LIE: I’m doomed – I’ve sinned too much!

Lie:      I’m doomed – I’ve sinned too much!

Truth: The danger of sinning too much (not counting the suffering that it causes), is not that God will stop being merciful, but that we will stop believing we need God’s mercy.

We’ve all been there — we’ve succumbed again to our besetting sin and feel the clouds of doom bearing down on us. But then a few hours pass and the clouds start to dissipate. At this point we can go in one of two ways: we can either turn from the sin and confess it to God, believing in his faithful love and forgiveness; or, we can let inertia assume control and try to ‘shake it off,’ or ‘muddle through’ or, in a thousand ways deny, ignore or downplay the sin and thereby justify ourselves. This second path is exactly where Satan, the accuser of the brethren, wants us to go.

If Satan can get us to turn our attention away from the mercy and grace of God and instead focus on ourselves and our sin, either to magnify[1] or belittle them, he will have gained a foothold into our soul.

Make no mistake – sin holds two real dangers: one temporal, the other eternal; the temporal danger is sin’s natural consequence; the eternal danger is our reaction to sin and it’s natural consequences. For example, take the sin of covetousness. This sin lies to you, telling you that you can’t live without the latest GQ sport, evening and formal attire. What are the common, potential consequences of this sin? Credit card slavery, workaholism and even bankruptcy, and its attendant despairs and depressions. That’s bad enough, but it’s only the temporal consequences. Yet, Satan uses the temporal to ensnare us into the eternal consequences. And obviously, the eternal consequences are the most perilous because they include an eternal death. Whatever that is, it’s not good.

Paul, speaking to Christians, describes the ultimate end of life in the Spirit versus the life of the flesh:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. — Romans 8:5–6

We must be clear: although true believers in Christ need not worry about an eternal death/separation, yet their life, if spent indulging the flesh, may foster eternal death, whether directly or indirectly, in the lives of others they touch. This is serious. We must remember that no one sins in a vacuum; each sin sends out ripples that reach far beyond us, even our hidden sins quietly affect the ones we love. (See the article: Lie: Out hidden sins do not affect others.)

But how are we as Christians in danger of death when we ‘mind the things of the flesh?’ What does this process of death look like? To answer this question, let’s continue the example of the vain and covetous GQ gentleman.

His sin is subtle, but he stopped lying to himself long ago and knows that buying that $50 neck tie or the $300 pair of designer jeans, only means he wants to be seen and approved by men. But still he frequents the high-end shops, still clicks around on Amazon.com and still reads GQ magazine (though these are not sinful in themselves). Occasionally he gives in to a whim, justifying the purchase for a special occasion or a 60%-off sale he couldn’t refuse.

But after a while – it never registers clearly – he stops acknowledging his vanity and covetousness and starts chalking it up to having too many qualms and justifying it as a need to fit into the corporate culture.

We could describe this same process of self-deception for any number of sins: lust, anger, malice, thievery or deceit. Here’s the process described in four stages:

First, we hear the Spirit’s faithful conviction that our sin pattern is wrong; we sin, but we turn away from it, feeling remorse and confessing it to God.
Second, if the sin pattern continues, the frequency of our confessions may grow weaker.
Third, we harden ourselves, beginning a new pattern of denial, cynicism, rationalization or downplay of the sin.
Fourth, we give ourselves to the sin, indulging, relishing it, throwing off all restraint and even corrupting others in the process. In this stage we start calling good evil and evil good.

This fourth stage is described in Romans chapter one:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. — Romans 1:20–25

The fact that God ‘gave them up’ to their sin may sound cruel, but actually this divine act is redemptive. It’s like any loving mother or father who refuses to bail out their wayward son from jail, in the hope that, when he hits rock bottom, he’ll humble himself and cry out to God for deliverance.

This discussion is not complete without addressing ‘blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.’ Here are Jesus’ words:

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.— Matthew 12:30–32

Earlier in this passage, after Jesus heals a blind and deaf man (an ancient Helen Keller), the Pharisees, who were obviously reaching, accuse Jesus of casting out the demon by Satan’s power. Jesus then proceeds to point out that no neutral ground exists — you’re either for Jesus or against him. The Pharisees coldly and unashamedly call the obvious miracle, a trick of the devil, their intended implication being that Jesus himself is the devil incarnate, turning the truth of God upside down. Again, they’re calling good evil and evil good. This moral insensibility and confusion is the inevitable result of ignoring and then rejecting the Spirit’s call — blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Once someone crosses this line, God gives them up. They will not be forgiven because they will not see or feel they have a need for it. Perhaps they’ve gone so far that they will even want God to seek their forgiveness! Such is the potential extent of deception’s power.

That said, even in this state, a soul can come to his senses, renounce his sin and blasphemy and God would mercifully forgive.

So if you’re worried that you’ve sinned too much and may be in eternal jeopardy, you’re not. But you could be, but only if you continually ignore and dismiss your sin. The real danger is not with God, but with us. While we still have breath, God’s everlasting mercy extends to us.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever. — Psalm 136:1

[1] By magnifying, I mean falsely elevating mistakes, weaknesses or failures to the level of sin. We must not accept the false guilt from Satan or even from our own soul. Rather, in humbleness we confess our weakness and dependency on God. In 2 Corinthians  12:9 Paul says: ‘And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”’

See also the introduction to this category: Lies about sin.