A Terrible Sin

March 2021

My dear youth:

I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and ask that his blessings, love,
and direction be upon you in abundance.

Are all sins the same?

Are all sins equal in the eyes of God? The answer that seems obvious is yes. But while it is true that all sin is transgression of the Law (1 John 3:4), which separates us from God and produces spiritual death (Romans 6:23). Not all sins are of equal magnitude. We are not saying that there are grave sins and innocuous sins, mortal sins and sins that do not affect the life of faith. No, that is not the idea. All sin is a grave offense to our Maker and degrades us; But it is evident that the Lord, when he judges, does not see the exterior, but that for Him the innermost depths of the human heart is exposed, which is impossible for us, that is why Jesus teaches us not to judge anyone (Matthew 7:1).

What for us may be insignificant and of little importance, such as a little lie, for God can be a matter of great gravity. Because our God takes into account aspects that we cannot weigh: such as intention, the degree of degradation of the person, genetics, the weight of education and other factors.

“God does not regard all sins as of equal magnitude; there are degrees of guilt in His estimation, as well as in that of man; but however trifling this or that wrong act may seem in the eyes of men, no sin is small in the sight of God. Man’s judgment is partial, imperfect; but God estimates all things as they really are.” Steps to Christ, pg. 30.

Close the heart to Christ

As we have been saying, no sin is small in the sight of God. Sometimes we can fall into the error of minimizing certain sins for the reason that on a social level they are not frowned upon. The force of custom, social laws, the opinion of the majority, can make a sin appear as something unimportant, such as intentionally or provoked abortion of a baby. In countries where this practice is governmentally allowed, it is considered normal to interrupt the pregnancy that causes the death and expulsion of the fetus. The reason for carrying out this action that threatens human life is that the being that is in the womb is seen as a biological process and not as a new human being, differentiated from the mother.

The “normalization” of sin in our societies causes a distortion of the divine will transmitted by revelation, and thus the vision of the Christian who lives immersed in that social reality can also be affected. Immorality, unbridled consumerism, avarice, envy, anger, greed, and pride are powerfully manifested in our midst.

This last sin closes the heart to Christ, as the Spirit of Prophecy tells us: “The drunkard is despised and is told that his sin will exclude him from heaven; while pride, selfishness, and covetousness too often go unrebuked. But these are sins that are especially offensive to God; for they are contrary to the benevolence of His character, to that unselfish love which is the very atmosphere of the unfallen universe. He who falls into some of the grosser sins may feel a sense of his shame and poverty and his need of the grace of Christ; but pride feels no need, and so it closes the heart against Christ and the infinite blessings He came to give.” Steps to Christ, pg. 30.

Pride is an excess of self-esteem or confidence, and as the Dictionary observes, it often carries a feeling of superiority. Synonyms of pride would be: arrogance, vanity, arrogance, deification, etc. “The evil that led to Peter’s fall and that shut out the Pharisee from communion with God is proving the ruin of thousands today. There is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency. Of all sins it is the most hopeless, the most incurable.” Christ’s Object Lessons, pg. 154.

Overcoming pride

Dear youth, it is of the utmost importance to ask God to show us our sins, even those we do not see, especially if we harbor pride in our hearts. This is the devil’s sin: “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.” Ezekiel 28:17. And make no mistake about it that he will try by all means to transfer this attribute to you. When we manifest pride we are reflecting the character of the archdeceiver; whereas when we reveal love, sympathy, tolerance, respect, forgiveness, and obedience to the Law of the Creator, we are reflecting His image in our life.
It is not easy to recognize pride in oneself, in fact, pride itself prevents us from doing so. That is why we must depend on God every day and make a deep examination of conscience to discover with the help of the Holy Spirit the faults that are unknown to us as David did (Psalm 19:12).

“None but God can subdue the pride of man’s heart. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot regenerate ourselves. In the heavenly courts there will be no song sung, To me that loved myself, and washed myself, redeemed myself, unto me be glory and honor, blessing and praise. But this is the keynote of the song that is sung by many here in this world. They do not know what it means to be meek and lowly in heart; and they do not mean to know this, if they can avoid it. The whole gospel is comprised in learning of Christ, His meekness and lowliness.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, pg. 456.

“Jesus died to make a way of escape for us, that we might overcome every evil temper, every sin, every temptation, and sit down at last with Him.” Testimony Treasures, vol. 1, pg. 43.

“Whatever may be our inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong, we can overcome through the power that He is ready to impart.” Temperance, pg. 112.

Conclusion

To harbor pride is very dangerous for the person, because it would be the prelude to sin against the Holy Spirit. If this sin is not to want to repent and if pride closes the heart to Christ and the truth of Him, there is a good chance of ending up committing the unforgivable sin (Mark 3:29).

God desires that each child of His manifest the grace of humility in his character, because he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11). Humility was the dominant tonic in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. “was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9. “…made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:7.

If Christ had harbored a shred of pride, He could never have been our Savior. His immeasurable love motivated Him to come to this earth to rescue us and He wishes, in a special way, to eliminate pride from our hearts. Will you let Him? So be it.

José Vicente Giner
Pastor

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