(1 Tim 1:8-10 NKJV) But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, {9} knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, {10} for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine…
As we read the list of sins in the verses above, we need to note that none of them is categorized or classified as being worse than any of the others. Not a single one is labeled as “the worst” or “the least”. Sin is sin.
As humans we have a tendency to put labels or categories on sin, making one type of sin seem more evil than another type. But God doesn’t see it that way. Whether we steal a roll of tape from our employer or rob a bank, it is thievery.
Whether we tell a “small white lie” or a huge lie, we are a liar. It doesn’t matter whether we commit a sin that seems more acceptable to man or a sin that seems horrendous; it’s still sin in God’s eyes. Any of them will separate us from God and every single one of them puts us in the category of a sinner!
But God loves us in spite of our sin. And so we need also to love the sinner. It doesn’t matter if their sin is adultery, fornication, murder, thievery, lying, or whatever it might be. God has told us to love them.
Seriously… how did Jesus act toward the sinner when He walked the earth? He loved them!! He didn’t love their sin, but He was able to look beyond their sin and love them, spending time with them and showing them unconditional love.
Can we honestly say that we do this? Do we love the sinner… really love the sinner, in spite of their sin?
God does it for us. He loves us in spite of our sin and our selfish ways. If God can love us, how much more should we love others?
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-377-5400
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