Christians have tried to make sin acceptable. Things like pride, laziness, selfishness, resentment, gossip and gluttony are often on the list of sins some have chosen to tolerate or accept.

To tolerate sin in any form is dangerous. Allowing these subtle sins to remain in our lives is like tolerating cancer in our physical bodies.

We need to be reminded that God does not rank sin. Sin is sin. Even though that is the case, it is still important to remember that there is a progression to sin.

It has been said that sin always takes you further than you want to go; sin keeps you longer than you want to stay; sin costs you more than you want to pay.

That’s why it is important to be careful about lustful thoughts because lustful thoughts can lead to a pornography addiction, which can lead to adultery, rape, incest or other sexual sins.

There is always a downward progression to sin. Murder is rooted in anger. Anger can lead to resentment, which can grow into bitterness, then hatred, which finally can lead to murder.

I hope you are beginning to see just how dangerous these so-called subtle sins can be. We also need to recognize the fact that sin grieves the heart of God. That is why he made it possible that we could not only be forgiven of our sin but that we could live above sin. That is God’s desire.

Why allow sin to remain when we realize it was our sin that sent Jesus to the cross in the first place?

The good news is that sin has a remedy. There is a cure for our sin sickness. That cure is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is for everyone. Nobody needs to be left out. The Gospel means good news. It is the good news that Jesus came and paid the price for our sin (see John 3:16).

There is never a day that we don’t need the Gospel. You see, we were born in sin. We have all sinned personally. And we are never so good on our own that we don’t need what Christ has done for us.

That’s because none of us are 100% effective at living the life God called us to live, on every level (word, thought, deed), 100% of the time. The grace of God is what makes it possible for us to be acceptable in his sight. Praise God.

You may read Steve Greene’s blog at pastorgreene.wordpress.com or you can email him at [email protected].