Sin is never to be taken lightly, but it is. What has happened not just in America, but in America’s churches that sin receives such little attention? At one time churches could be counted upon to extol the holiness of God and man’s glaring unrighteousness. The Holy Scriptures were preached and practiced; consequently, the God of the Word was proclaimed and lifted up for all to see. We learned that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). Sin was laid bare because “all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light” (Ephesians 5:13).
It is the holiness of God that teaches men to depart from sin. “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). There is wisdom in fearing God because God is the judge of all the earth. Christ taught his disciples “fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). We fear God because he is holy and we are not.
Frankly, most churches have little to say on Sunday mornings about the holiness of God. I invite you to make this consideration very personal and think about your own church services. Is the holiness of God a recurring theme? Is sin lifted up as an affront to this holy God and the dangers of continuing in sin made plain? God is not just offended by sin, but this offense mandates that he judge sin. The Psalmist reminds us “Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth” (Psalm 58:11). The Holy Spirit through the author of Hebrews declares “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement” (Hebrews 9:27) and “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
This appointment is sure; consequently, there is a wrath to flee. The fact that our churches and our society have grown comfortable with sin has not changed God’s attitude toward it. We may think that God does not see, but he does. We may believe that because he has not judged yet, he will not judge at all. But he will. We may convince ourselves that he does not care, but we believe a lie and we do so to our own destruction. God sees, God cares and God will judge! His opinion is the only opinion that counts. We remind ourselves, “all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13; emphasis added).
It is true, sin is never to be taken lightly because God never takes sin lightly. He is a God to be feared, but the Scriptures teach us that he is also a God who forgives. The Psalmist gives testimony “But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (Psalm 130:4). The Judge of all the earth has provided deliverance from the wrath due our sin through his Son Jesus Christ. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
From the Chaplain 