An Unpopular Word

Sin is not such a popular word in our culture.  Many modern day Christians view it more as an anachronism than a present danger.  The defining word about sin now belongs not to the Holy Word of God, but to society's interpretation of that Word once regarded as holy and inspired by God.  Contemporary Christian thinkers would have us delegate sin to the counselor's couch instead of the altar of repentance.  The one thing to be avoided in the contemporary church is to make people feel bad.  Folks should always feel good when they leave worship is the mandate given to today's preachers and worship leaders.  

It is, therefore, no wonder the church of our day is more comfortable with the New Testament message about God's love than some of those disturbing thundering words of the prophets who speak from the pages of the Old Testament.  To read a prophet like Jeremiah is to understand that sin is a serious issue when it comes to being in a faithful relationship. Sin is a breech of trust, a breech of a covenant relationship, and God does not just turn His head and say, "Maybe you can do better next time."  

Jeremiah 16:17-18 speak of a side of God we would rather not acknowledge, "For my eyes are on their ways; they are not hidden from My presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from My sight. And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin..."  Perhaps, some do not take sin seriously, but God does.  It is no trifling matter with Him.  To view sin from any perspective other than the cross where Jesus died is a mistake.  The cross may speak of God's love, but it also speaks of the cost of our sin.  For God our sin is no inconsequential matter, but an issue which breaks His heart.