Apples or Unbelief

Have you ever heard a minister say that Sin is Sin and that no sin is greater than another; they are all an abomination in the eyes of God?

I have heard this since a child and believed it true. But had never understood why and had always thought there might be some mistake in the translation. Because, after all how could God look at the sin of telling a white lie the same as the sins of someone like Jeffrey Dahmer; (homosexual, cannibal, serial killer). I knew what the Word said, but how could this be true? Do we really have a God that is so narrow minded that He can’t see the difference between doing something that may only hurt yourself and someone doing something that destroys the lives of countless people. How could stealing a gum ball from the Quick-Mart be looked at the same way as what Hitler did in Germany to millions of God’s people?

This question plagued me for a long time and when I would ask pastors about it they would respond that God can’t look at sin, no matter what it is. Sin is Sin. However, this seemed contrary to common sense.

James 2:10 says “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Well, that is pretty clear.

This bothered me for a long time until I received the following revelation. It was one of those (Ohhhh!; now I get it moments.) Thank you Jesus that you came to fulfill the law and brought us under Grace!

Stay with me till then end here because this is going to get a little deep …

Did you know that when Jesus shed his blood and submitted himself to die on the cross, that act of atonement was sufficient to wash away the sins of the world? Not only did that wash away the sins for believers, it washed away the sins of the non-believers too. Sure it did. 1 John 2:2 says, “And he is the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins: and not for ours only (the born again believers), but also for the sins of the whole world.” When Jesus died on the cross, his sacrifice was so great that it covered the sins for everyone, until the end of time.

Did you know that when God looks at us, he doesn’t see our sin? He sees us white as snow through the blood of Jesus. He sees you as an heir and child. He sees you as so clean that you may come to him boldly in the Holy of Holies. This is cleaner than the high priests in the Old Testament. The high priests were worried that they were going to be found unclean and would tie a rope around their waist, so that in case they were killed in the presence of Jehovah, they could be pulled back outside. God sees us as perfect. When he sees us through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, he sees his pride and joy. That is the Grace of Jesus.

Now here’s the part that is hard for our religiosity to receive, He sees the lost people the same way. Jesus’ atonement was for the world, not just for those born again. He washed their sins too. Now before you send me hate-mail, please read on and open your heart to what I am sharing.

The only sin that God sees is the sin of Unbelief…
What have you done with the knowledge of the sacrifice God made for you in His son, Jesus. Have you believed in the Good News of Jesus’ atonement and received that revelation into your spirit? Have you believed that he is that is the Messiah and is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world? If you believe, he will make you a new creature, in him.

Unbelief is the sin that will keep you out of heaven. That is the sin that the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of. John 16:9 says that the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of sin … of sin, because they do not believe in me. God’s problem is with Unbelief. The Holy Spirit is here to bring us into fellowship with Jesus.

So since God sees us white as snow through Jesus’ atonement, what is the problem with sin?

The problem with sin, is that it brings us out of fellowship with Jesus. This is the case with all sin regardless of severity. And, this is why, in God’s eyes, all sin is the same. You see, when you are making a conscience decision to do what you know is wrong, you are distancing yourself from God. You give Satan the opportunity to start planting seeds into your mind that distance you even further from God. For example, he will shoot thoughts into your head of … You’re a sinner. You’re ashamed to come back into fellowship with God, because you’re embarrassed. You’re powerless to change. You’ve committed the unpardonable sin! God’s ashamed of you. You let Him down. He doesn’t love you now. These are lies from the devourer himself.

The truth is, that even though you sinned and failed to meet the expectations that you have for yourself, in your self-righteousness, God has not changed his opinion of you. He still loves you. He knew you were going to mess up. His desire for you when you mess up is to get right back into fellowship with him. He wants you to receive, in your spirit and visualize in your conscience, that you are righteous and spotless. He wants you to come back boldly to the throne and take your position as heir.

He wants you repent (change your mind about sin). He wants you to come to him boldly and say, Abba Father, I am sorry that I missed the mark. I thank you that you have provided the atoning blood of your Son to cleanse the sins of the world so I can stand boldly in front of you spotless. I receive the sacrifice you made for me, Jesus. Holy Spirit, thank you for guiding me down the path of righteousness. I will strive to be your light in this dark world. Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice.

You know King David was a big sinner, but he was God’s pride and joy because he had a heart for God. Moses … sinner. Abraham and Sarah … sinners. But, they knew how to reestablish fellowship with God.

Everyone knows what Adam and Eve’s big sin was right? They ate the apple that they were forbidden to eat. Not exactly, the sin that Adam and Eve committed was that of Unbelief. They believed what the serpent said over God. They fell out of fellowship with God because they believed the lie that God was hiding something from them that was in their best interest. They fell out of fellowship with God and hid themselves naked and ashamed. The original sin was unbelief. Nothing has changed with human nature since the beginning of time. We still have the same vulnerabilities and Satan still uses the same tricks to foul us up.

When we sin, God doesn’t want us to wail and cry, “Oh, I am so unworthy. I am nothing but a lowly sinner. I deserve to be cast into the pit of hell for my sin. Oh God, please find mercy and grant me, just one more time, forgiveness. I promise I will never do it again.” How insulting is that to God. You are telling Him that the sacrifice of his Son wasn’t enough to wash your sins. You’re asking him to make another atonement for you because the first wasn’t good enough. God is looking at you saying, you are my child. You are spotless. You have been given access to the Holy of Holies and My throne. You are my heir. Stand up and come to Me boldly and say, Abba Father.

All you need to do is cast the devil off your shoulder and get back into fellowship with God. Don’t believe the lie for another hour that you are not worthy. Don’t believe for another minute that God is ashamed of you. Don’t distance yourself one step further from God saying you’ll get right with God tomorrow. Just stop what you are doing and say, Jesus your Grace is all that I need. Thank you for making me a new creature in you. I receive your Grace. Teach me how to be more like you.