May 5 – Sin and a Holy God (Proverbs 8)

“To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. (Proverbs 8:13)

IN WORD:
The progression is a very natural one, but it is exceedingly dangerous. We struggle with our sin; we find we can’t overcome it, so we accept it as part of who we are; and then we begin to redefine our own nature. We did the best we could, after all, so our human nature must not have been that bad to begin with. We end up with an “I’m okay, you’re okay” perspective. We aim to do better, but we’re comfortable if we can’t.
The problem with being comfortable with sin is that it is entirely contrary to the nature of God. God is not comfortable with sin. He never just lets it slide. He paid for it — in full and with great sacrifice. From Genesis 3 through Revelation 20, it was never a light matter.
The book of Proverbs has told us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. How? If we have a fear of God, we got it by rightly understanding how awesome He is. We got a glimpse of His holiness that drove us to our faces. We understood our need to plead for a reconciliation with an offended Creator. We saw His goodness, and by comparison, everything else looked evil. And since God is the standard by which all things are measured, our own nature didn’t just look evil to us; it was evil. We grew to hate it.

IN DEED:
There is a false attitude in many segments of the contemporary church. It is the belief that sin, being universal to human nature, is not all that serious. That belief leads one to a god who is lenient, as opposed to a God who forgives. The first god is non-existent; only the latter can save.
Do you hate sin? Is it detestable to you? Then you are in line with God’s wisdom. You know the difference between a lenient deity and a forgiving One, and you know which one to bow to.

“No sin is small.” -Jeremy Taylor-