“It is not a sin”

Sunday, September 11, 2016

It is not a sin!

In a letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul asked “Did I commit sin in abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?” (II Cor. 11:7).  It was absurd to think that Paul sinned by showing his humility and preaching to the brethren for free. But obviously someone twisted things and made it seem like the apostle was in the wrong.

This is nothing new. Even today, people claim it is sinful to do certain things that are simply not wrong. Here is a short list of several things that it is not sinful to do:

1. Eat pork. Certain meats were deemed unclean under the Old Law. But now, under the gospel of Jesus Christ, nothing is to be considered unclean (Acts 10:10-15).

2. Get married. Many religious groups teach that it is wrong for religious leaders to marry (I Tim. 4:3). However, anyone can get married as long as it is lawful (Matt. 19:9).

3. Never get married. It is true that woman was created as a companion for man (Gen. 2:20-25), but some people take this too far and say that everyone must marry. Recall that Paul encouraged people not to marry if they could bear it (I Cor. 7:7-8).

4. Say someone is wrong. So often you hear that if you point the finger, you are judging!  However, how can you help the sinner without pointing out the sin (James 5:19-20)? It does seem odd that anyone would think it is sinful to point out sin (Gal. 2:11).

5. Question religious leaders. If teachers are not to be questioned, what do you do if they teach error? Students must be able to question teachers. Allowing error to go unchecked is wrong (Acts 18:24-26).

                                                                                                                           Chuck                                                                                     

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