When it comes to discerning what is or is not a sin, we have the Ten Commandments and no doubt all sins in some sense break one or more of those commands. What is not so obvious, however, are things we do that have an undeniable appearance of being perfectly legitimate and even commendable, but are sinful nonetheless.
How so?
Because they violate the consummate goal of all the commandments. And what is that? The apostle Paul answers,
“For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Romans 13:9-10 (NET 2nd Ed.)
So we might ask, how is that we can be violating the law of love while doing something any observer would consider perfectly legitimate?
It seems to come down to our motive.
The love of God, flowing as it does from his nature, is entirely other oriented. That is to say, God does nothing just to make himself feel good, joyful, happy, or satisfied. These emotional states are only a byproduct of his intention and activity which is, in its entirety, focused on the wellbeing of what he loves. In other words, by his very nature, the byproduct of joy on account of benefiting what he loves is never his reason for loving. He loves because he is love and for no other reason.
When we read in scripture of God doing something for his own sake or reputation or for his glory, it is only because the wellbeing of what he loves is at stake. That is to say, when he, at times, radically asserts himself, he is like a physician demanding a very sick patient’s undivided attention. The physician knows that death is drawing near. The patient must yield to an intervening radical surgery or die, so in various ways the physician is all but screaming to secure the patient’s consent.
So with God. This world is so sick and gasping for air that God must assert himself and his purposes with even violent activity or it’s game over for all of us. The intensity of his wrath regarding our unfolding demise only matches the intensity of his love. And since he is the fountainhead of all peace and joy and wellbeing then, of course, he’s going to insist on our undivided attention so that we will say “yes” to radical surgery apart from which we die with a capital D.
But as I trust is clear, God’s activity has nothing to do with just making himself feel good. He is the gold standard of all purity, and a pure heart always has only one motive in play — the wellbeing of the beloved.
So what can make a perfectly legitimate looking action sinful? The absence of God’s love, that is, a behind the scene motive that says, in effect, this I do for me.
