Biblical words matter.
We sow, God saves.
Christianity is a counterculture.
Run the race as if it matters.

Introduction

These commentaries stem from my personal experience and study. They reflect my perspective on religious doctrine, the narrative that shapes the Christian faith, and how that narrative influences our ability to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Today, Christianity often seems disconnected from the broader cultural conversation—reduced, in many ways, to an inconvenient subculture that increasingly grapples with its spiritual and social identity. This growing irrelevance raises a pressing question: why has the Church drifted so far from meaningful engagement with society? What concerns me most is how rarely this issue is addressed. Church leaders are seldom held accountable for their words or actions from the pulpit—an oversight that, in my view, has a direct and damaging effect on the health of the Church.

About Me

I was raised with a Christian understanding of life, and my earliest experiences of God were shaped by the Presbyterian Church. Some 40 years later, I made a personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. In 2001, I was part of a leadership team that welcomed a new Pastor into our Church. Not long after, we were confronted with a series of theological and relational challenges that ultimately split the congregation in two. It took three subsequent Pastors and many years for the Church to heal from that division. I still recall the sadness, anger, and disillusionment that followed—the sense of confusion and the lingering weight of unanswered questions. Through that painful time, I realised two things: first, that I knew very little about why I believed; and second, that whatever I did know wasn’t truly my own.

My Latest Commentary

Trevor Strange Trevor Strange

Degrees of Sin - Part 1

Some time ago, I was engaged in a conversation with friends, and the issue of sin among professing Christians was raised, and in typical fashion it generated a whole new discussion about whether or not some sin is worse than others? Needless to say there was a difference of opinion, which generated a short but lively discussion that ended in spite of reaching any agreement. However, it did cause me to ponder the basis on which Christians view this differently?

Some time ago, I was engaged in a conversation with friends, and the issue of sin among professing Christians was raised, in a typical fashion it generated a whole new discussion about whether or not some sin is worse than others. Nonetheless, there was a difference of opinion, which generated a short but lively conversation that ended without agreement. However, it did cause me to ponder the basis on which Christians view this differently.

I want to acknowledge “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” as an unpardonable sin but shelve it for the benefit of discussing sin in terms of our unrighteousness before God.

Some believed that murder, for example, was a far greater sin than stealing candy from the corner shop. In other words, Hitler is guilty of greater sin (not the volume of sin) than a child stealing from the corner shop. This argument presumes that both parties are conscious of their actions and aware of right or wrong. From this extreme example, it was suggested that God views murder as a more serious sin than stealing.

My view is, that there are no degrees of sin, sin is sin, and it doesn’t discriminate in levels, nor does God apply judgement, or requirements for salvation, on the severity of the sin. What sin does is more serious than sin itself, Man is separated from God, and degrees of sin don’t change the degree of separation. Thus restoration from sin is also not determined by degrees of sin but based on faith alone. Humanity introduces laws and statutes that control civil society, laws which judge, excuse, or punish levels of right and wrong. It cannot be said that because humanity discriminates on the degree of right and wrong according to its social dictates, God also discriminates based on the same dictates. Nor is God influenced by personal views on sin, or the emotional attachment we might place on behavior, we consider worse than others.

True, I’m trying to generate discussion! Therefore, you might consider replying with your view on this matter. If you consider yourself a Christian, I would appreciate the dialogue, hopefully with some foundation in scripture, and not simply views emanating from an emotional preference. The burden of orthodoxy is in the evidence, and while we may have a civil or emotional view about degrees of sin, the Christian view must be derived from the word of God.

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