“JUST ONE SIN”

10 “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”

James 2:10

If we were the judge of ourselves, I think being absolutely fair can be a challenge. Why? Well, we are inclined to overestimate ourselves and underestimate others.

In our previous blog, we learned that even in our darkest days, we can come to God and receive His forgiveness. Here’s another reason why God can’t simply ignore our sins despite His being described as love.

One Sin is Enough

Today’s verse is a portion of the Book of James where the writer commands believers to love one’s neighbors as oneself, i.e., not preferring the rich over the poor. It appears that some of his readers are showing favoritism. Their sin of partiality, though it seems “small,” is tantamount to breaking the whole law.

One commentator says,

“To break one part of the law is to be guilty of all. The law is like a chain of ten links. Break one link and the chain is broken. God does not allow us to keep the laws we like, and break others.”

I couldn’t agree more. If God is holy, then His people should be one hundred percent holy. In an OT sense, that means perfect obedience to the Law of Moses. However, no one (except for Jesus) was successful in adhering to the letter of the Law. Everybody, including the best among the Jews, was found guilty in one way or another.

We tend to highlight certain sins while completely ignoring the others. Also, we find it easy to find fault in others but don’t seem to see our own misdeeds. Therefore, we can’t be the judge of ourselves—or others for that matter.

God, who is the Giver of the Law, reserves the right to stand as Judge of you and me. And according to His word, breaking one part of the law makes us guilty of breaking all of it. Just as I have mentioned previously, God is holy, so He cannot turn a blind eye to sin—not even a simple lie or a little act of dishonesty. Doing so would make Him unjust—and therefore not holy.

Thankfully, the Lord Jesus perfectly obeyed all of the requirements of the Law. He was tempted—just like you and me—but He was found to be pure and untainted by sin. Therefore, His sacrifice on the Cross was accepted by the Father as a pleasing aroma. And the good news—His perfect righteousness is credited to anyone who repents of his sins and puts his faith in Christ.

Have you done this yet?

Pursue the Savior today!

Photo by Joey Kyber: https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photoraphy-of-chains-during-golden-hour-119562/