Acceptable Sins: The Nuanced Ways Sin Sneaks into The Church
SANCTIFIED SINNERS
Imagine a family that’s a bit chaotic—where things aren’t always done perfectly, mistakes are made, and things can get messy. That’s a bit like the church in Corinth. They had their issues: a lot of them. They were like that one relative who is always in the middle of some drama or another. They argued, made some pretty questionable decisions, and didn’t always get things right when it came to following Jesus. Despite all this, Paul had a special way of seeing them. He called them “saints.”
When we hear the word “saint,” we might think of someone who’s practically perfect. In some traditions, being called a saint is a huge honor that comes after a person has lived a life of extraordinary faith and virtue, sometimes recognized long after they have passed away. Think about people’s respect and admiration for Pope John Paul II, with talks of sainthood starting almost as soon as he passed.
However, Paul’s use of “saint” isn’t about waiting for perfection or posthumous honors. He throws the term out there for everyday believers, including those in Corinth who were far from having it all together. It is as if Paul sees beyond the mess and the mistakes, straight to what these believers are in Christ. Through his eyes, “saint” doesn’t mean you have reached some spiritual peak. Instead, it is a reminder of the identity given to you in your baptism—a life defined by grace and a heart dedicated to following Jesus, even when you stumble.
So, why would Paul call these Corinthians, with all their issues, “saints”? It is a bit like he’s saying, “I see the real you, the you that God is shaping, the you that’s more than your mistakes.” It is a powerful reminder that being a saint isn’t about being perfect; it is about being called and striving every day to live out that calling to be more and more like Jesus. As Paul reminds us in Colossian 3.3, it is about living into the new life “hidden” for us with Christ Jesus (Col. 3:3).
In the biblical sense, being a saint is not about achieving a state of sinlessness. It is about being in a new condition of life, one where we are continually being shaped and molded by God’s Spirit. This new state doesn’t exempt us from the challenges and missteps of life. Instead, it gives us a new foundation—one of grace, forgiveness, and the promise of transformation. Being a saint means we are on a journey, one where we are learning, growing, and, yes, sometimes stumbling, but always moving closer to the heart of God.
The Greek word for saint is hagios, and it refers not to one’s character but to a state of being. Its literal meaning is “one who is separated unto God.” To be separated unto Him is about being dedicated to Him in every aspect of life. This doesn’t mean you are perfect or that you have got it all figured out – far from it. It means you are on a journey, one where you are constantly growing, learning, and striving to reflect God’s love and goodness in the world. This idea of being set apart is grounded in the understanding that you are not just living for yourself anymore. You are now living for something bigger, something eternal.
Therefore, according to Paul, this means that you and I are a saint in God’s eyes—yes, you and I, with all our flaws, sins, mistakes, and temptations.
A NEW SERMON SERIES AND A WARNING
This Lent, we are diving into a new sermon series called “Acceptable Sins.” It’s a journey into the nuanced ways sin manifests itself in the Church, including our community at Christ Church. We are going to look at the subtle ways sin becomes tolerable, can appear harmless, and even seem desirable within the church. We won’t cover every sin that falls into this category, but we will focus on six specific ones: narcissism, complacency, discontentment, moralism, anxiety, and presumptuousness.
Often dismissed as minor, these sins can significantly hinder our relationship with Christ. This series aims to shine a light on these behaviors, grasp the depth of their impact, and move toward genuine repentance and change. Our goal is to align more closely with Jesus’ teachings and seek how his Spirit might be building a community committed to confronting and overcoming these “acceptable sins” for a life of greater holiness and integrity.
However, a word of caution as we embark on this exploration: there is a risk in discussing pragmatic issues like these. The danger is that the messages might be misconstrued as promoting salvation based on our works. It is crucial to remember that, as Paul clearly states in Ephesians 2.8, our salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ alone, not through our ability to overcome sin by our efforts. Therefore, we are not made acceptable to God by our ability to rid ourselves of sinful actions.
This series is not about earning God’s favor but about responding with love to the grace we have already received, Often, because of his continuing work in us, these grateful responses lead to lives that increasingly reflect His love and righteousness. The reason why we are focusing on these issues during Lent is that this is a time in the Church calendar when, by God’s grace, we are invited to look into our hearts and lives to find the things that should not be there. Again, by His grace and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we then purge those things from our hearts and lives so that we can increasingly reflect the heart and life of Jesus——a life we were created to live.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: THE PROBLEM OF SIN
Cancer is a word that chills the heart. It carries with it images of struggle, despair, and often a sense of inevitability. Some of you have faced your own battles with cancer. For others, like myself, we know too many friends that have faced the battle.
