God Understands. Not!
“God understands” is a common beginning when Christians justify their sin or the sin of one of their loved ones. The fact of the matter is that God does not “understand”. The fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross is proof. When a Christian excuses sin by saying God understands …
… he or she is claiming that God overlooks sin because He knows that he or she couldn’t help it. If this were true, it would not have been necessary for a perfect sacrifice as payment for sin. God is perfect in His holiness. It was His love that prompted Him to show mercy instead of wrath. Every human from Adam to you and me has fallen short of the glory of God. All of us deserve the punishment of eternal wrath for our sins. God chose to forgive those who received the payment of Jesus’ blood for their sin. In addition, God gave the Holy Spirit to help believers live obedient lives. Even more, He supplies power to do what is right. Grace is available to all Christians who will humble themselves acknowledging a need of it. The God of the universe sent His only Son to be our substitute in punishment for our sins. He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and He provides grace for every situation. Those are not the actions of a God who “understands” by overlooking sin. If the truth be examined, claiming God understands our sin is just an excuse for not trusting Him. We periodically find ourselves in situations that require patience to wait for the Lord’s deliverance. Instead of waiting on God, we take matters into our own hands. When it becomes obvious that we acted contrary to truth, we excuse our wrong actions by claiming that we were helpless. Therefore, God understands our weakness and overlooks the fact that we operated in contradiction to Scripture. No! God’s perspective on the tiniest transgression is: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Sin cera, Erik
Erik O. Garthe is Associate Pastor at Canton Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.
