Why does God make such a big deal out of sin?
Short answer: Because sin IS a big deal.
But why is sin a big deal?
That is a good question, and I’m glad someone asked.
We humans don’t think of sin as that big of a deal because we see and hear it all the time. We were born in it. We live in it, we walk in it, we swim in it, we drown in it, and eventually we die in it. We perform sin every day. We’re so used to sin that we even ignore or excuse it. Sometimes we even watch it intently as if nothing is wrong with it!
But God, on the other hand, is completely free from sin. God is holy, faultless, and perfect. God is ultimate good and cleanness. Because He is so pure and holy, God cannot and will not tolerate sin. He won’t even look at it. God must also punish sin because it is so wrong and filthy.
What’s the punishment?
Death.
One sin – just one – and you get the death penalty.
No exceptions.
No excuses.
That is how big of a deal sin really is.
Now until you realize and agree with that, you will think that God is just blowing things way out of proportion. But He isn’t. That’s the point. God doesn’t make a big fuss over nothing, because He is God.
So why aren’t we all dead? Why am I sitting here typing this, and why are you sitting here reading this?
Because even though God utterly and completely hates sin, He also loves the people He creates. God’s love is so strong that it can see all our sin – all of it – and still love us anyway. God Himself is love – it is His nature, it is who He is. God’s love overpowers His hate toward sin.
But there is still a problem.
Yes, God loves everyone. But sin is still a big deal and it must be punished. The sin must be wiped away clean and far from us. So how do you get rid of it?
You can’t. You can’t get rid of it. It sticks and clings to you like an immovable leech. You can’t make it go away. Death is the payment for your sin. Only death will satisfy justice. But if you die, then what? You died as a sinner. That doesn’t help you.
But God knew this before He even began creating the universe. God knew how bad mankind would be, but He created us anyway. Why? Because He loves us. And so we could love Him in return, God gave us free will – God gave us choice. Since God knew we’d mess up horrendously with our decision-making and that we wouldn’t be able to fix it, He fixed it Himself. See? I told you God loves us.
God the Son, Jesus, came down from Heaven to earth when the time was just perfect. He lived a totally perfect, sinless life just so He could die in our place. Jesus sacrificed Himself so we could be clean and at one with God the Father. Jesus took the filth and weight of sin and its punishment because God doesn’t want us to drown in sin; God wants us to be free from sin!
God loves you, so He made a way for sin to have no more power over you. God made a way so He can look at you and smile. God made a way so you would not have to die in your sin. God made a way so that you can be in His presence in Heaven, totally clean and clear from sin.
Sin is a big deal.
God’s love is also a big deal.
Do you recognize this? Do you realize it?
This – this whole thing! It is a big deal!