It’s easy to take the matter of sin lightly. The Lord told Ezekiel that the people felt okay because they were Jews. In the dark recesses of God’s house idolatry was allowed. The people felt that they gave God his part, so it was okay that they allowed other things to go on. We need constant inspection lest we harbor or condone sin. Becoming cold and indifferent is a gradual process. Samson went to sleep and didn’t realize he had lost his strength. We don’t realize we’re asleep while we asleep. We know it when we awake. The same is true with spiritual sleep. The question the Lord is asking is this: is it a light thing?
I don’t see you all as bad people. I love and trust you and hope you feel the same about me. You’re as human as I am. We’re all imperfect and fall short. We have to face facts about ourselves. We sin daily. We must recognize it and deal with it. We must confess and forsake to stay in fellowship with God. The worse thing that we can do is to take sin lightly.
Ezekiel 8: 17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
Isaiah 53: 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Is it a light thing? The first thing a nurse does when you go to the doctor is take you to the scales. I’ve emptied pockets and took off my shoes trying to take off pounds when in fact that makes little difference. It is what it is. We can adjust our scales at home but those at the doctor tell the truth. This is how we treat sin. We do wrong but want to treat it lightly. We may not like somebody. We may spread tales without checking the truth. We do these but say there are not really sins. We’ll tell ourselves “if I was drinking or doing drugs or running around, that would be wrong.” We carry gossip or have lustful thoughts or listen to and follow the patterns of the world and think we can live that way. When we do that we are sinning just as bad as if we robbed a store. Sin is sin in the eyes of the Lord.
Israel committed the sin of idolatry. That was bad enough, but the people took it lightly and said it was fine because they gave the Lord his due. They thought if it is sin, it’s not a bad one. There are no light sins. We have to deal with sin; it is not nor ever will be a light matter. How do we measure our deeds, thoughts, and actions? If we gage ourselves by the world’s standards we won’t get by. God looks at my sin with as much disdain as he does anyone else’s. The rapture could take place in an instant. Will you be taken or left behind? It’s a fearful thing to know we’ll stand before God and give account of our life as a Christian.
It’s our responsibility to deal with sin in our lives. None of us is above sin. We are not beyond sinning. If we don’t love our brother and sister, the love of God is not in us. We’ve got to live right every day not just on Sunday. We have to keep Jesus where he should be. When we sin, we must take care of it. If we get sick we go to the doctor. People die because they put off going to the doctor. We’ve got to look at sin like that; take care of it fast. It’s around us. We can sin. We do sin. We must see if from God’s perspective not our own. If the Bible says it is sin we must deal with it. It is not a light matter.
We can’t fix our sins. We can’t erase them. We deal with them by recognizing them and taking them to Jesus Christ. Isaiah says surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Jesus bore the heaviness of sin. It was not light. I can’t appease God. I have to recognize my sin and do the right thing with it: confess it to God and forsake it. God cleanses from sin. If we say we have no sin we lie. The Bible tells us that.
If we take this message seriously instead of lightly we’ll recognize that we all can move up. Our “lightest” of sins are unbearable. That’s why we need Jesus each day and will till the day we die. He’s faithful and just to forgive us. Do you need to return to God? It’s time to take a look at ourselves. Quit brushing it off. Get on the spiritual scale, face the numbers and bring it to the Lord.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 