Does That Really Belong Here?
This is a larger chunk of Scripture than I usually look at, but there's no real way to separate these verses from each other.
Paul repeats that God has abandoned them to their depraved minds, and then he gives us on his famous (infamous?) sin lists. This is is quite a doozy, it includes murder, and Paul says these people are ruthless and heartless!
They sound like the worst group of people you could ever imagine! Reading this I'm filled with the temptation to think, "Thank God I'm not like THESE people!"
Filled with that temptation until I read what Paul writes at the end of verse 30. Right after telling us they invent ways of doing evil, he tells us the next horrible sin they commit - they disobey their parents!
SAY WHAT?
Other than Jesus, who hasn't disobeyed their parents at one time or another? Let's face it, all of us did so quite a bit, and some of us have made entire careers out of it! We tend to think that disobeying our parents isn't all that bad, why it's even a natural part of personal development right?
Somehow I don't think Paul would agree on that one! This list is a stark reminder that in God's eyes, all sin is sin, and he's not ranking them or dividing them into categories. We're the ones who love doing that. Oh this is a mortal sin, but this one's not so bad! The obese preacher tears into drunks and adulterers, and theives, all the while avoiding the verses on gluttony!
To God all my sin is equal, because ALL of it takes me away from Him! Period. That's why Jesus had to die, and yes, even my "small" sins and little white lies had to be paid for by Jesus on the cross.
Some food for thought.
Created over 2 years ago
