We're all sinners. We know that much to be true. Some of us are saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Yay for us! Nevertheless, there are some sins that are so outlandish that they are completely incompatible with the Christian faith.
I'm not talking about little sins like lying and holding a grudge. While these sins are forgivable yet still break the heart of God, there are sins so grotesque they completely ruin an individual's weakness, and can potentially destroy the witness of an entire congregation of believers.
When Christians sin, the first thing we should do when confronted is repent. Our response should be to ask God for forgiveness followed by an immediate apology to whomever we offend. We may even go so far as to explain that there is no excuse for our behavior because Christ died for our sins but is honored when our behavior reflects His character. And that's the problem with sin ... it never reflects Christ's behavior.
Following that prelude, here are five sins that don't make sense for Christians to ever be guilty of. Yet, I know there are Christians guilty of these sins. When I see it, I scratch my head in wonder. Don't they know of the love and forgiveness, the ineffable grace, of Jesus Christ?
Without further ado, meditate on these five deadly sins. Have you been guilty of any of them?
5 Deadly Sins of the Christian Church
Greed - In America, capitalism is the state religion. Criticize it at your own peril. You'll likely be labeled a "socialist," "communist," or worse. Just for pointing out unique flaws of a man-made system often postured as God's favored economics. But the truth is, Jesus never spoke about what system of economics was the best. In fact, he stated outright that His kingdom is not of this world. If His kingdom is not of this world, then the man-made systems of this world aren't His either. That means that Christ Himself stands above the economic labels we like to splatter on ourselves and everyone else. He wasn't a capitalist any more than He was a socialist, a Democrat, or a Republican. While these labels are man-made labels representing man-made philosophies, adherents to any of them could be just as guilty of greed as anyone else. The problem with greed, defined as an excessive desire for the acquisition of material possessions, is that it places a higher value on the object of desire than on people, the crown of God's creation. One's social class is not the problem. Poor people can be as guilty of greed as the wealthy, and there are many men and women of wealth not beset with the desire to gain more wealth at the expense of their neighbors. Anyone can be guilty of it simply by placing more importance on material things than on people, and that's the problem. The greedy do not love their neighbors as they love themselves, and that's why this sin makes no sense for a Christian. Loving our neighbors is the golden rule.
Lust - In our oversexualized culture, lust is as rampant is greed. I'd go so far as to say lust is the flipside of the same coin as greed. Lust is an insatiable desire for something, and that something can be sex, power, money, food, or anything that serves as an object of desire. Greed is a specific type of lust. It is the love of money. Very often, lust is associated with a strong desire for more sex. The problem with lust, whether the object of desire is sexual pleasure or something else, is that it places a higher value on the object of desire than on the worth of individuals. It's a failure to love one's neighbor as one loves oneself.
Legalism - Legalism is a type of sin unique to Christians. Instead of resting in God's grace, the legalist places unnecessary constraints and conditions on themselves and others. There are essentially two types of legalism. Hard legalism is trying to live, or expecting others to live, by the strict requirements of the Mosaic Law or Old Testament traditions. The Apostle Paul came down hard on the Galatians for falling backward into living by the law. He went so far as to call them fools, pointing out that they were accursed. Those living by faith under grace have no reason to place themselves under the law again. Soft legalism is more dangerous than hard legalism because it often goes undetected. I'd say it's even more prevalent today, at least in the U.S. where I live, than hard legalism. The soft legalist uses the same language as grace-loving Christians, but the words may mean something different to them or they'll use a bait-and-switch tactic to draw people in with words of grace while pushing upon them expectations that encourage performance-oriented works-based religiosity. The soft legalist may say something like, "You shouldn't listen to that kind of music; it's of the devil", or "Now that you believe in Jesus, when are you going to quit smoking?" To the soft legalist, a person's faith and value as a Christian must be judged by how well they carry out certain expectations, many of which are unwritten or arbitrary. Entire denominations have fallen under this curse and have led many Christians down dark alleys and rabbit trails of performance rather than into Sabbath rest. True Christianity is a rest from works-based religion. When James wrote faith apart from works is dead, he didn't mean to use works and deeds as measuring sticks for one's faith. He meant that men and women of faith are justified when they show their faith through their actions, just as Abraham showed his faith by his obedience to God. We must be careful not to add expectation upon expectation but to exhort one another to love and good deeds.
Racism - I can't for the life of me understand how some Christians become racist. Racism is that sin that says "I am superior to you for no reason other than the color of my skin, my nationality, or my heritage." It is a form of hate and is often encouraged as "pride of heritage". It's complete nonsense. The man or woman of God will accept all people from all walks of life regardless of race, religion, or nationality. To love one's neighbor as oneself is to cast aside anything that makes one feel superior to another, and that includes one's heritage.
Nationalism - In recent years, there has been a rise in Christian Nationalism, a unique American sin that claims to be based on God's word but is a scourge of the West. I once had someone tell me that the Bible says one should "love one's country." I went looking for that verse and haven't found it yet. Nationalism is that sin that causes one to believe one's own country is superior to all others for no particular reason. Of course, in America, we tend to believe our country is the best because of its Constitutional legal system, capitalist economic structure, and our collective emphasis on personal freedoms. While these may be things to admire, the nationalist overlooks the negative aspects of their country and glosses over its weaknesses, as if the country has achieved some state of perfection. There's never been a perfect nation nor a perfect anything with men involved. Sinful men cannot create a perfect system. "But our nation is one nation under God!" News flash: All nations are one nation under God. He's higher than we are, always has been, and always will be. His thoughts are higher and purer, his motives are clearer and more perfect, and His creation is an expression of His divine love. Nationalism is valuing one's own countrymen more than others, but if one loves one's neighbors as one loves oneself, then one loves all people. One can't love a select group of people more than others and claim to be living by the word of God.
While these five sins are atrocious, they are also prevalent in the church today. That doesn't mean that God sees them as worse than other sins. All sin is abhorrent to God. But to me, these sins are so incompatible with a Christian conscience that it baffles me when I see my fellow brothers and sisters practice them. In fact, I'd go so far as to say they are destroying the witness of the church in our culture.
Are you checking your heart? Do you regularly exhibit behaviors and attitudes that are incompatible with the Christian faith? What do you do about it?
Allen Taylor is the author of I Am Not the King, a personal testimony of growth in Jesus Christ.
