Why Small Sins Can't Be Tolerated: A Human-Centered Explanation
(Reading time: 1.5 min.)
People often think they'll go to heaven because their sins are minor.
They believe only the worst kind should get punishment. The Bible says
no sin can enter a holy place like heaven. But holiness is hard to wrap
our minds around. I believe we can understand this just looking at our
experiences with how evil affects this world. Let's use what we've seen
sin do here to understand why sin can't go there.
Each person's sins are different. Many think theirs are better or no
worse than others. We justify our failures. Everyone would want mercy
for theirs. Being merciful to a large enough group is going to bring in
all kinds of evil. Let's say we filter the worst. Still won't work.
Most sin starts small then grows. Jesus says adultery starts with
lustful looks and murder with hate in your heart. Human nature often
turns tiny ideas into big problems. Our bad habits we can't kick also
usually started with one or more bad decisions. We grow into them, not
fall into them. Some are really hard to escape, too.
Next, individuals' sin often affects groups of people: families,
friends, businesses, and even our legal system. It does direct damage
damage. Then, any group picking up the sin turns it into a
self-reinforcing behavior whose affects go even further. In this world,
evil organizations and laws can negatively impact millions of people
across the globe. Getting sin out of large groups is even harder than
individuals.
What's this mean? It means we'd bring all kinds of sin into heaven. Our
sins would do immediate and long-term damage. Everything we did as a
group would be corrupted. The effects would keep spreading. Heaven
would become just as bad as earth. Therefore, God must forbid even our
small sins in heaven to keep it pure, peaceful, and perfect.
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