It is not uncommon to hear someone blame someone else for their sinful behavior. A child blames the parents for way they were raised. An employee blames the company for the way they were treated. The same thing can be heard by a child of God wanting to blame the church for the way they were treated. What does God’s word say about this? Can others be made to sin?

Consider Jesus’ sermon on the mount. “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea,” (Matt. 18:6). At first glance, one might get the impression that the parent, company or even a church should be blamed when they cause others to do wrong. However, a close examination will indicate that this is not what the Lord meant at all.

When you read the first five verses of Matthew 18, you will see that our Lord was talking about His children that are faithful. He then proceeded to talk about causing His children to sin. This means that the child is right to fault the parents if they taught the wrong things. Or a company that encouraged corruption. Or a church that taught its members to transgress the commands of God.

This is a narrow teaching though. In these scenarios, sinful behavior was being actively encouraged. If the behavior is not being taught or enforced, the individual is clearly still accountable. Let’s focus more specifically with a local church for the rest of this article.

If a member of the church felt like one member was running the show or that they were not getting enough attention, are they right to leave the church and start attending a religious group in error? Of course not. If the church they were attending encouraged them to leave and follow a church that was erring, then the words of Jesus would apply. These are different scenarios though, and it is vital to see this.

Here is an illustration: A man comes home from work and tells his wife their marriage is over. She begins to cry and asks why? He says that he found out that a guy at work does not love her and much as he does. The wife is confused. Why are you leaving me just because someone else does not love me as much?

The behavior in the illustration is irrational, but people use similar logic to justify leaving the Lord and faithful churches all the time. They say that people “here’ do not love the Lord like they do, so they are leaving. If they leave and start attending a place that practices error, they have left the Lord. Casting blame to justify sinful behavior does not excuse it in the eyes of the Lord.

There are things we can say with certainty. We are to be members of the church that belongs to Christ and is the pillar and ground of truth (I Tim. 3:15). Thus, you will not find faithful churches encouraging the members to sin by drinking alcohol (I Pet. 4:3), promoting the social gospel (I Cor. 11:22) or teaching that church funds can be used for anything they want (I Tim. 5:16). The list goes on and on.

The next time you hear anyone blaming the church for their sinful behavior, be quick to inform them that the church NEVER causes someone to sin unless that church promotes sin! In all my years of preaching and talking with Christians who have fallen away, I have never witnessed anyone doing sinful things that the church actually encouraged them to do! I have heard various accusations and been told that the person in sin was okay spiritually, but these claims do not fit with the word of God. Let’s make sure we never put words in the mouth of our Lord.

Chuck  

Do we have to sin?

There is no way anyone in this world is ever going to take sin seriously if they accept the false notion that man must sin. A lot of this stems from the doctrine of depravity. This teaching promotes the idea that we sin because of Adam and Eve and that we inherit their original sin, meaning we are born in sin. This could not be any farther from the truth. Let’s take a closer BIBLICAL look.

We begin by looking at Adam and Eve. They both were given laws to obey (Gen. 2:16-17). We read in the next chapter how they both broke God’s law and were punished. Why did they sin? The Bible does not mention being born in depravity. Rather, the inspired word, brings up the concept of temptation. James states that sin comes about when we give in to temptation (Jas. 1:13-15). This is no different than what happens to every other person.

Some might conclude that Adam and Eve sinned because temptation is irresistible. Fortunately for us as God’s children, this idea is also not found in the Bible! Nowhere in the scriptures are we told we have to yield to temptation. Actually, we are told there is no temptation that cannot be resisted if one turns to God for help (I Cor. 10:13; Jas. 4:7). I am not denying the fact that all have sinned (Rom. 3:23). Even Christians were told if they say they have no sin, they are a liar (I John 1:8).  However, knowing that we will sin is not the same as saying we have to sin.

That difference is what we need to focus on if we are going to gain a proper understanding. That fact that we are commanded not to sin (I John 2:1) implies that we do not have to. To even suggest that everyone must sin implies that we have an unjust God. A just and loving God will not command us to do something impossible for us.  Let us also not forget the punishment for sin. Every sin has consequences (Rom. 6:23), meaning that men are held accountable for their actions. Again, why punish someone who could not help it?

     It is wrong for us to think that God’s grace and mercy means He overlooks sin because we are forced to transgress. This idea is not found in the Bible. God’s mercy and grace has been offered to mankind so he/she can obtain forgiveness for their SINS! There is no forgiveness without repentance (Luke 13:3). To repent means to turn about. How could we truly repent if we knew that sin was irresistible and would thus happen again? If we live our lives committing the same sins over and over, we are addicted to them. This person is not walking in the light but rather in darkness (I John 1:3-7).

     How many employers would accept the same lame excuse over and over for not arriving at work on time? How many spouses would accept the same lame excuse regarding adultery? As God’s people, we know there are sins we committed in the past and then successfully never did again. We succeeded because we made up our minds to turn away (repent) and not go down that pathway again.

    My point is that we can choose to make the right choice, but we do not always do this. We sometimes falter because we fail to walk in faith. When we do not walk by faith, we succumb to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye or the pride of life (I John 2:16). When we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us (verse 15).  When a person puts off the old man of sin (Rom. 6:3-6), the Lord and other Christians expect that they have left their former life of sin behind.  If they do sin, the Lord and other Christians are right to be disappointed because we have no excuse for sinning.

     God’s people get stronger by resisting sin (James 1:2-4).  Are they sinlessly perfect? No. But they are certainly sinning less and less.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Chuck