A Bible Study Web Site for Children, Teens and College Students

ALL SIN smells to GOD

Most of you girls and boys have certain chores to do at home, and if one of them 1s to take the trash outside for your Morn or Dad, you will know what I mean when I say, "ALL GARBAGE SMELLS THE SAME".
 

          That's right! No matter what kind of left-over food we throw away, once is mixed in with other food scraps and begins to spoil, it always has the same nasty smell.

          Well, just like that garbage, God says that ALL sin smells the same to Him. Oh yes, there are many different kinds of sins, but the Lord cannot put up with any of them.

What 1s sin, and who commits sin? Sin is anything we do or think that does not agree with what God thinks and does. The Bible says, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23.

          Where does sin come from, and why do we commit sins? Sin comes from our sin nature. We are in the family of Adam, and we received a sin nature the moment we were born. Because of that, we all think and do what is NOT pleasing to God.

          Are some sins worse than others? Well, there are sins that have a very serious effect upon other people. Those are the outward sins that can be seen. There are also mental attitude sins, regarding what we THINK, and they can have a very serious effect upon ourselves.

          As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, what can we do about our sins? We can name those to the Lord, and when we do. He promises that we will be in fellowship with Him. I John 1:9 tells us: "If we confess (name) our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse (purify) us from all unrighteousness (wrong-doing)."

          King David committed some very serious sins against other people, and when he finally named those sins, he said to the Lord, " AGAINST THEE, THEE ONLY HAVE I SINNED". (Psalm 51:4) King David understood that ALL sin is against the Lord.

          While you and I are alive on this earth, the Lord will discipline us for sin, because that is part of God's training program for us so that we will learn what not to do. Only then can we grow up to be good citizens and parents.

          God has given a list of 7 sins in the Bible that He hates most of all. They are found in Proverbs 6:16-19. Think about each one of them as we consider what they are:

          (1) The first sin on the list is PRIDE. Pride was Satan's sin, which he committed long before God created Adam. Satan was so beautiful and Intelligent that he thought he could be as good as God. God sentenced him to the Lake of Fire for his sin of pride. He is not In that Lake of Fire yet, but he will be at a future time.

          (2) LYING is the second sin on the list. You and I each have a conscience that tells us when we are telling a lie, but sometimes we have to be taught by our parents to know the difference between right and wrong actions.

          (3) MURDER is certainly a sin, and I'm sure you can understand that. Killing an enemy when you are fighting for your country is NOT murder, but it is sometimes necessary to keep our nation free.

          (4) WRONG MOTIVATION to do or think that which is not good usually comes from pride, jealousy or hatred.

          (5) COMMITTING EVIL ACTS against another person just because you enjoy doing them are usually done to protect ourselves from some kind of punishment or discipline.

          (6) LYING UNDER OATH in a court of law would be a sin that a person might commit in order to protect a guilty person or even to protect ourselves from being punished.

          (7) CAUSING TROUBLE BETWEEN FRIENDS is another act which usually results from pride or jealousy, because you are not getting the attention you want.

          We all commit some of the sins like the ones on that list of 7 sins that God hates most, and we do those things because we have a sinful nature. Even our good deeds are not acceptable to the Lord, because they too come from our sin nature.

          Is it hopeless then? No, not at all. Jesus Christ became our substitute for sin when He died on the cross, and when we believe that, we become a Christian.

          As a Christian, we must learn to stay in fellowship with the Lord, because when we are in fellowship we will not commit those sins. We can stay in fellowship with the Lord by naming our sins to Him as soon as we know we have done something that displeases Him.

          God wants to have fellowship with every Christian, so be sure to name your known sins to Him as soon as you know you have displeased Him by your thoughts or actions.