The Chief of All Sins

I’ve been thinking about the chief of all sins of late. It is the rejection of Jesus Christ – unbelief. Not rejection of Him by those in the unbelieving world, but rather, by those in the church. The greatest sin we have in the church today is unbelief. For surely this is happening when men and women within it seek to deny, water down, overlook or by-pass what the Bible clearly tell us about the need for living in holiness, godliness and righteousness. When we in the pews embrace the “theology” of religious rebels and fools standing in pulpits, we too become religious rebels and fools. God knows that. Satan knows that. The only ones who don’t know it are religious rebels and fools.

And no greater religious rebel and fool is there than the one who sits before a television camera and a heathen television interviewer to justify his endorsement of same sex marriage and its like. Here he (or she) is, sitting there with a ridiculous, devil-inspired smile on his face as he mouths off his equally rebellious and foolish opinions – and he believes he’s speaking for Jesus Christ! My God, have mercy on his soul. Such men (or women) limit their theology of Jesus to what they see of Him in the four gospels. They don’t go to the last book of the Bible to study the Jesus who rebuked five of seven churches for their rebellion and foolishness. Neither do they study the Jesus who speaks through the writers of the New Testament.

They don’t study the Jesus who speaks to us through the pages of the Old Testament either. For if they did, they would heed the laws of sexual immorality declared in Leviticus 18:1-30. Yes, they know they’re written there, but they don’t hear Jesus speaking them. That’s why they come up with all sorts of religious, rebellious and foolish justifications to explain them away. That’s why the chief of all sins is running rampant throughout Christendom today – rejection of Jesus Christ – unbelief. And when He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me….. John 16:8-9. Such people have made the decision not to follow the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

So how can Christians safe-guard themselves from religious rebels and fools? We can only do so by permitting Jesus to speak to us from every book of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The apostle Paul said, I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God Acts 20:27. There are very few church leaders willing to declare the whole counsel of God today anywhere across the world so that means we have to get out onto the spiritual pathway and seek it for ourselves. This requires time, effort and patience, but if we will make the decision to commit, God will reward us mightily with revelation. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled Matthew 5:6.

Let’s see how this works for us in a practical sense. Somebody asks you for your view on same sex marriage and abortion. Instead of responding like the religious rebels and fools, you respond like a child and servant of the most High God. You say, “My stand is the same as that of my holy God whom I represent and speak for.” Never mind that that will make you arrogant in the eyes of the questioner, it doesn’t make you arrogant in the eyes of God, which is all that matters. Then, when asked to explain, instead of allowing them to tie you in knots with those specific topics, you respond with, “Unless you embrace the holiness of Christ, you will not stand in God’s presence, except at the Great White Throne Judgment.” Throw it back on them!

Don’t worry that they won’t believe you; our job is to proclaim the word of God, the Holy Spirit will do the rest in His time. We can neither convict nor convert another person, that’s God’s department; ours is simply to speak up. Remember too, when you proclaim the word of God to another, you are speaking to his or her spirit, not their mind John 6:63, so don’t be concerned for their lack of understanding. Should they try to pin you down or hem you in with questions on other sinful practices that society is strangling itself in, respond in the same way; pin them down with the word of God every time. Tell them they are responsible to live holy, godly and righteous every bit as much as you are! They know it.

The church has spent too many years allowing the devil’s crowd to tie it in knots by focusing on immorality. Make it your business to focus on unbelief not immorality. It’s easy for someone to hone in on immorality, especially if it’s not a practice they’re into; but not so easy for them if you hone in on unbelief. Tell them immorality is not the unforgiveable sin, unbelief is! Tell them there are more rejecters of Jesus in hell today awaiting judgment than there are same-sex and abortion advocates. If the latter are offensive to God, the former are doubly offensive to Him. He who believes in the Son of God has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him John 3:36.

A famous retired Archbishop was quoted recently as saying, “I would not worship a God who is homophobic….I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place.” If the quote is true, the man is a religious rebel and fool. It’s a classic example of unbelief in the church. God is no more homophobic than He is spiderphobic! Only a religious rebel and fool could come up with such an idea. Talk about someone who’s created God after his own image! No, God is not homophobic, GOD IS HOLY! But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy” 1 Peter 1:15-16. It seems to be clear evidence that he has never encountered the holiness of the biblical God.

I promise all readers of this post, when this man dies and stands before HOLY GOD he will say no such thing! He won’t refuse heaven, he’ll be begging for it! However, with a belief system such as he currently holds, he’s headed for “the other place” anyway! The only context in which he will say “sorry” to God will be in the context of how great a religious rebel and fool he’s been! As it stands presently, there seems to be little difference in attitude between him and Satan. Five times we read Lucifer (Satan) saying, “I will” “I will” “I will” “I will” “I will” Isaiah 14:12-14. Four times we read this man saying, “I would” “I would” “I would” “I would.” He would not! He will not! It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Hebrews 10:31. 

AW Tozer said sixty years ago, “Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders think of God today, we might be able with some precision to foretell where the church will stand tomorrow.”  His tomorrow is our today; we know the thoughts of most of them, they are similar to that of the Arch-bishop. Most of them think God is altogether like them! Because they tolerate every ungodly thing spewing out from the pit of hell, they think God does too. Therefore, the “church” they associate themselves with is not standing, it’s sinking. Every time I hear or read of a building collapsing into a sinkhole, I see a “church” headed up by such people as these collapsing into a spiritual sinkhole! 

Once a Christian or a church loses sight of the holiness, godliness and righteousness of God there is nowhere for him, her or it to go but into spiritual decline. No holiness, godliness and righteousness equals no Holy Spirit; it’s as simple as that. The Holy Spirit will not hang around to compete with any religious spirit. You either take Him on His terms or you don’t take Him at all. But when one doesn’t take Him, there’s no one around to rightly divide the word of truth 2 Timothy 2:15. So what happens? They wrongly divide the word of truth! They interpret the Bible according to their own religious understanding.

Interpreting the Bible according to your own religious understanding has you embracing Scriptures you want and rejecting Scriptures you don’t want. What religious rebels and fools fail to understand about that practice though, when you reject one, you reject all. Truth is a whole … it does not allow itself to be cut up and spliced. But that’s what’s been going on for decades in the church. That’s why I say in the church, just like in the unbelieving world, the chief of all sins is the rejection of Jesus Christ – unbelief. If you want to know why there’s no world-wide revival of the gospel taking place, there’s the answer. God has no deal with religious rebels and fools; He never has, He never will.

Does that mean as a Christian I must obey everything written in the Bible? No, there are things written there that are not applicable for Christians. That’s why we need to be able to rightly divide the Scriptures, understanding what applies to old covenant religious law and what applies to new covenant Christian grace. For example, the moral laws are applicable to Christians, the ceremonial laws are not. That is, laws of sexual morality declared in Leviticus still apply; laws in relation to burnt offerings, sin offerings, animal sacrifice, priestly ministry, feasts, and keeping the Sabbath do not apply. With regards the Sabbath, rightly dividing the Scriptures releases you from the opinions of those who say we should worship on Saturday.

An important note: As Christians, we are only responsible for obedience to the light we’ve been given. Where each of us is at on the spiritual path of revelation is different, but that difference makes no difference to our call to live in holiness, godliness and righteousness. When each of us stands before Jesus to give an account of our lives, our knowledge of Scripture will not be the primary issue for Him, but our obedience to the knowledge we had will be. Religious rebels and fools will be ashamed when they stand before the Lord to give their account. Even before the Lord speaks, they will know in an instant that they indulged in the chief of all sins – the rejection of Jesus Christ – unbelief. “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” Psalm 119:160.