Reconciling Sin, Judgment, and a God of Love – Part 2

 

It is not a sexy thing to talk about sin in our current culture. If you were brought up in a home or in a church with an overemphasis on sin with condemnation and fear of punishment, talking about sin can understandably be a real trigger. The temptation, however, is to fall in the opposite toxic ditch and say, “There is no such thing as sin,” or “Since everyone has sinned, it is not a big deal.” I addressed both these ditches in Part 1 of this blog series. In Part 2, I will address how God views sin and how we are justified and made righteous with no condemnation in Christ, even though we have sinned and still sin. 

Many people have been so beaten down by Scripture and in Jesus’ name about the issue of sin that it is not surprising that there is so much toxicity and damage in the church. Many reject Christianity and who they think God is in line with that understanding. The false idea that we have a fundamental sin nature dooms us to condemnation and bondage that we can never overcome, because we cannot escape a nature. 

The temptation, however, is to fall in the opposite toxic ditch and say, there is no such thing as sin, that it doesn’t matter. That is delusional and a slap in the face to everyone who has been damaged and devastated by sin, whether their own or another’s. If we are honest, that is ALL of us. 

We also get into trouble when we come up with our own version of what we think sin is and isn’t, apart from God. While our thoughts and opinions matter, our wisdom only goes so far. We are not all-knowing. We are not without blind spots. And we are not without sin, forgiven as it is. We may be, and indeed are, in the image and likeness of God, but we are not God. We are fallible and need to be humble enough to quickly yield to and accept God’s wisdom, especially since the issues get so convoluted so quickly. We need help, and happily, we can get what we need because we are adored sons and daughters of God!

So, let’s talk sin. 

How does God approach sin? To get a better picture, we need a New Covenant lens pointing to Father, Son, and Spirit as Love epitomized by Christ on the cross as other-giving, self-sacrificial, co-suffering Love. I did a 4-part blog series on How to Handle Scripture Rightly / Part One  if you need help with interpreting Scripture.

We have an accurate idea of God’s attitude toward sin when Jesus was confronted by outraged Pharisees for dining with tax collectors and sinners. Remember, Jesus is the express image of the Father (and by extension Holy Spirit: Heb. 1:3, John 14:7, 9). Also remember that included in the list of sinners were tax collectors (think outcast thieves, who colluded with the Roman oppressors and sold out their own Jewish people for gain by the worst means). Matthew 9:11-13 in The Passion Translation (TPT) says:

11When those known as the Pharisees saw what was happening, they were indignant, and they kept asking Jesus’ disciples, “Why would your Master dine with such lowlifes?”

12When Jesus overheard this, he spoke up and said, “Healthy people don’t need to see a doctor, but the sick will go for treatment.” 13Then he added, “Now you should go and study the meaning of the verse:

I want you to show mercy, not just offer me a sacrifice. 

For I have come to invite the outcasts of society and sinners, not those who think they are already on the right path.” 

(emphasis added)

Brian Simmons, lead translator of The Passion Translation, comments that the word for sick can also mean evil.

What’s the point here? God, as seen in Christ, talks about sin in terms of sickness that needs healing—not in terms of law-breaking. When we behave in evil ways, we are considered sick. Law-breaking is all about punishment for the breaking of a moral code. 

God is all about healing sin, not punishing it. God is not a lawyer to accuse of sin. The accuser of the sons and daughters of God is satan (Rev. 12:10). Because of the finished work of the cross, we have been forgiven, justified, and made righteous as Christ (Matt. 26:28, Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:13-14; Rom. 8:1, 29-13, 31-34; 2 Cor. 5:17, 21; 1 John 4:17). And because this is indeed true, there is no punishment where there has been forgiveness. 

Referring to Christ as our High Priest, Hebrews 10:12 and14 says:

12But when this Priest had offered the one supreme sacrifice for sin for all time he sat down on a throne at the right hand of God… 14And by his one perfect sacrifice he made us perfectly holy and complete for all time!

(TPT, emphasis added)

So, the question is how good of a job did Jesus do? 

When He became sin on our behalf so that we would be made His righteousness, was there anything He left out (2 Cor. 5:21)? 

The implied answer is absolutely not! 

Romans 8:29-30 in the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSV) says:

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

(emphasis added)

The sequence here is:

• Being foreknown
• Being predestined (to be conformed to the image of Christ)
• Being called
• Being justified
• Being glorified

So, quick question: is there any human being that God did not know about when they were created (by Him) to be sent to planet earth?

The answer is “no.” 

OK, so every human being was/is foreknown, and all that were/are foreknown were/are predestined, and not as the Calvinists taught for heaven or hell, but to be conformed to the image of Christ. 

That is your and my destiny. 

Then continuing, every human is called—called unto God Himself to be manifested/revealed as a son/daughter of God (Rom. 8:19). 

Continuing further is pertinent for our discussion. We are justified —meaning to be shown to be just and right or righteous with God. 

The last one is being glorified. This is the ongoing work of Holy Spirit—being transformed or transfigured into the image of Christ from one degree of glory to the next (Rom. 12:2, 2 Cor. 3:18).

But the truth is that we have been justified or made right/righteous by God based on His work on the cross, not our performance. This is why Paul says,

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death…

33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Romans 8:1-2 and 33-34 (NRSV, emphasis added)

You are in Christ. 

This is not because you chose Him (although every time you do, brilliant!). 

Christ chose you and joined you to Himself even before the foundation of the world. Second Timothy 1:9 says: 

9 He gave us resurrection life[a] and drew us to himself by his holy calling on our lives. And it wasn’t because of any good we have done, but by his divine pleasure and marvelous grace that confirmed our union with the anointed Jesus, even before time began!

(TPT, emphasis added)

 And again:

4 And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained[b] us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence.

Ephesians 1:4 (TPT 2018, emphasis added)

Your “in-Christness” has always been because that is how you were made and sent to the world. Your experience of that truth began and continues as you awaken to it (your prayer of salvation and every time you turn and yield to the Lord). Sin does not separate you from God except in your mind. And that is one of the reasons why sin is so dangerous! Colossians 1:20-22 in the New King James Version (NKJV) says:

21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.

(emphasis added) 

Being alienated and enemies to God in our minds does not mean that God considers us His enemies. Colossians 1:20 says:

20And by the blood of his cross, everything in heaven and earth is brought back to himself—back to its original intent, restored to innocence again!    

   (TPT, emphasis added)

Because you are in Christ, you are un-condemnable. You are justified/made right/made righteous. And all of this is because Christ died for all humanity, baptizing humanity in His death (including you) and raising humanity (including you) mystically with Him in His resurrection (Romans 6:3-6, 8-10; Gal. 2:18-20).

This is not to say that sin is not serious; indeed, it is deadly (Rom. 6:23). 

But since sin/evil is considered by God to be a sickness, He is about healing it rather than punishing it! And we are forgiven and justified people, even though we have sinned and still sin. We are in a life-long process of being healed and delivered from that mess by a God Who sees us as holy and His—a God Who simply adores us right where we are!

Hallelujah!

I can hear some of you asking, “But what about judgment? What about the wrath of God?” I am so glad you asked. We will dive into that in Part 3 of this blog series, and by the end of it, you might just fall in love with God a little bit more!

I hope this has given you much to think about and to be ever so grateful for! I’d love to hear your thoughts!

XO,

Catherine