Recently, this author came across a blog that was centered around teaching that homosexuality isn't a sin. A theological discussion was picked up, and upon looking over the evidence and arguments being raised by said blog a realization came to mind.
For the most part, the argument being presented had nothing to do with whether or not the Bible declares it a sin, but focused on the way people within the church have been approaching it and the feelings being stirred in those who are homosexual and wish to come into closer communion with God. Which raised a question that has been simmering ever since: what exactly is it that we, as the church, believe about sin and how we are to approach it?
More to the point, are we treating sin responsibly and in a manner that reflects Christ?
Of course, no answer will suffice to describe every Christian or every church or every denomination. So instead, the question is posed for you, the reader, to consider for yourself. While you do that, allow a brief glance into what it would look like to be able to answer 'yes'.
Sin is anything that varies from the will and Law of God: There are a lot of attempts to redefine sin. How often have we heard that something listed as a sin "doesn't hurt anyone"? That may or may not be true (frequently not), but the core issue here is that this isn't the defining characteristic of sin. In order to even begin to approach sin appropriately, we must be solid on what it is. One key thing to remember on this matter is this: If your definition of sin doesn't convict you, your definition of sin is wrong. There are literally hundreds of tenets to the Law in the Bible, which if we're honest, only really scratch the surface of what would be required to stand blameless before a perfect God. Now, some of these are actually civil laws for the Kingdom of Israel, and none of us live there, but even these hint at some truth of the Law. Because every aspect of the Law given to Israel was designed to set them apart and show the world the nature and power of God, which means that each aspect of it was, in some way, a manner of having that nation look like God to a troubled world. And rather than go into details, we'll define sin simply as anything that we do that does not look like God.
Sin is universal: If you have been born, and are not the very Word of God given flesh, you have sinned. There is no middle ground on this. We are a tainted people in a fallen world. Read through Romans sometime.
There is no hierarchy of sins: This is important to remember. The Bible does not make distinction between the severity of different sins. The idea of different punishments for different sins comes from Middle Ages fiction and Christian Mythology mostly dating to that same time. We are even told that if we break so much as one aspect of the Law, we've broken all of it. There are no sins worse or better than another, as any sin is one nature with all sin.
Temptation is not sin: We cannot choose whether or not we will be tempted. We will be. That is fact. Even Jesus was tempted, but that did not mar His record. What this means is that desire to perform a sin, or appealing opportunity to commit a sin, is not itself a sin. It is the act of choosing to follow through on that temptation that becomes a sin. We must be careful, when someone confesses a temptation, that we address it as a temptation rather than as a sin and encourage the confessor to avoid partaking in the temptation while helping them overcome the desire, if possible (it is not always possible).
The grace of God is sufficient to cover all sins: All sins are of one nature and equal in severity. We have all sinned. We have all been offered to be cleansed of this sin. We will continue to face temptation, most often the same temptations we faced prior to accepting salvation. There is no distinction here. Return to James 2 and look at the verses preceeding the one linked two points ago. Everyone comes to the foot of the cross stained with the same transgression: law-breaker. If we find ourselves reacting to any one sin as being worse than another, we're doing it wrong. And if we find ourselves attempting to justify allowing any one sin over another, we're doing it wrong. It doesn't matter what the sin in question is. All who come to faith in Christ are freed from the weight of their sin, even if they are not freed from the temptation of it in this life.
We must make sure that we do not compromise on any of this. Sin is sin, no matter how much we enjoy it or how badly we want to overlook it. We must confront sin for what it is. But we must do so in a manner that points to the grace and love of God. This is not the same as softening the blow or downplaying sin's severity. We must always hold these truths in tension.
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