I was talking with a friend of mine last week. We were talking about a man that was attending a church and it had been recently discovered that he owned a bar. People were talking. My response to my friend was that I was glad the guy was going to church. My friend said that he didn’t think the guy could be a Christian and own a bar……and it got me thinking……   

Americans overwhelmingly believe in the concept of sin whether they are religiously involved or not, according to a new Ellison Research study released Tuesday.“Sin,” as defined by the research organization, is “something that is almost always considered wrong, particularly from a religious or moral perspective.” The study questioned more than 1,000 American adult respondents whether they believe in such a thing as “sin” and then asked them whether 30 different behaviors were sinful. Out the list of 30 behaviors, adultery was most often described as a sinful behavior by American respondents (81 percent). Following adultery was racism (74 percent); using “hard” drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD, etc. (65 percent); not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change (63 percent); abortion (56 percent); and homosexual activity or sex (52 percent) rounded out the top five behaviors most often considered sinful by Americans.Other behaviors with significant moral objections included reading or watching pornography (50 percent); swearing (46 percent); sex before marriage (45 percent); harming the environment as a consumer (41 percent); smoking marijuana (41 percent); getting drunk (41 percent); and not taking proper care of your body (35 percent).Not surprisingly, religious people are much more likely to believe in sin, with 94 percent of Americans who regularly attend religious worship services saying they believe in the concept of sin. The number drops to 80 percent among those who do not attend service, although the percentage is still a large majority.

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The percentage gap widens when evangelical Christians are stacked against the general American population. Ninety percent of evangelicals believe getting drunk is a sin, compared to 35 percent of all other Americans. Likewise, 92 percent of evangelicals believe sex before marriage is sinful, compared to 39 percent of the general U.S. population.

But only a minority of evangelicals believes it is sin to work on the Sabbath, not attend church, drink alcohol, dance, play the lottery, watch an R-rated movie, or not tithe 10 percent of their income to church or charity, according to Ellison Research.

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“We can see numerous inconsistent patterns of thought and belief throughout the responses,” Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, stated. “For instance, over a third of all Americans believe failing to take proper care of their bodies is sinful. Yet far fewer believe tobacco or obesity are sins – even though medical science consistently shows using tobacco and being overweight are two of the most harmful things they can do to their bodies.”

Other inconsistencies highlighted by Sellers include:

• Over four out of 10 evangelicals believe it is a sin not to tithe, but other studies show relatively few evangelicals actually do so
• The Roman Catholic church consistently teaches that sex before marriage, abortion, pornography, and homosexual activity are sins, yet as many as half of all practicing Catholics do not personally define each of these as sinful.

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Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter     

(I cut out parts of the above post to shorten it for the blog) 

The bible is full of stories about sinful acts and how they relate to our lives but we as Christian sometimes fail to realize the obvious. We live in a world filled with sin and we are sinners. Becoming a Christian doesn’t change that. Just because you proclaim Christ as your savior doesn’t mean his job is done and you won’t sin anymore, in truth, it means the learning and growing has just begun. But for whatever reason, we, as Christians feel the need to create a “list” of do’s and not do’s, which of it’s self isn’t always a bad idea, but after the list is created, we quickly start the checks and balances to make sure that we as well as our friends are falling in line. If not, then we put “levels” of sin or “degrees” of failure on the sin, followed up with the default answer of the need for repentance and the prompting of getting closer to God.

And hey, I call myself a Christian, so I’m all for repentance and getting closer to God, but I’m not so quick to make that list. And I’m not so quick to enforce or condemn compliance. Why? BECAUSE I’M A SINNER!!!!!! And I know that becoming a Christian didn’t change that. Becoming a Christian gave me a REASON not to sin and it opened the door to forgiveness and THAT is what separates me from non-Christians! I’m a sinner that has been shown the light. And as a result, when I talk to unbelievers I point to the light! NOT because I am the light, not because I’m pretending to be like the light, not because I wear nice clothes, drive a nice car, don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t do drugs, don’t engage in adultery, etc. etc…………sin is SIN……period. And I believe that with God all sins are equal.

