Sin is Sin

JEREMIAH presents a sobering message, both to the people of his day as well as to people today: God is against all sin. His judgment of wrath falls on the sin of all individuals and all nations, without exception (Jeremiah 9:25-26). It doesn’t matter whether one is Jew (“circumcised”) or Gentile (“uncircumcised”). No group is exempt. No one has special privileges. As Paul put it, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:18). All have sinned and stand under God’s judgment (Romans 3:10-18, 23).

Jeremiah leaves no room for bargaining. He says that God will punish Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and every other nation, even those living in the farthest corners of the earth. That includes all the nations that have ever existed or will exist. Apparently the Lord sees no difference between the sins of Judah and the sins of Egypt, the sins of ancient cultures or the sins of modern culture. Sin is sin. There are no good sins. The sins of one people are as evil as the sins of another.

This is the “bad news” that makes the message of Christ’s work on the Cross good news indeed. Yet even the bad news shows that God is as evenhanded in His judgment as He is in His mercy and grace (Romans 3:29-30). He warns of judgment on all, but He also offers life to all. No one can hide from the all-seeing eyes of the Lord. But no one needs to lose out on His salvation unless that person rejects God’s provision, Christ.

Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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