There are many sins which are quite obvious, these sins are sins for everybody and are obvious to all. Such as murder, adultery, getting drunk etc. But there are sins which are far more subtle than these, which I call righteous sins. These are the type that we justify and condone, and are the type as believers we are more likely to fall into.

Let me explain what I mean by righteous sins. I think the best examples of righteous sins are Jesus’ encounters with the Pharisees. They held and protected tenaciously the keeping of the Sabbath, and no one can deny they had scriptural precedence for this, after all it is the fourth commandment. But Jesus showed them the true meaning and fulfillment of the Sabbath, though they hated him and rejected him for it, to the point they wanted to kill him.

In my 21 years as a Senior Pastor, 17 in my current station, I have found righteous sins to be the biggest battle. Certain ones plead a righteous cause and before you know it, you are pressured into the mistreatment of members in the congregation. Satan often comes as an angel of light, which is why believers are often deceived into falling into this kind of thing. A campaign or an issue becomes more important to us than treating people correctly with dignity and respect. And we can justify hurting and wounding people in the name of truth.

It seems that calls for mercy often go unheeded and unheard as we jump on the bandwagon of doing what is right, regardless of who gets hurt in the process.

Jesus often said to the Pharisees of his day, and I fear also to us, ” But go and learn what this means, I desire compassion, and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13 NAS.

As we examine those who were in the biggest opposition to Jesus, it was the Pharisees, the religious establishment of the day, not the obvious sinners. So it shouldn’t surprise us that the greatest opposition to the gospel of Grace is still the Pharisaical spirit.

From the Sabbath in Jesus’ day, to the circumcision in Paul’s day, and by the way these two things could be found and supported in the Bible. What are we to do and what are we to guard against? if we feel the church we are attending isn’t upholding the truth of scripture? We are to put a watch on ourselves number one. Making sure we are not acting in a divisive, disrespectful spirit. But praying and gently, and respectfully considering those we perceive are in error. Our own self watch is the critical number one issue in any correction that needs to be made. Another litmus test is am I walking in love? since scripture commands us to do everything out of love 1 Corinthians 16:14.

I’m sure if we honestly examine our hearts we have to confess in our stance for truth we are not always operating in love. Be on guard against righteous sins.