Permission to Be Imperfect: How to Strive Less, Stress Less, Sin LessSample

Ending Your Battle with Sin

Sin. It can be a divisive word. Debates rage inside of families, churches, and culture about what is sin and what isn’t. Two things regarding sin seem to unify Christians, though. Most agree on the definition of it. Many also mistakenly believe that overcoming it is the goal of the Christian life.

To define sin, most Christians look to Scripture, as they should. Accordingly, sin means to “miss the mark” or “to fall short of God’s best.” What specifically misses the mark? What specifically falls short of God’s best? Most correctly look to Scripture for those answers, too. But here’s where the division begins.

It is not that Scripture doesn’t instruct what not to do. It is that much of what it restricts is not applicable to us today. The Ten Commandments, for example, are the first 10 of 613 laws that God gave to Israel through Moses. As we discussed yesterday, these laws weren’t established as perpetual standards to keep God pleased—or else. These laws were laid down by God to reveal the need for a Savior. To that end, they accomplished their purpose perfectly. But that is the end of them (see Romans 10:4). After all, Jesus came to earth and suffered crucifixion because we cannot obey them perfectly. So, He took care of them for us. His sacrifice removed the sin of the world (John 1:29). His death was the moment when God stopped counting our sins against us (2 Corinthians 5:19). Forgiveness is the word that sums this all up. Past, present, and future.

This does not mean that sin doesn’t exist today. Or that the commandments do not contain examples of sins today. Cheating is still a sin. So is theft. So is murder, of course. Not because they are part of the law, though. But because they fall under the new standard established by Jesus—His Law of Love. When a religious leader asked Jesus to name the most important commandment, Jesus responded, “Love the Lord your God . . . [and] ‘love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mark 12:29–31). Almost every New Testament writer echoed the same. They maintained that obeying God comes down to faith in Jesus and love for one another (see Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:14; 1 John 3:23). Honesty, purity, and value for life—these are all included in the Law of Love.

While there are many great reasons not to sin, fear of punishment or eternal separation from God aren’t some of them. Again, that’s because Jesus was sacrificed to forgive sin forever (see Hebrews 10:12). Faith in Jesus is God’s only requirement for salvation, not sinlessness or even sin management. That’s why overcoming sin isn’t the goal of Christianity. The goal is something else entirely. And a natural byproduct of it is sinning less. We’ll explore that tomorrow. But for now, consider this: Has your life been centered around managing sin? How has this helped or hindered your relationship with God?