Why am I still condemned?

Romans 3:5-8
⁵But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) ⁶Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? ⁷Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” ⁸Why not say — as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say — “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved.

We studied this Scripture passage a couple weeks back in Sunday School (as part of our continuing series in Romans), and I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the logic Paul pointed out that was being used to justify sin. “If my sin makes God’s glory show more clearly, why condemn me for it?” It sounds so silly, doesn’t it?

Yeah… it does… at first.

Dwell on that for a moment, then get personal. How have YOU tried to justify sin?

(No, seriously. Think about it for a bit.)

Humbling, no?

Our attempts at justifying our sin are often just as silly.

“Well, my sin isn’t as bad as so-and-so’s…”
“But it’s just a LITTLE sin…”
“But it won’t hurt anybody…”
“Come on God… you made me that way… You know I’m genetically inclined toward it!”

Need I go on?

It’s simple, folks. Sin is sin. It doesn’t matter how little it seems, how bad it is in comparison, how tough it is to resist… none of our excuses matter. Sin is still sin (even in this enlightened age of moral relativism), and we still deserve our just condemnation.

Praise be to God that He, our holy and righteous Judge, is also full of grace and mercy.