As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“No way out. Who hasn’t felt the force of these words in the midst of bitterness, lust, or a thousand other temptations?… If some lies have slain their thousands, this lie has slain its ten thousands.” - Desiring God
“’You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip’ (Ps. 18:36)….The Lord has not set us on a tightrope. He has given us a wide place to walk, a place where we take steps with confidence” - TGC
“…not every negative effect finds its specific cause in a specific sin on the part of the person experiencing it. That is to say, mental health is not a sin issue. And while there may be individual sins that contribute to the relative health or malady of a person, the level of health itself is not ipso facto a moral issue.” - Kainos
“In many cases, sin does express itself in shocking debauchery—but most often it expresses itself in more invisible or easily justifiable ways of ‘walking in the flesh.’” - Russel Moore
Read the series.
Why does God treat some sin more seriously than other sin? The answer to that question depends upon at least two factors: the degree of light the sinner possesses, and the degree of intention involved in the sin. Let’s consider each of these in turn.
In Luke 12:47-48, Jesus teaches this principle by way of an illustration:
Are there degrees of sin? The simple answer to that question is “yes.” Jesus himself acknowledged degrees of sin when He said to Pilate, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11). In light of Christ’s words, we must acknowledge degrees of sin. However, we must also beware of drawing unbiblical conclusions from this truth.
“I can’t say exactly when, most Americans simply lost any sense of being sinful, of needing forgiveness. Most don’t think they are bad…. they will admit to having faults, but basically they think they are ‘good people’ and so are most others.” - Roger Olson
“Killing sin is the focus of the Christ follower until the time they see Jesus face to face.” - Tim McKnight
“We feel sorry for Uzzah, don’t we? From our perspective, he was simply a man with good intentions. He was just trying to help, we say. Yet Uzzah had sinned against God.” - C.Today
Discussion