Spring Warrior Church of Christ

7432 S. Red Padgett Road

Perry, FL 32348
584-5176

Prove All Things Vol. 1 No. 38

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21

THE SIN OF GOOD INTENTIONS, part 1

by Bill Blue, bill@bibleweb.com [10/24/01]

Popular culture tells us that we can do no wrong so long as we do not hurt

someone else. The Bible, however, does not teach this. Not only can we sin when no
one suffers harm, we can sin even when we intend no wrong. Let’s consider some
examples.

There was an occasion when Israel was moving the Ark of the God. During the
journey, “Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen
stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him
there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God” (2 Sam. 6:2-7). Uzzah tried to
prevent the Ark from falling. Some would argue that Uzzah was trying to do a good
thing, but to God Uzzah was irreverent and God killed Uzzah “because he put his hand
to the ark” (1 Chron. 13:7).

Other Bible characters have also been punished for doing things that some men
would consider good, but which God considered disobedience. Nadab and Abihu
burned incense to God and God killed them (Lev. 10:1-2). King Saul offered a burnt
sacrifice to God and God took his kingdom away (1 Sam. 13:5-14). King Uzziah burned
incense to God and God made him a leper (2 Chr0n. 26:16-21). The lessons here are
clear:
1. Our intentions are meaningless if not joined with obedience.
2. God will not accept just any sacrifice or form of worship.
3. Since God’s perception of our actions is different from men’s (compare Isa.
55:8-9) we should strive to learn God’s word for our own safety (Psa.
119:104-105).

Besides good intentions, popular culture also says that we should not worry about
“little sins.” The Bible, however, does not make a distinction between so-called “big”
sins and “little” sins. In the Bible, sin is sin.

Bibleweb.com, Copyright © 2001 William W. Blue All Rights Reserved

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 Let’s consider the consequences of Biblical examples of sins that men might
consider little. Adam and Eve suffered death for eating fruit (Gen. 3). Pharaoh and his
house suffered great plagues because he took Abram’s wife Sarai even though Abram
and Sarai led Pharaoh to believe that Abram and Sarai were siblings and not a married
couple and Pharaoh had “treated Abram well for her sake” (Gen 12:11-10). In the
wilderness, God killed some of the Israelites with fiery serpents for complaining (Num.
21:4-6). Moses was prevented from entering the land of Canaan because he struck a
rock as opposed to speaking to it (Num. 20:7-12). In New Testament times, Ananias
and Sapphira were struck dead for lying about what portion of their money they had
given to the church (Acts 5:1-10).

In the foregoing examples, some of these sins might be considered little by men,
but God’s punishment in each case was severe. Again, the lessons are clear:

1. There are no “little sins.”

2. God’s ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-9).
3. Therefore, we should strive to learn God’s word for our own safety (Psa.
119:104-105).

One commentator had this to say about little sins:

But if you reflect for a moment you will see that there are no little sins,
because every sin is a rejection of God's authority: every sin is a renunciation,
for the time being, of allegiance to the Divine government. Of course there
can be no little sins, for every sin involves a breach of the whole law, in the
spirit of it; every one of them involves a refusal to love God with all the heart,
and our neighbours as ourselves; every one of them involves a setting up of
our own interests above that of Jehovah. There are no little sins then under
the government of God; for everyone one of them involves rebellion against
his authority. When we come to look at human society, and judge of the
actions of men only as they effect it, we get comparative ideas of sin; but
when we come to look at sin as a violation of the law of God, then we can see
that every one who commits sin, in any degree as judged by human society, is
an open enemy of God. [Finney, C. G., “Little Sins.” Monday, January 5,
1851.]

Do churches and individuals make these same mistakes today? We will consider
some possible examples next week.

Consider Wednesday night suppers, gymnasiums and church sponsored softball

teams. We will consider some possible example next week.

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