Sin is foreign to man's being and to his well being. Sin separates a soul from God and robs one of peace, holiness, hope, and service. What then is the magnet that pulls an otherwise rational being into the service of the great Deceiver? And how can men sin and feel good about it? This article is an attempt to shed some light, from the Scriptures, on these matters.
Saul of Tarsus is a powerful Biblical example of a man who sinned mightily against Christ and the church, and did so with a good feeling about it all. He was a participant in the death of Stephen (Acts 8:12). In his account of his background and conversion, he said to his Jewish brethren, "And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women" (22:4). Before Agrippa in Caesarea, Paul gave this insight into his earlier opposition to Christ: "I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth" (26:9). In this mindset, he acted with a good conscience (23:1), but ignorantly. He said of himself to Timothy, "Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Tim. 1:13). Saul's case establishes the fact that the conscience is a monitor not a standard of what is right or wrong. Saul felt good about his sins against the church because he was honest in his ignorance.
We see a second example of those who felt good about sin in the ones who crucified Jesus. They had neither compassion nor remorse. The participants seemingly exhausted their imaginations in making the pain of the ordeal as psychologically and physically intense as pž<÷Ñble. They spat upon Him, struck Him with a reed, and gave Him vinegar to drink. The chief priests mocked Him. If this were not enough, they put a scarlet robe upon His shoulders and a crown of thorns upon His head, all in derision. They did all of these things while oblivious to the fact that they were crucifying the Son of God. The Master prayed, "Father forgive them: for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). After the resurrection of Jesus and the establishment of the church, Peter said to the Jews in an address on Solomon's porch:
But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you: and killed the Prince of life whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.... And now, brethren, I wot [know] that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers (Acts 3:1417).
Many years later Paul wrote:
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God (Rom. 10:13).
From Paul's statement, one may conclude that this sort of ignorance is not bliss. Rather, it is a curse. It causes sinners to feel good about their sins, while walking contrary to the will of God. Such caused the Jews to crucify the Christ and later to persecute the church.
Not only among the Jews, but also among the Gentiles, ignorance was pervasive in Paul's day, as it is today. This ignorance produced sin in epidemic proportions. When he arrived in Athens, the city was "wholly given to idolatry" (Acts 17:16). He said to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent" (v. 30). In another passage one may read of the Gentiles who..."knew God" but,
professing themselves to be wise they became fools...who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever, Amen. ...And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient (Rom. 1:2128).
Ignorance of the heart and the gratification of the flesh caused these perverters of their God-given nature to feel good about their sins. They did not blush nor have shame. In fact, their glory was in their shame (Phi. 3:19). Their minds were carnal and their consciences were seared. Men and women of today often practice the same immoral deeds as did these ancient Gentiles. They were sinful then; they are sinful today! The fact that one may feel good about his sins even publicize them on national television does not make them any less sinful. In fact, it makes them even more exceedingly sinful.
Another thing which contributes to this "feel good philosophy" about sin is that this is the day of the masses. "Following a multitude to do evil" is popular in our culture. Modern society often accepts the grossest wickedness as merely an "alternate lifestyle." The rallying cry for this attitude of mind is "everybody's doing it."
Even in the body of Christ there seems to be the acceptance of moral behavior that ill befits the Christian. The sad part of this is the attitude of mind on the part of elders and preachers, which causes them to avoid their responsibility with regard to such matters. The church should never be a haven or a harbor for those whose lives do not "become the gospel."
We long for the day when the world will know, not only from the Bible, but also from our lives, that the Lord's kingdom is truly a kingdom of righteousness. When members of the church practice sin and feel good about it, what can we expect from the world? Remember what Paul wrote about the Jews: "For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you" (Rom. 2:24). Here is a principle worth consideration: Christians should so live that no one could ever say truthfully, "I would obey the gospel if there were not so many hypocrites in the church."
Then there are others who feel good about sin because they are prospering financially. The wealthy may feel self-sufficient. Their philosophy is "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry" (Luke 12:19). "Thou fool" is the Lord's description of such (v. 20). The church at Laodicea said, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." Jesus said they were "miserable, ...poor, ...blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17). Prosperity in this world does not indicate that one is rich spiritually. Often the opposite is true. God has chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith (Jam. 2:5). John wrote, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 2). The truth is, one should take no comfort spiritually in his fat bank account, his luxury automobile, or his mansion on the hill. He will soon be separated from them all. Sin truly is deceitful!
Now, to all who are drifting through life, feeling good or indifferent about sin, consider: Sin is deceptive, deceptive, DECEPTIVE! It appears as something very beautiful; it is hideously ugly. There is no beauty in adultery, fornication, reveling, lying, murder, drunkenness, stealing, gambling, abusing little children, blasphemy, and other such practices. The fact that ungodly people appear on national television and talk about their immoral deeds does not make sin harmless or less repulsive. Sin is not beautiful when committed by the rich and famous any more than when it is done by the poor and unknown. Every sin by whomever committed is unseemly.
Sin promises freedom but it results in bondage. "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin" (John 8:34). If a person obeys Satan, he is Satan's servant. While sin presents itself to us as a servant, it becomes the master. Sin promises the "good life"; it brings sorrow and death. The Bible warns children of God:
Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Gal. 6:78).
Greed caused Judas to betray the Lord and then to commit suicide (Mat. 27:15). Ananias and Sapphira paid with their lives because they lied to God about a contribution (Acts 5:111). Herod was smitten by the Lord and eaten by worms because he gave not God the glory (12:2023).
Revelation 21:8 is a list of Who's Who in Hell. Sin will take you there!This item originally appeared in TheGospelJournal.org
