In my devotion Do Circumstances Explain our Sins? I wrote about our need to sympathize with those who’ve been mistreated but never excuse sins based on circumstances because adults are never forced to sin. They choose to sin.(1)
A professing Christian wrote me saying I was wrong because we need to understand what “causes” sin. I responded with Bible passages that refuted her belief, but she held firm.
Why bring this up? Because I regularly encounter Christians who don’t let Scripture change their opinions. They claim to be Bible-believers but prove by their words and actions they aren’t.
If someone shows us James 1:14-15 and Genesis 4:7 and we continue saying that circumstances “cause” sin, we’re calling God a liar.
If someone shows us Colossians 2:16-17, Mark 7:18-19, 1 Corinthians 8:8and Acts 10:9-16 and we continue saying Christians must obey Old Testament dietary laws, we’re calling God a liar.
If someone shows us Matthew 5:29, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 13:36-43, Luke 16:19-31, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10, Jude 1:7, 2 Peter 2:4-9, and Revelation 20:14-15, and we continue claiming that there’s no hell, we’re calling God a liar.
If someone shows us Genesis 1:27, Genesis 5:2, Mark 10:6, Psalm 139:13-16, Isaiah 45:9, and Romans 9:20, and we continue saying there are more than two genders, we’re calling God a liar.
So what changes your view, dear Christians? Your opinion, other people’s opinions, or God’s Word?
(1) If a child’s parents force him to do something sinful against his will, the child is not responsible. The adult is doubly responsible (Mark 9:42).