Several years ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. He was young (early 30s). He seemed otherwise healthy and in tip-top condition. But, within 24 months, Matt was gone. He left behind a wife and two children. Unfortunately, Matt would not be my only friend to succumb to this horrible disease.
The term cancer rightly kindles fear, but another word for it is malignancy. In medical terms, malignancy refers to a tumor that can grow without limit, invading nearby tissues and spreading to other parts of the body. Without intervention, a malignant tumor can spread so thoroughly that it becomes fatal. The parallels between cancer and sin are strikingly clear. Sin, like a spiritual and moral malignancy, if left unchecked, has the capacity to pervade every facet of our lives. Scripture often describes sin as leaven, which saturates and grows (Matthew 16.6, 11-12; 1 Corinthians 5.6-8; Galatians 5.9). More insidiously, sin’s damaging effects have the tendency to spread from us to others, affecting the spiritual health of the community around us.
Sin extends far beyond mere actions, harsh words, or even those dark thoughts we never vocalize. At its core, sin is a posture or a moral force that resides deep within our hearts. The sinful deeds, words, and thoughts we exhibit are merely outward manifestations of this deep-seated principle of sin living within us, persisting even in those of us who have experienced a renewal of heart through Christ. The Apostle Paul refers to this principle as “the flesh” (or the sinful nature, as some Bible translations phrase it). This principle of the flesh is so tangible and potent that Paul often gives it human characteristics in his writings, illustrating its capacity to act and influence us (e.g., Romans 7.8-11 and Galatians 5.17).
All this to say, sin is serious. As believers, we should take its presence in our lives seriously. Unfortunately, I have found that Christians approach sin in one of two ways. The first is that they ignore it. We often measure our morality against the surrounding culture. With that as our backdrop, it is easy for us to be complacent and assume that we are doing just fine – after all, compared with the world, we look like Mother Teresa. However, this complacency blinds us to the persistent reality of sin within us.
The second way I’ve seen Christians deal with sin in their life is to have an unhealthy obsession with it, which often manifests in legalism. We think we can purge ourselves of sin through striving and moral effort. In this camp, we can often feel too much of a responsibility to do the work of cleansing ourselves from our sin – neglecting the gift of grace and the help from the Holy Spirit.
Neither of these approaches is helpful to us, nor does it honor our Lord. We need a Biblical approach to sin that leans into God’s grace, is dependent on the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and invites us into active submission to the Spirit’s work in rooting out the deceitful, insidious, wicked things from our lives.
STARTING (AND ENDING) WITH GRACE
One of the things that has always impressed me about St. Paul is that he was a person who could exude confidence and humility at the same time. He had every reason to boast, yet he never let that go to his head. Towards the end of his life, after many years of successful ministry and planting countless churches, he would still write, “I am the foremost sinner” (1 Tim. 1.13). I do not think this was some sort of false humility. After all those years of leading and planting churches, I believe Paul truly saw that he was still a sinner in need of a savior. If that is true for someone like Paul of Tarsus, then we can know for sure we never will grow beyond that need. The Christian journey starts and ends with the Gospel: By grace, we are saved through faith in Christ (Eph.2.8).
God’s grace offers us a two-fold cure for sin. First, it cleanses us of sin’s guilt. We often refer to this as justification (e.g., Romans 5.9; 8.31, 38-39). It is “just-as-if-I’d” never sinned. This is what is given to us when we place our faith in Jesus. The minute we confess Jesus as our Lord, our sin and guilt is washed away. However, after faith, we all know that we continue to struggle with sins. This leads us to the second part of grace’s cure. Grace also liberates us from sin’s control. However, unlike justification, which is instantaneous and complete, this second aspect is a life-long process. We often refer to this second aspect as sanctification – a transformative process that molds us increasingly into the image and likeness of Jesus.
Sanctification is what this sermon series will focus on. It is important that we understand that our transformation and growth into Christ’s likeness does not depend on us pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps and getting our act together. It begins and ends with grace. Sanctification is the gradual, lifelong process through which the Holy Spirit shapes our character, actions, and desires to reflect Christ more accurately. Through sanctification, grace actively works within us to overcome the residual power of sin, enabling us to live in a manner that is pleasing to God.
