Volume 42      Number 11                                                                                  July 2000

One of the greatest statements of gospel truth that has ever fallen on the ears of mortal man is found in the inspired writings of the apostle Paul when he proclaimed that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” (I Tim. 1:15b) In these precious words we see the high and holy Name of the Lord glorified in the act of Jesus lowering Himself to come down to earth and save sinners! Yet even more honorable to His holy Name is the thought that not only did He save a sinful blasphemer and persecutor like Saul (Paul) of Tarsus, He went on to use his life as an apostle of Christ for great eternal work in the establishment of the church on earth. Glory to God for His marvelous mercy to sinners!

Paul considered himself “chief” of sinners. Have you ever thought about how you would personally classify yourself as a sinner? On one hand, some of us consider ourselves in the same league Paul was in; while on the other hand, some are like those alluded to in I John 1:8&10, who apparently don’t consider themselves sinners at all. Then there are still others who think they are somewhere in between; a sort of “average” sinner, if you will.

The word for sin literally means “to miss the mark.” If we understand that the mark we have missed is the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), we soon realize that we have all “sinned” indeed! But how far we have missed the mark is something we must see for ourselves. The sooner we see our true condition, the better off we will be.

Jesus taught us in Luke 7:40-47 that a great factor in determining our love for God is based on how we perceive our sinfulness. When invited to dine in the house of one Simon, a Pharisee, Jesus observed how different his seemingly righteous host was from the obviously sinful woman who was washing the Savior’s feet with her tears. So Jesus said unto him, “ ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ And he said, ‘Master, say on.’ ‘There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.’ And he said unto him, ‘You have rightly judged.’ And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, you gave me no water for my feet: but she has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. You gave me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil you did not anoint: but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.’ ”

If we do not really think we are a sinner, we will never really love Jesus for what He did at Calvary. Or if we think our sins are just little trivial “errors”, rather than the ungrateful affronts to God which they truly are, we will never come to Jesus in humility, begging for His mercy. And if we don’t really see our sinfulness, how can we ever be sorry? Repentance becomes meaningless without sincere godly sorrow.

One reason many do not see themselves as sinners is because they never actually “commit” the sins considered most wicked. Simon could probably think of different sins the woman had committed which he hadn’t. For Simon to consider himself a “sinner” was not very likely, especially when comparing himself to her!

But the Lord Jesus helps us to see our sinfulness through His teachings, painful though the process may be. He is especially plain about the sinfulness of man in the 5th chapter of Matthew where He expounds on the common religious ideas of the day to show that our sinfulness begins in the mind.

Murderers are normally considered “sinners” because they take a definite action which has immediate consequences, and is even contrary to the laws of man. But Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:21-26 that anyone who hates his brother or treats him with spite and contempt is in danger of eternal judgment! So for those of us who wouldn’t have the nerve to take someone else’s life, yet spend precious moments thinking malicious thoughts about a fellow human being, we stand condemned as a sinner before God.

Adulterers are still considered by most people as sinners, even in our “enlightened” and permissive age. But Jesus teaches in the same chapter, verses 27-32, that anyone who lusts after a woman in his heart, or puts away his wife to marry someone else, is guilty of the same sin as the one who literally cheated on his wife. So for those of us who would never think of cheating on our mates, yet spend valuable time lusting after other women in our minds or thinking of ways to “legally” put away a mate to get a “new” one, we stand condemned as a sinner before God.

Besides the sins of commission like murder and adultery, there are sins of omission like not loving our enemies. We would like to think that by just being nice to people who are nice to us, we are surely not sinning. But Jesus teaches us in verses 38-48 that in order to be like our Father in heaven, we must go on to perfection and learn to love all men, including our enemies, even as our Father in heaven does. Otherwise, we are “sinners” in the sight of the righteous Judge.

And the list goes on. Sins can either be literally committed, or just played out in the mind; either way, they are the evidence of a heart disease that needs to be cleansed and forgiven. Or else the wages of sin, death, must be paid.

Jesus described our heart disease in Matthew 15:18,19: “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:”

The condition of the inner man is what the great Physician exposes with the sword of the Spirit, the breath of His mouth. That inner sanctum where either good thoughts can be treasured or evil thoughts can be bred. It is because of our tendency to propagate the latter that God sees us as sinners.

In the days of Noah, the inspired record describes mankind and says that “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” We didn’t improve after the flood either, for God says “the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.” We have been missing the mark since the fall of man in Eden.

God’s “mark” is described for us in Psalms 51:6 where David says in repentance, “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” Earlier in the 19th Psalm, David prays in verses 12-14. “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

The Lord is like us in the sense that He wants a clean house to live in. Our thoughts, therefore, must be pure, clean, and acceptable to the One Who created this earthly tabernacle in order for Him to occupy our hearts. Nothing less will do.

We live in a day of “virtual reality”, where modern technology enables people to experience many things without actually doing them. The technology itself is not bad, but its applications have enabled many to become “virtual sinners.” So a person who would not consider murdering a fellow human being can thrill to the virtual reality of killing people in a video game or watching someone else kill in a movie. The same applies to committing adultery as modern forms of media enable a person to virtually sin without actually committing adultery (See also Romans 1:32; I Tim. 5:22.).

Man can be fooled by a hypocrite who thinks one way and acts another. But God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows is what he reaps (Galatians 6:7-9).

We can be “virtual” sinners, but not “virtual” Christians. Either we are being transformed into Christ day by day, or we are rotting from within. May we all resolve to be pure in heart and genuine to the core, so that the Lord can dwell in us richly and be seen clearly in our words and deeds!