Excuses for Sin
This article is about people who blatantly continue in sin, act as if it’s insignificant, who disobey God, and then say, “we all fall short, we’re all growing” to block anyone who would rebuke them for behaving and continuing in ways that are clearly against the Word of God. I understand that we all mess up, but are we trying to live right (through the power of God), or are we being rebellious and using scriptures to justify our behavior?
“We all fall short”
This saying is taken from Romans 3:23 (NIV): “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. This is true, but this is no excuse to continue in sin. Jesus died for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to take the penalty for them (John 3:16); and through confession and repentance, we can receive forgiveness and salvation. But more importantly, Jesus died so that we’d learn how to say NO to sin (Titus 2:11-12 NIV). Jesus also left us the Holy Spirit who gives us power to refrain from sin (Galatians 5:16-23).
Because we were created to act and be like God - but sin corrupted us - Jesus’ sacrifice has allowed us another chance to be holy.
His sacrifice is not so that we can continue in sin without penalty (see Danger Zone for more). God now calls us, who’ve chose to follow Christ, to be holy:
13 Be alert and think straight. Put all your hope in how kind God will be to you when Jesus Christ appears. 14 Behave like obedient children. Don’t let your lives be controlled by your desires, as they used to be. 15 Always live as God’s holy people should, because God is the one who chose you, and he is holy. 16 That’s why the Scriptures say, “I am the holy God, and you must be holy too.” (1 Peter 1:13-16 CEV)
“We’re all growing”
This is true for some, but most people in the Institutional Church are not growing. They think growth is automatic - it is not. We must actively participate in our own growth with God - if we don’t, we won’t grow.
When God says stop being arrogant and start being humble, and yet you disobey, this is not growth. On the other hand, if you obey God, you’ve taken a step in your own spiritual growth. So, what you used to do, you don’t do anymore - this is growth. Growth comes as you submit to the Holy Spirit’s power to abstain from sin.
You’re not growing if you are still disrespectful, selfish, gossiping, lying, rude, proud, and fornicating - and you’ve been a Christian for 10 years. This is ridiculous! But this is what I see from Christians today, and it’s an indication of a lack of growth and a poor excuse for sinful behavior.
If you have a 13 year old child and 10 years later he’s the same size - is that growth? No. You would surely take that child to get an exam to figure out what’s wrong. If there’s a person who’s been calling himself a Christian for 10 years and still acts like the world - is that growth? Nope. This person should surely examine himself to see whether he is in the Faith as the bible instructs in 2 Cor 13:5 NIV.
Judging People
Unfortunately, many are deceived (in these last and evil days) and think that sin is insignificant, their lifestyle and characters don’t really need to change, and despite all that, they are still going to Heaven. What a shame. Then they say, “you can’t judge me” or, “Neal, you’re being judgmental.” Here’s my response to a fornicating Christian who said the same:
As far as me judging you – I judge righteously, according to the scriptures. The bible says that we are to judge are own people (1 Corinthians 5: 11-13 CEV). You claim to be a follower of Christ (like myself), but according to everything that you’ve clearly done, and are doing, you are not. You’re not fooling anyone but yourself. Jesus said, you will know them by their fruit. Your fruit is fornication. And when confronted about it, you have justified and continued in it.
The judgment scripture in Matthew chapter 7:1-5 talks about judging another Christian in hypocrisy – I wasn’t fornicating then or now. Therefore my judgment is righteous. John 7:24 says ‘Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment’. Christians can discern both good and evil, which according to the Bible, is a legitimate judgment. I also don’t condemn you to Hell, God will make that call, but if you continue in sin, you are in danger, as the scriptures say, ‘the wages of sin is death’… But you can change.
The false Christian (who was a bible college student) never responded.
What to do when we sin
As followers of God, we have no excuse for sin. When we mess up, we need to confess our sins - which means to acknowledge what we did and agree that it is wrong - and then repent - turn away from that sin and start following Christ again. Though we may fall, we must continue to get up and through the power of Jesus and His Spirit, we can be holy.
This article was written by Neal Chester (Nealreal) and published Nov 30, 2009. If this article was helpful, share it using the buttons below. If you'd like to redistribute this content in other ways, visit our terms for more information.
Amen Neal. You boldness makes my jaw drop.
Yes Neal, Amen! Great point. We must live solely for God, that is our purpose on this earth! To tell people about the word of God and obey his laws! God Bless and remember everyone, walk in the Spirit!!
Although I have one question. Why do we continue to sin then?
We sin because our soul’s are corrupted. We begin to sin less and less after we are born again. The great war in our bodies is against our flesh which is the filth in our soul which was left over from the old man (before Christ). Now that we’ve been born again (if you’ve been born again), we seek to obey Jesus in our new man and we hate sin. Our new man, now doesn’t sin like the old man, he wants to do right and obey God. But he needs help from the Holy Spirit because his flesh will always try to get him to sin. The new man gets strength from the Holy Spirit. When the born again Christian sins, it’s because he’s weak and has not yielded to the Holy Spirit. Learning to yield the Spirit, by willing to combat our flesh is a growing process. The more we learn this discipline, the less we sin. This is one of the hardest things to do in this world. Hope that answers your question. Read Romans 1-10. This will give you all you need.
Another thing. The born again believer doesn’t make excuses for sin, he’s responsible for what his body does and thinks even though his flesh did it (read Roms 7-8). He must take control by willing to combat the flesh daily, but in the power of the Spirit. Without the Spirit, the new man can’t win.
Anyone going around and making excuses for their sin is probably not born again. Anyone who isn’t growing may not be born again. A baby that doesn’t grow is probably a stillborn - in other words: dead to God, in their sins and never was truly regenerated. A child of God hates sin and seeks to overcome it in all areas of his/her life. A bastard (or a child of the devil), keeps on sinning and doesn’t want to take responsibility for it, nor does he/she want to stop.