It doesn’t have to be the end of the world when you sin, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be. Whether or not it is the end of the world for you depends on you. When you mess up, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to be arrogant and deny you did anything wrong? Are you going to be deflective and try to cast blame on others? Are you going to try and twist the scripture to justify your action, not only to soothe your guilty conscience but also to give yourself permission to continue in the sinful practice? Are you going to blow it off as no big deal?

Or are you going to do what a Christian should do and repent of your sin? It frustrates me to hear the way some Christians talk about so-called “little sins.” They say things like: “You really think one little sin will keep me out of Heaven?” Yes, I really do. I really think that.

One sin will keep you out of Heaven.

The issue is not the size of the sin. The issue is the stubbornness of the person who refuses to repent of it. It doesn’t have to be a little sin; it can be the biggest, most heinous sin imaginable. Stop thinking of what you can get away with and still sneak in through the back door of Heaven, and start appreciating the awesomeness of God’s grace. He can and will forgive the biggest sins, therefore all sins—big and small—are able to be forgiven, if they’re repented of. If they’re not, the soul that sins will die (Ezekiel 18:20), regardless of whether it’s a “big” sin or a “small” one.

You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to mess up, but if you stay in the light (through repentance and prayer), those sins are going to be cleansed along the way, every step you take toward Heaven.

The problem comes when someone is too arrogant to believe their “little sin” matters. When we shrug it off and mock the ugliness of iniquity, and mock the importance of repentance, we are actually mocking the Savior Himself, and if you think that won’t come back to bite you…

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

You’re wrong.

I don’t know what’s worse: A Christian who thinks “I’m going to sin now but it’s okay; I’ll just repent later” or the Christian who sins without a second thought and then tosses out a half-hearted, insincere “sorry God!” and goes about their day. The former is a person testing God’s patience. The latter is a person actively hardening his heart.

Maybe the worst is when other Christians observe it and say nothing, no stern rebuke, no gentle correction, no nothing.

Genuine repentance is not saying magic words. Your sins aren’t automatically destroyed just because you said “my bad” to God. Repentance requires a sincere change of heart. Repentance requires the guilty party to wish they hadn’t committed the sin in the first place. You can instantly spot a false repentance when the guilty party doesn’t act like what they did was a mistake but instead tries to justify or excuse the very sin they’re supposedly repenting of.

One sin can damn your soul.

Fix it.

~ Matthew