What do you think about when you sin? Do you minimize it as a minor slip? Excuse it because of circumstances? Justify it because everyone does it? Or do you see it for what it actually isâthe hateful thing that crucified the Lord of life and glory?
Thatâs not emotional manipulation. Thatâs biblical reality. Every sin you commit is the same kind of rebellion that drove nails into Christâs hands. Every act of disobedience is participating in the same rejection of God that hung Him on the cross. Every time you choose sin, youâre essentially saying, âI prefer this to Christ. I value this more than His sacrifice. Iâll take this pleasure over His pain.â
Think about that the next time youâre tempted. That sexual sin youâre considering? Thatâs what crucified Christ. That dishonesty youâre justifying? That crucified Christ. That bitterness youâre nurturing? That crucified Christ. That pride youâre feeding? That crucified Christ. Not someone elseâs sinâyours. Not sin in generalâthis specific sin youâre about to choose. Itâs the hateful thing that murdered the Son of God.
Does that sound harsh? Good. It should. Weâve domesticated sin, made it manageable, turned it into something we can live with comfortably. We call it mistakes, poor choices, struggles. We treat it like a bad habit we need to break rather than cosmic treason against a holy God. But Scripture wonât let us minimize it. Every sin must be renounced as the hateful thing that crucified the Lord of life and glory.
Notice that wordârenounced. Not managed. Not controlled. Not reduced. Renounced. Completely rejected. Utterly repudiated. Totally abandoned. You donât make peace with what crucified Christ. You donât negotiate with it. You donât gradually phase it out. You renounce it as the hateful thing it is.
But hereâs where this gets personal and practical. You canât renounce what youâre still excusing. You canât reject what youâre still justifying. You canât abandon what youâre still clinging to. As long as youâre making excuses for your sin, minimizing its seriousness, justifying your choicesâyouâre not renouncing it. Youâre just managing your image while keeping the sin.
Think about Peter. After he denied Christ three times, he didnât minimize it as understandable given the circumstances. He didnât justify it as a temporary lapse. He went out and wept bitterly. Why? Because he saw his sin for what it wasâbetrayal of the One who loved him, denial of the One who died for him, rejection of the Lord of life and glory. Thatâs renunciation. Thatâs seeing sin clearly and hating it appropriately.
This is why genuine faith produces a progressive experience of continually doing the works of Christ. Not because works save you, but because genuine faith sees sin the way God sees itâas the hateful thing that crucified His Son. And when you see sin that way, you canât comfortably continue in it. You fight against it. You renounce it. You pursue its opposite.
Paul describes this when he talks about putting off the old self and putting on the new. You donât just stop doing certain sins. You renounce the entire old way of life as corrupt and deceitful. You reject it completely, then you actively put on the new self created in righteousness and holiness. Both actions togetherârenouncing the old and embracing the new.
But letâs be honest about the struggle. You will sin again. You will fail. You will fall into patterns you thought youâd renounced. Does that mean your renunciation wasnât genuine? Not necessarily. Renunciation doesnât mean instant perfection. It means fundamental rejection. You can genuinely hate your sin while still struggling against it. The difference is whether youâre fighting or surrendering, whether youâre renouncing or excusing.
Think about an addiction. Someone can genuinely renounce alcohol while still struggling with cravings, still facing temptation, even still having occasional relapses. The renunciation is real even though the battle continues. What would prove the renunciation false is if they stopped fighting, made peace with the addiction, justified their drinking, excused their behavior. Thatâs not renunciation anymoreâthatâs surrender.
The same is true spiritually. You renounce sin as the hateful thing that crucified Christ. That doesnât mean you never sin again. It means you never make peace with it again. Every time you fall, you get back up hating the sin that tripped you. Every time you fail, you renounce afresh what caused you to fail. The battle continues, but the fundamental rejection remains.
This is part of what Scripture means by a progressive experience. Youâre not expected to achieve instant, complete victory over every sin the moment you believe. But you are expected to progressively renounce sin as you see more clearly what it cost Christ. Youâre expected to continually do the works of Christânot perfectly, but increasingly, not instantly, but progressively.
And hereâs the motivation that makes this possible: Youâre not renouncing sin to earn Godâs love. Youâre renouncing it because youâve already received Godâs love and canât stand the thought of crucifying His Son afresh. Youâre not fighting to gain acceptance. Youâre fighting because youâve been accepted and you love the One who accepted you.
So what sin are you excusing right now? What rebellion are you justifying? What disobedience are you minimizing? Stop. Look at the cross. See what your sin cost. Watch what it did to the Lord of life and glory. Then renounce it. Not as a manageable weakness. Not as an understandable struggle. As the hateful thing that crucified Christ. Reject it completely. Turn from it decisively. Hate it appropriately.
Thatâs not legalism. Thatâs love. Love for the One who died because of your sin and rose to free you from it.
âKnowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.â (Romans 6:6)
Want to dig deeper into these truths? Explore The Core Pillars of Bible Study. Discover how Christ is the Center of all interpretation, why The Sanctuary is the Map for understanding God's Word, and learn how Scripture is the Authority that interprets itself. Join us at The Word Miner Ministries as we equip Truth Prospectors for more profound biblical discovery.
