JUSTIFIABLE SIN
by Walter Sanchez
The name alone may cause you to ask, "How can any sin be
justifiable?"
If you stop and consider, many of us do things every day that
really are sin, but which we justify in our own minds, thus
allowing us to not be bothered by them and to not even consider
them as sinful.
What is sin anyway? If you have attended church for any length of
time you have probably heard the reference to "sins of omission"
and "sins of commission".
Sins of omission are things we fail to do, but which the Bible
teaches us we should be doing:
"Pray without ceasing."
"Rejoice in the Lord always."
"Give to him who asks of you."
"Be content with such things as you have."
"Be subject to the governing authorities."
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church."
"Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord."
"Children, obey your parents."
Etc.
Sins of commission are just the opposite. The Bible teaches us we
should not be doing something, but we do it anyway:
"Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth."
"Take no thought for tomorrow, what to eat or what to wear."
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth."
"Do not repay evil with evil, or insult for insult."
"Do not lie one to another."
"Abstain from sexual immorality."
"A wife must not separate from her husband."
"A husband must not divorce his wife."
Etc.
It is understandable, though not excusable, that different ones
of us are deceived at different times into thinking that certain
things we have become accustomed to doing, or to not doing, are
OK. If we are honest with ourselves and with God, we will
frequently ask Him to search our hearts and reveal those things
which we may need to correct; then we must take the steps to make
those corrections.
Sometimes, by making those corrections, we put ourselves in
jeopardy with others who may be caught up in the same sins, but
who have not come to the place where they seek to really please
God in those areas of their life. By our making a personal
decision to take certain corrective actions, we may, by our mere
presence, be causing a disruption in their lives. We may actually
become passive agents of God in bringing conviction upon those
people. They may become antagonistic to us without our even
intending to provoke anything.
When we belong to a group, a church for instance, we often take
on a group mentality. In other words, we don't necessarily think
for ourselves, or check everything out with what the Bible says,
but rather conform to what is being taught and lived out by those
in the group. This may not be so bad if we can be sure that the
leaders consistently check out what they say and do with the
Bible, and teach their people to do the same.
Better still is the situation where there is a level of humility
and at the same time confidence that allows each member of the
group to diligently check out not only his own beliefs and life
with the Bible, but his leaders' beliefs and lives as well. The
leaders have the confidence to do the same thing for themselves
and their people. In such a society there is mutual
accountability which leads to a deeper commitment to God and his
Word by all.
Unfortunately, more often we find cases of those in authority
thinking that since they have had more formal training in
Biblical subjects, they automatically know better how to apply
the Bible to their own lives and everyone else's too. This may
lead to a spiritual elitism which ends up stunting the spiritual
growth of the followers. In this situation it is easy for certain
errors to creep in to the general beliefs and practices of the
group. Certain sins are tolerated, which in turn leads to further
spiritual weakness. Those who may speak out against such
practices, or who have personally undergone a transformation,
will usually be ostracized to the point that they eventually
leave the group to seek another group more in line with their way
of thinking and living.
I once knew a pastor who was well educated and well respected by
both his church members and the general community. He was
frequently called upon to be a speaker at conferences in
different parts of the United States and even in other countries.
He studied the Word of God diligently and preached it faithfully
and enthusiastically. His family testified that he lived his
faith at home; that what he believed and preached, he also
lived.
Occasionally a well intentioned person would approach this pastor
after a sermon and point out some "mistake". Instead of insisting
that he knew what he was talking about because he had studied and
preached so much, the pastor would frequently just thank the
person for pointing out the matter and say he would certainly
check it out. I call that humility.
Another term that is sometimes used for "Justifiable Sin" is
"Situational Ethics". This refers to the ethics of a certain
matter being changeable, depending on the situation. While there
are certain practices that may be subject to a situational ethics
approach, this must never be applied to matters on which the
Bible is clear. In other words, if the Bible says DO NOT do a
certain thing and gives no situation where we may do it, then we
MUST NOT do it, no matter what the situation. Otherwise it is a
sin, of commission.
Likewise, if the Bible is clear in teaching us we MUST do a
certain thing and gives no situation in which we may NOT do it,
then we MUST do it, no matter what the situation. Otherwise, this
too is a sin, of omission.
Again, certain groups may have come to accept or reject certain
practices, either intentionally or unintentionally, which may be
in direct violation of Biblical teaching. The justification for
this mentality is usually due to some extreme situation which is
cited as reason for the deviation.
Nevertheless, it behooves each Christian to constantly be
checking out his own beliefs and practices in light of God's
Word, and then be checking out the same for the groups he usually
associates with. It could very well be that errors have crept in
and that action of some sort should be taken.
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