It is Sin

"Our Lord said to Pilate (John 19:11): 'He that hath delivered me to thee hath the greater sin,'

It is evident that Pilate was guilty of some sin. Therefore one sin is greater than another.....NOT NECESSARILY what we have been taught.

In my thoughts, this would make me believe that sins are not all equal.

The philosophy of no sin being greater than another is somewhat newer; definitely my generation of believers has taught it.  BUT my thought isn't to debate on if your spouse's sin is greater than mine or who committed the more grievous sin.  It's the fact that are WE the ones called to bring judgment or revenge or make them "pay?"   Sin is sin.  I am not saying that one cannot be a "worse sin".....I am saying it is SIN. 

Marriages can deal with all kinds of symptoms, but it is sin. The marriage vow is not based on how bad the sin is in order to keep the vow.  Think of God's covenant with us; He is filled with grace and mercy.  He continually pours out MORE grace and mercy when we CONTINUE to sin.  Our questions should not be: "But we have walked this road before; do I really have to try again?"  Well, no, you don't HAVE to....but are you making the right choice? 

I (Serena) talked to you about my weight yesterday.  I could easily give up, but is that the RIGHT choice, just because I have given it a good try?  AND even succeeded, to a degree?  Certainly, after I have this baby I could go back to all of my old eating habits and I will just be fat.  For me, this is sin.  Can I continue in it?  Of course!!  Sometimes it takes a different view point in order to see that we all makes the decision to continue acting in a way we know is wrong or continuing to JUSTIFY our behavior OR giving up when deep down we know better.  We often use the "degrees of sin" as justification for our behavior.  My being overweight doesn't seem AS bad as Josh's affairs.  Okay...I see the point, but aren’t we supposed to strive to please God in everything?  Does it matter that we are on different paths?  Some of us do not have to overcome the same things--work on what YOU have to work on.  We are NOT perfect, but if you have to justify why YOU are not THAT bad, then you are missing the point. 

The degrees of sin have probably been overlooked in the past few years because it's easier to lump them all together than to realize there are things that grieve the heart of God MORE than others.  The philosophy of no sin being greater has most likely come out of the fact that "the wages of sin is death."  God paid for our sin; GREAT or SMALL.....let's not say that because our sin is smaller than another that our penalty is somehow less.  God forgave it, but it doesn't EXCUSE what we have been forgiven of....and that is SIN.

Asking me if you should stay with your spouse because they are in a homosexual relationship or he/she is abusive--these are all SYMPTOMS of the same problem. The underlying issue is the same as a spouse who is overweight, non-communicative, and rude.  The symptoms of a much deeper sin and it can ALL be forgiven.  This is NOT to say that we are condoning being in an abusive relationship and causing harm to your body or your children’s.  Please do NOT twist what we are saying.  We believe in marriage, and we have said before there is also a difference in separation and divorce.  In fact, I know of separated couples that have been separated for at least 10 years, but they are still open to God's restoration power.  They will not file for divorce, but it's not a safe environment to be in, this is something that has to be between each individual and God.  We are not condoning sinful behavior, but we are not going to give a loophole for divorce either.

Once you have that experience where God reveals His heart (He will do it!) for marriage you know that marriage standing is not about your spouse and your marriage or your happiness, but it is for your spouse's salvation, for your children's salvation, for their marriages and for your grandchildren's salvations and for their marriages and for many other generations it's not something that you can let go of too easily.

Our happiness is going to be in Heaven with our Lord. On earth, we have been given an assignment to stand in the gap for our spouse, our children, our grandchildren and for marriages around the world. I am to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. That Jesus Christ died on the Cross for all sinners which include you, your spouse and children. Nothing is impossible for our Lord God. That includes resurrecting, healing and rebuilding your marriage on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. Of course, we can take out any of those things we listed and still appear to be doing well, but we know deep down we are not fulfilling that FULL picture of what God has asked of us.

Yes, it may seem hard and you may cry. But your Lord God is right there beside you holding you with His righteous right hand. Seek to do His will and way in your life and you will never be disappointed. He will meet all your needs beyond what you could ever imagine!