Equal. “Christians” generally don’t smoke, do drugs, drink alcohol, use foul language or engage in adultery……..but they’ll lie. They don’t steal, cheat or commit murder……but they’ll be totally self-indulgent when it comes to………….food. Pride, Envy, Lust, etc. etc., “Christians” are guilty of them all. Yet they are the first to judge a guy holding a beer. Or look down on the prostitute. “Christians” dress well, you know the type, their hair is combed well, they wear suits to church on Sunday, maybe married, very careful not to cuss or be seen looking at an attractive female…..they are “Christians”…..you know…..”Christ – like”….lol…(pardon my laugh)……They ARE sinners! “That” pastor of “that” church can’t wake up in the morning without sinning! When people speak of the sin of lust they generally equate it to lusting after women, but I’ve got news for you, sometimes “lust” involves FOOD! Sometimes lust involves the car you drive or the clothes you wear! Maybe how you do your hair!……..but hey, YOUR o.k. ‘cause you’re a “Christian”, you attend church on Sunday, you don’t drink beer or smoke, your not a prostitute……..No wonder non-believers call “Christians” hypocrites! Sin is SIN…..period, your guilty of it…..guaranteed. You’re no better than that addict. You’re no better than that prostitute. The only thing that separates you from them is the fact that you’ve been shown the “light” and have the ability to ask for forgiveness and that OPENS the door for God to be able to work in your life.

…….Need a scripture? Lol, I won’t give you one….I’m not a dictionary, but here’s something you can look up.

There is a story in the Bible about a woman that was caught in the act of adultery, ( and I probably won’t get all the details right, so look it up), the towns people decided they were going to take her out by the city walls and stone her to death. Jesus came by and stopped them…..he said, “He who has no sin, cast the first stone”…..he who has NO SIN? This lady committed the sin of adultery….did she not? Surely the people who hadn’t committed THAT sin could throw rocks? No? Why? Because sin IS SIN. Jesus wasn’t concerned about the EVIDENCE of sin…..he knew that even though the woman did something that showed the world that she was a sinner, the very people that were condemning her had just as great of sins…..unseen.

So, is it the beer? Or is it the reason behind why someone is drinking? Is it the infidelity? Or is it the reason behind the unfaithfulness? Some people would leave the beer and take the donut….but the reason behind the sin is the same. See, I smoke cigarettes. Started little over ten years ago, last January I quit, lasted for roughly six months, then started again and haven’t been able to shake it. Now, I call myself a “Christian”…..but I smoke. And sometimes I feel like if one more person comes up to me and tells me I need to quit, I’m gonna bust’em right in the mouth! Because, I KNOW it’s wrong….I KNOW it’s bad for my health and I KNOW it would be hard for my wife and kids to lose their dad….I don’t need anyone to tell me. So why don’t I quit? I want to. I will. But in my quest to quit ya know what I discovered?…..I discovered the real reason behind why I smoke. See, people look at me ‘cause I smoke and they say I need to quit. They SEE the cigarette hanging out of my mouth and they SEE what they think is my sin. It’s not. It’s just the EVIDENCE of what lies beneath. And what lies beneath is far darker, far more sinister than the cigarette. It’s the reason I started smoking over ten years ago…..It’s the reason I started smoking again after I quit. It’s an attitude that I have been unable or unwilling to shake…..’cause up until recently I didn’t know it was there. Why? Because I couldn’t SEE it! I could see the evidence of something…..I quit that…..but because the sin in my heart was still there it, the quitting didn’t last long! You see what I mean? People SEE with their eyes, not with their heart the way God intended. God looks at the heart of a man, knowing that if he captures the heart, the rest will follow. “Christians” SAY they look at the heart, but in reality, they SEE the beer. They SEE the cigarette. They SEE the prostitute. And they judge accordingly.

