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>July 15, 2005
><http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/sendtoafrienddevo.aspx?articleid=1139>
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>Sin Lite: Less Filling; Less Faith
>by John Fischer
>
>I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — as her great love has 
>shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:47 TNIV)
>
>This is the age of “lite.” A walk through the supermarket will reveal a 
>lite version of just about everything from yogurt to salami to beer. In 
>that context, lite usually means a less caloric, less harmful version of 
>the original thing.
>
>Now I know its human nature to think in terms of a less harmful version of 
>sin, as if you could grade sin on its caloric count, because I think this 
>way all the time. There’s really bad sin (everyone else’s) and then 
>there’s my sin (not such a big deal). There’s original sin and then 
>there’s sin lite. Sin lite would have little to do with real sin. It’s how 
>I perceive my own sin as in the little slip-ups, rationalizations and 
>indiscretions I allow myself. They might be private sins that I don’t 
>think affect anyone else because I keep them to myself. It’s human nature 
>to make everyone else’s sin bigger and more harmful than your own.
>
>But sadly, if I think this way, it means the rest of my experience with 
>Jesus and the gospel will be “lite” as well. Sin lite means grace lite, 
>forgiveness lite, gratefulness lite, love lite — how about overall 
>Christianity lite? Less filling; less faith.
>
>Martin Luther once said that if you are going to sin, sin mightily. Now 
>I’m sure he didn’t mean by that that we should all go out and have a big 
>night on the town in his honor (or maybe he did). What I think he meant 
>was to realize there is no such thing as degrees of sin. Sin is sin, and 
>if you catch yourself thinking of your sin as any less serious than 
>someone else’s, then you need a new perspective on things.
>
>The people who are worse off are those who harbor their little secret sins 
>and think themselves better for it. They are the one’s Luther was thinking 
>about when he said this. They would be better off if their sin were more 
>visible, more devastating, because then they would have no choice but to 
>be humbled into facing it and getting some help. The worst blindness is to 
>be blind and think you can see better than anybody. Such a person is blind 
>to all of God’s provision for sin and never free of the comparison game.
>
>The minute there is someone out there who, in my opinion is a worse sinner 
>than I am, is when I have stepped over a line and rendered myself 
>ineligible for the grace of God. Not a place anyone wants to be when the 
>judgment comes.
>
>[]
>
>John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily 
>Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and 
>son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. 
>John is a published author and popular speaker.
>
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