The Weight Of Sin

They said; “Yes, don’t you think so too?” I was silent for a moment, and then said: “Since most people believe this, I gave it some serious thought. After all, what’s the use of gaining the whole world, if at the end I lose my soul? But the more I thought about it, the more trouble I had with the idea.”

“What do you mean?” they asked.

I said, “If God is going to put my sins on the scale, I’d like to know how much each sin weighs, wouldn’t you? I’d like to know how much each lie and each evil thought weighs – and pride too. Moreover, how much do all of my sins weigh in the sight of a holy God who hates sin? But that’s not all. I also wonder how much my good deeds weigh, seeing as they are often inadequate, and often ruined by pride and the desire to have the praise of men.

My friends were silent. Then one of them said, “Our only hope is in God’s mercy and grace.”

“That's right,” I said, “and thank God He is merciful and gracious. But His mercy cannot be at the expense of His holiness and justice.”

One friend then said, “I know God can do all things, but explain how He can execute justice and show mercy at the same time.”

I answered, “With men this is impossible. If the judge does not punish the criminal for his crime, he may seem merciful, but he is not just. On the other hand, if he executes justice, he could not show perfect mercy. But God can show perfect mercy and yet be perfectly just!”

“How can He do this?” they said with amazement.

Then I gave them another illustration: “Suppose the just punishment for my sin was either payment of a large sum of money or imprisonment, and the judge paid the large sum himself. Would he not be merciful and just at the same time?”

“Yes,” they all agreed, “He certainly would!”

My friends were anxious to know how God can do the same for man. My friends are very sincere people, as Middle Easterners who discuss such matters often are. But this discussion made them realize that trusting in one’s good deeds is dangerous. They never denied being sinners. Now they were anxious to know how God could do the same for them.

I explained to them that the punishment for sin is eternal death, not just physical death. The Bible says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27 NKJV). So how could God bear this punishment for us? By becoming a man and dying for us. That’s exactly what Christ did.

The Bible says that God loves us so much that He sent Christ to die for us. And Christ died for us willingly, so that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). Concerning Christ, the Bible says, “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

My friends felt the weight of sin. What do you think they did? What would you do? We can tell you more.

By Rafique

This article is available from the publisher in tract form.