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood”…..people quote that, all the time….but they don’t get it. They speak of a spiritual battle, but they refuse to fight it because they fear how they will be SEEN. Ya know, I know what my limits are. I know what my “vises” are. For an example, I have never used drugs. Probably never will. I’ve had plenty of opportunities, but when the opportunity presented itself I’ve always said no…..(kudos for me)……But the reason wasn’t because I thought drugs were a sin or that drugs were bad…..I never tried drugs because….. I knew I’d like them and I would do them a lot. I know that for me, just once, especially if its good, won’t be enough, and they’ll kill me. My obsessive, compulsive, addictive attitude, all the things that you can’t SEE will kill me. So I don’t touch them. And I don’t hang with people while their using them. Did you hear that? I’ve got friends that use. I still consider them my friends. But they know that I said no and I also said If you use, that’s your business, but you better not bring it or do it around me…..that would be a mistake. And so far, they get it. The day they don’t, I’ll remove them. Using drugs isn’t my vise….so I can do that. If drugs are a vise for you, you probably can’t. You see what I mean though? I don’t use every chance I see them as an excuse to tell them that drugs are bad because, #1 they know that, #2 unless God has told me to say something to someone I figure It’s best to keep my mouth shut, because that someone could be at a place just like me…..waiting to hit me in the mouth for telling them what they already know. I keep my mouth shut because I don’t know where they’re “heart” is in the process. I know that only God knows that, so I wait until he tells me to go. I’ve learned that simply recognizing the problem is only the first step in fixing it. I’ve learned that “we” are in a world filled with “sin” and it’s what goes on behind the scenes that Gods concerned about. And because of that, with the reminding that I am a sinner too, it allows me to be an effective Christian. One that God is able to use. I hate beer. Nasty stuff, never drink it. But I will drink it (actually, just kind of hold it and sip….lol, I’ve never finished a whole beer!) to get close to someone that I think I need to talk to. It’s not my vise. And the beer isn’t the sin. But how many “Christians” do you think it would take to SEE me with that beer to get approached about it on Sunday?

So, are they truly a Christian? Is that what it means to be a Christian? You pray, ask for forgiveness and then are enrolled in the army of the Jesus Police?! I know of this pastor, and I had a question, so I sent him an email…..he never responded, I sent it again, nothing. On Sunday I stopped him in the hall of a church, and after we smiled at each other, he asked me how I was doing and then shook my hand, I said, hey, did you get that email I sent you? His response blew me away! He said that he had, but that he doesn’t respond to emails that contain “foul” language. I stopped and thought for a minute….huh?, I don’t recall using any foul language. So, I simply said, well, that’s too bad, I had a good question, I would have loved to hear your views on it. When I got home, I hit my p.c. and pulled up what I had sent him. In the email I sent him were two words…..hell and damn. For that pastor, that was all it took, I was done. He got hung up on the “package” and because of that never looked at the content. He could have simply said that those words offended him. I would have apologized. He could have simply asked me not to use them in future emails…..I wouldn’t have. Instead…..I was done. I tried sending him emails with an apology and a re-written question…..nothing. And then it occurred to me, maybe he’s the wrong guy to ask? See, he’s a guy that goes to church every Sunday in a suit and tie, he talks to “sinners”, he ain’t one of them. He considers how many people come forward at alter calls as “check” marks on his bible…..his sins aren’t quite as visible. (ya, I’m guessing…..what’s your point?) This guy, claims to know the BOOK! He can quote scripture! He doesn’t do drugs, he don’t smoke, he don’t drink, etc. etc. and, in my opinion, he isn’t living his life for the God he preaches! And he’s a pastor!

So what of it? Are you a Christian? Are you a sinner that’s been saved by grace? Do you proclaim the message of the living Christ? If so, what do you proclaim? Do you get to the “heart” of the matter? Or are you stuck on what you SEE?

Some people say Jesus came with a “sword”. And for the most part, I would agree. That sword cut both ways….into the “heart” of the believer and the non-believer. But even though what he said seemed kinda tough, even though, according to tradition, he broke the rules and they crucified him for it, he didn’t do it just to cut…..he did it to save. He purposely stepped on peoples shoes, not caring to wreck the shine, to get to the “heart”.

I wrote a book. In that book I take some hard stances and I ask some hard questions and I bring up things that people cringe at when they read them. And I’ve been asked….Did God tell you to write that book? It’s a question I’ve asked myself, more than once. It’s a question I prayed about before it ever left my hands to go to editing. It’s a question that was followed with other questions like…..how much do I really want to tell about myself? How far do I really want to take it? …..and the answers came when I asked the question, “What Would Jesus Do?” So, I sent the book off for editing, got it published, knowing that with what I’ve written…..I’m right in the middle of it all. Knowing that this book, because of its content, will not appeal to the “believer”. Knowing that because of its content it would not appeal to the “unbeliever”…..It cuts both ways.

 And even now, sometimes I think, Jake, what are you doing?! You’re questioning whether or not prostitution should be legal!? (It was a topic post on the facebook group I started: CommonSense from a Common Man, due to the latest Spitzer scandal) …..people will think your for prostitution!?…..lol, ya…..What will people think? I think about that and then I remember, the only person I have to answer to is God……and thank God, He knows my heart…..the rest of you can go…..lol, nah, I won’t finish that.