Stop Telling People They Aren’t Perfect

For too long, we’ve been telling people, ‘you need to admit that you’re a sinner. You’re not perfect.’ It’s time to stop.

I don’t know what people you associate with, but all the people that I’m around already know that they aren’t perfect. They are totally willing to admit that they are sinners. I’m not talking about Christian people: I’m talking about your everyday, don’t-care-about-religion type people. I’m talking about coworkers and neighbors, friends and relatives and acquaintances. None of them are under the impression that they are perfect, and they’ll gladly admit that they are sinners.

And no, that doesn’t bring them a single step closer to believing the gospel.

The problem is that many Christians have subtly (and unknowingly) changed the message that the Bible gives us. The Bible never tells us to persuade people that they aren’t perfect. You never find the apostles urging people to ‘admit that you are a sinner.’ (Not only do all of my acquaintances know that they are sinners – some of them are downright proud of it!)

The Biblical message is instead encapsulated by a different word: ‘repent.’ Have a change of mind. Think differently.

People already know that they are imperfect. They readily admit that they make ‘mistakes’ (which, they know, the Bible calls ‘sin,’ meaning that they are ‘sinners’). But if they are going to have a change of mind and think differently, they need to be persuaded that:

(1) Sin is a serious offense.

(2) Sin permeates their lives.

(3) They are odious to God unless they are reconciled by Jesus Christ.

It is these three points that most people don’t believe. And it is precisely these three points that they need to realize, if they are going to experience true conviction and a longing for salvation through Jesus Christ.

The Bible teaches each of these points clearly.

Sin is a serious offense. The Lord ‘hates’ it; it is an ‘abomination’ to him (Proverbs 6:16). God’s eyes are too pure to look at wrong (Habakkuk 1:13). Sin is so heinous that it brings down the wrath of God (Romans 1:18). Sin is the reason why God destroyed the world in a cataclysmic world-wide flood (Genesis 6:5-7), and it’s the reason why he will destroy it again with fire (2 Peter 3:7).

Sin permeates the lives of those without Christ. They exist without any fear of God (Romans 3:18). Even their most ‘righteous’ actions are like a polluted garment (Isaiah 64:6). The natural condition of every person is not just that they are ‘a sinner’; rather, they are ‘under sin’ (Romans 3:9), dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Sin is so deeply engrained in the human by nature that it is as impossible to be naturally removed as for a leopard to change his spots (Jeremiah 13:23).

Sinners are odious to God unless they are reconciled by Jesus Christ. God ‘abhors’ those who are characterized by sin (Psalm 5:6; Amos 6:8). This is why sinners will not be able to endure his judgment (Psalm 1:5), because they are ‘by nature children of wrath’ (Ephesians 2:3). God sent his Son to save the world, but the wrath of God remains on those who do not obey (John 3:36).

So, if you ever do meet that bizarre individual who truly believes that she is perfect – by all means, break the news to her that she isn’t. But for the rest, let’s stick to the Biblical message. Sin is serious, it characterizes all of life, and we can’t please God. That’s why Jesus Christ came to die on a cross – so that we could be rescued from this frightful plight of sin.