Justifying Sin

Satan is a master at influencing men negatively. If an individual does not know Christ as Lord and Savior, the devil will do his best to convince him that it is a waste of time to pursue such a relationship. After all, most men are not so bad. While guilty of some minor failures, they generally treat their fellow man with kindness and are careful to conduct themselves with some concern for what is right and wrong. Comfort can always be derived from the reality that there are others far more evil than I. The consequences of such reasoning, however, are frightful. A man who fails to put his faith in Christ will be required to pay for his own sin, an eternal fate which is terrifying to envision.

Satan also works his magic on those who are believers. He gains his greatest satisfaction from neutralizing the witness of those who are called to share their faith. He does so by convincing us that since we are forgiven, and are careful to fulfill all of the obvious obligations of our faith, we need not be overly concerned about our minor offenses. We are very much aware that we are not perfect, but again, we are not routinely involved in the excessively wicked activities of many who are not believers. Therefore, when we do fail in certain areas, it’s really not such a big deal. We are very capable, with Satan’s help, of justifying our sin.

It is always interesting to learn what someone considers to be a noteworthy sin. In most cases, it is an offense of which others are guilty. Our sins, though annoying, pale in comparison. When we get to that point in our reasoning, Satan has succeeded in his primary work of deception. We are convinced that we have good reason for what we do, and that it cannot possibly be that bad.

God is, however, a holy God, and there are no insignificant sins. It is never right to do wrong! And our humanistic reasoning will never change that truth.