ whether we hurt someone’s feelings or whether we commit an act of terrorism. Amazingly, because all sin is the same to God, the precious and ever-available blood of Christ can equally forgive a white lie as well as someone else’s shocking heinous crime. Thank God for the precious blood of Christ.
When we surrender our lives to Christ, acknowledge HIS work on the cross, repent of our personal evil, surrender our own will to the Will of the FATHER, and invite the Holy Spirit to come into our lives, the Holy Spirit will come in and help us to fight the satanic evil that terrorizes and incites everyone to commit evil acts, big and small. Men cannot discern evil in their lives apart from God and they cannot see that even small things are outrageous and wrong to our just and holy pure God. I am thankful that God is the ultimate judge and not men in their distorted and confused human value system. I thank God that we can turn to Him for truth and direction for our lives and we have but to ask Him for it.
God is the perfect judge because He sees all, knows all, and even knows the inner hearts and motives of men so then He is able to render absolute undeniable true justice.
The evangelist Charles H. Spurgeon wrote in his book ―According to Promise this statement about God and sin:
Neither doth the Lord deal with men according to the measure of their moral ability. ―Oh, says the seeker, ―I think I might be saved if I could make myself better, or become more religious, or exercise greater faith; but I am without strength, I cannot believe; I cannot repent; I cannot do anything right! Remember, then, that the Gracious God has not promised to bless you according to the measure of your ability to serve Him, but according to the riches of His grace as declared in His Word. If His gifts were bestowed according to your spiritual strength, you would get nothing; for you can do nothing without the Lord.
When I think of the sin of jealousy, I think how sad it must make God when people become envious of each other. Well obviously, jealously leads to lots of sadness between people who are jealous of each other and the things they have. But really what I think must hurt God the most is when we envy others’ possessions and positions in life because we are yet unable to find satisfaction in God and we are still longing after the things of the world. I think this must really grieve God. I hope we can get to a point where we can see all the wealth others have or their stations in life and it will not even faze us because we are so satiated with God.
