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Catechism #33

Q. What does every sin deserve?
A. Every sin deserves God’s wrath and curse.

Humanity has developed its own system of crime and punishment, where not all sentences are the same.

A person caught smoking marijuana may pay a fine, while a person caught selling it may go to prison. There are harsher penalties for a rapist who has a deadly weapon versus an unarmed rapist. First time offenders usually get off easier than repeat offenders.

But God’s system does not match our system. There is no difference between the first time offender and the career criminal; God does not rank and weigh one sin against another. His law is clear: all sins are equally offensive and each deserves the same sentence: death.

There will be no plea except guilty, for “all have sinned (Romans 3:23, 5:12).” There will be no attorney to argue a loophole, for “the wages for sin is death (Romans 6:23).”

We need to see sin for what it really is—a gross offense to a holy God that invites the curse and forever separates us from Him. Were it not for the second half of Romans 6:23 (“…but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”) we would all be doomed.


Forgiven Christians must never forget what they are saved from. It is baffling when believers nonchalantly say, “I’m glad Jesus died to forgive me for doing this.” That person has lost sight of the fact that he was once headed for hell because of that very sin. Forgiveness is not a license to sin; it should remind us just how much God hates sin, and motivate us to hate it as well.  
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