Sin. What an ugly, unpopular, dirty little word. Except for many Roman Catholics (who privately discuss their personal sins with a priest on Saturday night) or certain Protestants (who willingly hear of their sins from the pulpit on Sunday morning), people will not tolerate the idea. The concept of “sin” is offensive to progressive thinkers and never used in polite conversation. The very word is nearly unspeakable and banned to the ‘island of forbidden subject matter’ along with other very bad words like “guilt,” “holy,” “Jesus,” and “discipline.”
Sin, however, is a reality, a dark one, whether we accept it or not. All of us have some of it residing in the inky and gloomy crevices of our souls. John said if we deny it we are self-deceived. He also assured Christ-followers that “the blood of Jesus… cleanses us from all sin” (1st John 1.7), a reality which may be ours through the regular practice of humble confession.