Think of it like a plant growing in a garden. The plant doesn’t make itself grow; it needs sunlight, water, and good soil. In this analogy, God’s grace is like the sunlight, water, and soil. It is the nourishment and strength that allows us to grow spiritually. We have an active role to play in this garden. We get to be the gardener who is invited into the work of cultivating life. You might object and say, “I’m a terrible gardener!” The good news is that the Holy Spirit comes alongside us like a master gardener and shows us how to do that. His Spirit guides us.
God invites us into the process of sanctification. However, it’s important to remember the pressure is not on us to get it right. God offers us his grace. We need to lean into and trust the grace to do for us what we cannot do on our own. This does not mean we do not have an active role to play. We do! Our role in our sanctification process involves a daily commitment to reject sin, embrace God’s righteousness, renew our minds with God’s truth, and walk in step with the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s writings provide several examples of how this works:
First, we are called to “put off” our old selves and “put on” the new self, as described in Ephesians 4.22-24. This involves a conscious decision to reject sinful patterns and embrace a life that reflects God’s character.
Second, we are encouraged to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil. 2.12-13). This doesn’t mean we earn our salvation, but rather that we actively live out the implications of our salvation in our daily lives. It’s about cooperating with the Holy Spirit’s transformative work within us. As the Holy Spirit transforms us, he gives us both the capacity (“to work”) and the desire (“to will”) to grow in Christ-likeness.
Third, Paul highlights the importance of renewing our minds in Romans 12.2. We participate in our sanctification by immersing ourselves in Scripture and aligning our thoughts with God’s truth.
Fourth, we are called to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5.16). This means living each day under the guidance and influence of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to direct our actions and decisions. As we do so, we will see the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) become increasingly evident in our lives.
In summary, our role in sanctification involves cooperating with the Lord. His grace enables us to live a life that mirrors His holiness. We submit to His guidance and shaping, and we actively participate in our own transformation.
CONCLUSION
So, here’s the bottom line: Our journey with God is all about grace. It’s grace that wipes the slate clean of our sins and it is grace that keeps us growing to be more like Jesus. Paul, with all his achievements, never lost sight of his need for grace. And if someone like Paul needed it, you better believe we do too.
Think of grace as the ultimate two-for-one deal. First, it clears our record of all the wrongs we’ve done. That’s justification. Then, it goes to work on our hearts, shaping us to reflect Jesus more each day. That’s sanctification. And the best part? It is all a gift. We don’t earn it; we just receive it and then live into it.
So, as we dive into this new series, “Acceptable Sins,” let us remember that it is not about trying harder to be good. It’s about leaning into the grace that’s already ours and letting it transform us from the inside out. After all, we’re all works in progress, but with God’s grace, we’re headed in the right direction.
Blessings,
Fr. Chase
P.S. I was greatly inspired by several books that you may want to check out.
Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. The first half of his book largely influenced this article. Jerry challenges Christians to confront and address the subtle, often overlooked sins in their lives, such as pride, anger, and judgmentalism, in order to grow in holiness and deepen their relationship with God. As you may expect, the title of this sermon series was also influenced by Jerry.
Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies by Rebecca DeYoung. I really enjoyed this book. Rebecca offers insights into how these vices manifest in modern life and suggests practical ways for individuals to recognize and overcome them.
Sinning Like a Christian: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins by William H. Willimon. This short book is a gem. Dr. Willimon reexamines the seven deadly sins from a Christian perspective, encouraging readers to reflect on their own spiritual lives and the ways in which these timeless sins continue to be relevant and challenging in the modern world.
When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community From Emotional and Spiritual Abuse by Chuck DeGroat. This book is eye-opening. Chuck addresses the issue of narcissism within church leadership and communities, offering insights into how it manifests, its impact on congregations, and practical guidance for healing and preventing emotional and spiritual abuse in church settings.
The Power of Christian Contentment: Finding Deeper, Richer Christ-Centered Joy by Andrew M. Davis. Andrew explores the concept of contentment from a Christian perspective, encouraging readers to find true joy and satisfaction in their relationship with Christ, regardless of external circumstances, by embracing the biblical principles of contentment.
