One Sin is Enough

There is an old saying that says, “for lack of a nail the shoe was lost; for the lack of the shoe the horse was lost; for lack of the horse the soldier was lost; for lack of the soldier the battle was lost.” This saying points out the importance of what may first seem to be an insignificant thing. Look at it from another direction. You probably would not eat an apple if you saw a worm. You probably would not eat your supper if you saw a maggot in it. You probably would not buy a board if you saw a termite in it. you probably would not buy a shirt if you saw one tear in it. Even one imperfection would not be acceptable to you.

All of these go together reminding us that one blemish would be repulsive and unacceptable. All of these would go together to remind us that the whole item is not acceptable when compared to that which is whole without a blemish.

Now, consider God. He is absolutely perfect, without a flaw, and what the Scripture calls holy. It is incompatible to have something flawed with that which is perfect. It is incompatible to think that even one sin in our life is acceptable to the perfect God.

We talk of big sins and little sins when there is no such thing in the Bible. Any sin alienates us from fellowship with God. This is not to say that God does not want us to have fellowship with him. It is to say that absolute perfection cannot have imperfection in its presence.

No matter how good of a person we are, or think we are, none of us are perfect! The only way this problem can be resolved is through the intercessory work of Jesus dying on the cross for our sin. He made it possible so that the best of persons or the worst of persons can still come into his divine family by the shed blood of his son. What a wonderful and beautiful love God has extended to us. We cannot resolve that one or that many sins ourselves. By our own efforts or merits we cannot elect ourselves into divine perfection. Jesus is the answer to what we are and what we can be in the presence of the perfect God. This is why faith in the salvation work of Jesus is so important. This is why we must extend that faith so that we might be called Christians.