Christian Living

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It seems there is a problem distinguishing between sin and a sinner. We tend to fuse the two into one concept. Sin is basically “missing the mark.” It is the enemy of God’s Word. It is the forbidden fruit. It is the antidote to spiritual truth. Sin is the diluter of God’s Word. The sinner, on the other hand, is the one who decides to play a leading role in Satan’s play. The sinner chooses to cross over into Satan’s territory. The sinner is the person who decides to walk in disobedience to God’s Word.

The Bible contains the 66 spiritual text books for learning the ways of our Creator. It shows us how to avoid the pitfalls of life. It demonstrates how obedience to His Word will lead to a purposeful life.

When we choose to violate God’s Word, the definition of sin is exposed. Sin is the label of disobedience. It is inanimate. The Sinner, on the other hand, is a living being that God loves. God does not intertwine the sin and the sinner. One is the cause and the other is the responder. Man responds to the temptation to walk in opposition to God’s Word (sinning), while God responds to the sinner with love and forgiveness. Modern Christianity merges the two and tends to throw out the sinner with the sin. When we do that, we fall into the trap of becoming a judge and jury, which is only God’s job.

When we see two individuals behaving in an unnatural physical desire with each other, we see it simply as a sinful unit. When Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees over a woman caught in adultery (John 8), He separated the sin and the sinner. When Jesus inferred that everyone involved in that judgmental situation had sin in their lives, the “holy” men walked away leaving Jesus alone with the adulteress. Jesus simply said to her, “…where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” The woman told Him that no one was left to accuse her. Jesus then said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” Jesus separated the sin and the sinner. The Word was very clear on the consequences of her sin (Leviticus 20:10), but just because she was in violation to the Word, her life did not have to be cast away. Jesus went the extra mile with this woman. He forgave the adulteress, but did not minimize the sin. When He told her to go, and sin no more, He was saying that He understood the weakness of the flesh, but He challenged her to accept the responsibility for sinning and to make a commitment to living a life void of the entanglements of the flesh.

We all make mistakes, but not all mistakes are fatal. How can it be when we have a loving and forgiving Heavenly Father? The Bible makes it clear that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Realizing our own faults opens the door to restoration. If we fail to grasp that fact, the Holy Spirit is there to convict us through our conscience. That is exactly what happened to the accusers of the adulterous woman. They realized that they had sin in their lives and, as a result, were not justified to past judgment. I wonder what ever happened to that woman. She was facing imminent death. But Jesus separated the sin from the sinner and she walked away with a new lease on life. There are many people that have missed the mark. Instead of condemning them, let us learn to separate the sin from the sinner and offer them not only God’s forgiveness, but ours as well.

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