Skip to main content

A Worse Sin?



  All my life, I have heard that a sin is a sin is a sin.  That basically all sin is the same.  Now technical speaking that isn’t quite accurate. All sin bears the same punishment (Romans 6:23). We can’t afford to pay for any sin.  It doesn’t matter what sin we commit, when we break one law of God we stand condemned.

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. James 2:10 

  That doesn’t mean however that all sin is the same.  Sins vary by consequences, scope and judgement.  Jesus himself said that there are greater sins (John 19:11). While any sin will bring you into judgment there are some sins that are weightier than others.

  Considering this, what would you think is a worse sin? Murder? Homosexuality? Sexual Immorality? Unbelief? All these sins we see are condemned to a high degree in Scripture but I want you to consider one passage of scripture where we are told a sin comparably worse that another sin.

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1st Timothy 5:8

  To be an unbeliever is to deny God and turn away from what is true and right.  If we refuse to take of our responsibility towards family and children we can be worse than that! 

  In a world today that has put a lot of stock into the ‘let someone else take care of it’ approach to our responsibilities, this verse should be a shocking wake up call.  Dead beat dads and missing mothers need to beware!  People that abandoned their parents in old age or expect the church to care for what they should care for are denying the faith!

  We often make the mistake of thinking of sin in terms of what we do wrong. The truth however is that not doing the things we should be doing is a sin as well (James 4:17).  You can be sinning if you are not providing for those you have a responsibility for.

  Not only is it a sin, it is a worse sin!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mysterious Ways

    William Cowper didn’t see any reason to live.   He decided that he’d jump off the bridge over the Thames. So, he called a cab to take him there.   But that night in 1763, a thick fog enveloped London. It was so thick the cab driver couldn’t find the bridge and couldn’t even find the way to take William home. In frustration, he ordered the driver to stop and get out to get his bearings. He walked up to the nearest house to read the number and it was William's house. Gone now were William’s thoughts of suicide and instead a new idea came into his head. So, he went in and wrote these words: God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm.  You fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds you so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings on your head.     I sometimes wish we could see all the ways God watches over us when need it. There are...

The Gift You Give Yourself

    I always hated buying gifts for my Mom. If I got her something like a new set of pans, it was like saying “Here’s something you can use to go make me something to eat”. A gift for her was seemingly a gift for me.   There are however gifts you give that benefit you more than the receiver. For example, forgiveness. When you give it, you are giving it to yourself as much as you are giving it to them. Jesus said that when we forgive others it means God is forgiving us our wrongs (Matthew 6:14-15).  I once read: “ Heaven is where everyone's forgiven. Hell is where nobody's forgiven.  So, when we forgive we pull heaven down into our lives.  When we withhold forgiveness, we pull hell up into our lives ” Give yourself something nice today, Forgive.

Canned Faith

  As Dale Jenkins wrote: “Faith is a little like paint. As long as it’s in the can, it isn't much. Left in the can long enough a gallon of paint will ruin. Faith left unpracticed and unexercised will too….  You can’t just talk about faith.  To be effective, you must be living it out. So take the paint out of the can and start painting.”   The Bible says in James 2:18,”  But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works . " Faith is something that only works when it is used. If our faith doesn’t do anything, is it really there at all?   Truly “ living by faith ” isn’t just a proclamation we make but one we live in how we walk and talk, how we live and interact, and what we say but also what we do.  Is our faith canned? Is it something we have if we go looking for it? Or is it something that is being used daily in our lives?   Does your faith color eve...