Hard Words, Soft Hearts

Some might wonder we talk about sin so much. I remember when my kids use to write down words and then keep a tally of how many times the pastor said that word in a sermon. When we lived in Moscow, Idaho, our daughter Rebecca was keeping track. In one sermon, our pastor Douglas Wilson said the word ‘sin’ 152 times. 152 in one sermon! Now maybe that seems excessive but I think not.

         The reason we talk about sin so much is because we sin so much. And if we don’t watch out, a couple of things can result to such sinners. One, we grow hardened to our sins, get used to them, grow fond of them and eventually embrace them. That would be bad. Or, two, we grow weary of our sins and feel defeated by them to the point where we stop fighting. That would be bad.

         So, we talk about our sins. We receive the conviction of God’s Spirit against our sins. We repudiate them and receive God’s forgiveness through Jesus. We are not defeated by our sins but know that our sins have been defeated by Jesus.

         Hard words against sin produce and preserve soft hearts.  To the contrary, soft words against sin produce hard and discouraged hearts. So, let us speak against sins, even 152 times, for the Lord is there to grant us forgiveness in every single one.