Decadence Is in the Chocolate?

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Sin is one of those issues that gets everybody in the hot seat. Whether we speak against sin, talk about it, or even sin ourselves, we face it every day. What I see is that people have taken on the job of trying to make sin not nearly as wrong as it once was. We try our hardest to believe that sin is not so bad. That's because we know that God's boundaries would make it so that "sin might become utterly sinful" Romans 7:13, NIV). So we deal with it by speaking of sin in at least 2 ways:

1. the "that's not so bad" way of thinking - That's when way we change our vocabulary and actions to reflect the current socially acceptable morals of society. for instance, we no longer deceive, we tell white lies. We don't commit fornication, we "hook-up." We don't commit adultery, we have an "affair." We don't steal, we help ourselves. And we don't get drunk, we're just a little tipsy. Every one of those ways of saying things reflects the changing attitudes in our society that helps us deal with the tinges of guilt we can face with our ongoing sinful lifestyles.

2. the "delicious made decadent" description - That's when we take something like a piece of cake, and make it taste really good. When we describe it, we say it is "decadent" or "sinful" or "heathen." When we do that it can belittle the intended use of the word, making sin not seem as bad. Having an "affair" is no different than having delicious piece of cake. Both are decadent, right?

To understand decadence, we need go no farther than the lifestyles of the First Century Romans. Their lives have been shown to be people that thought little of family commitment, less of human life, and indulged illicit sexual appetites on a regular basis (Ever heard of Caligula or Nero?) Believe it or not, even large portions of the worship of their gods was built around the cults of Venus and her sacred prostitutes. But, we can't stop there, mankind has always been guilty of sinful lifestyles and debased living. From the excesses of the royal French houses to the "Pornacracy" of the medieval church, we have seen sin rear its ugly head over and over again. I think we can all agree, we have all seen enough sin to understand the difference between a good piece of cake and a lecherous sexual appetite.

But, the question is not how we look at sin, but how God looks at it. When God sees sin, it is an absolute. It is not eating a good piece of cake, but it is getting drunk. It is not "hooking up;" it is fornication. God has moral absolutes. He has standards that He expects us to adhere to. He has defined right and wrong for us without any misgivings. Here's a few:

• unrighteousness (This is not being perfect)
  
• evil
  
• greed
• envy
• murder
• quarrels
• deceit
• gossips
• slanderers
• God-haters
• arrogant
• proud
• boastful
• inventors of evil
• disobedient to parents
• untrustworthy
• unloving (For more SEE Romans 1:29-31 HCSB)

And I'm just naming a few. God knows exactly what sin is and what it is not. He is perfect and cannot sin. The boudaries for life are well-defined. And when it comes down to it, our whining will ring hollow that we didn't really know what God expected, nor will the excuse, "no one's perfect" stand God's scrutiny. God expects perfection. He cannot allow sin in His presence.

We are even told what we already knew:

Although they know full well God's just sentence-that those who practice such things deserve to die-they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them. (Romans 1:32 HCSB)

So it begs the question, is there hope for me? With sin, there is no hope. But, suppose for a moment that there was a way for to God forgive sin, your sin. Wouldn't you like to know?

You can know. God wants you to.

Pastor Trey Rhodes