Have you ever heard of the "running of the bulls"? Where ordinary people,
VOLUNTARILY, run in front of rampaging bulls. Wouldn't they have an easier time
avoiding bulls, if they weren't running down the same street with them? But how often
are we like that with sin? Getting too close to the very thing that can destroy us.

WHAT EXACTLY ARE SUBTLE SINS?
Ah, the joys of summer! Warm temperatures, bright sunshine, the
smell of mown grass, the beauty of flower gardens, fresh fruits
and vegetables, ice cream socials, picnics in the park, ball games,
and restful days at the beach. What could be more perfect? How
about warm temperatures without humidity, bright sunshine
without sunburn, the smell of mown grass without allergies, the
beauty of flower gardens without the threat of weeds, fresh fruits
and vegetables without chemical sprays, ice cream socials without
calories, picnics in the park without bees and ants, ball games
without rain delays, and restful days at the beach without sand
between your toes? But that is just wishful thinking. Nothing on
earth is perfect—not even summer.
Not even human beings created in God’s image!
According to the Bible, everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23).
Fortunately, in spite of our sin God loves us and has provided forgive-ness
through His Son. Believers are forgiven but not perfect. This
doesn’t mean we have a carte blanche to sin; it means we have an
obligation to avoid sin and to live in a way that honors God. As the
apostle Paul indicated in Romans 6:2, “ . . . we died to sin; how can
we live in it any longer?”
Of course, most followers of Jesus lead a moral life. Our names
stay off crime blotters, and our photos stay off post-office walls.
We don’t hold up fast-food restaurants or convenience stores.
We don’t deal drugs, snatch purses, or forge checks. All in all, we are
law-abiding citizens, good neighbors, and churchgoers. But do we
commit subtle sins—sins that aren’t clearly visible as blatant sins
are? Subtle sins operate insidiously. They may smolder in our hearts
before they erupt in our actions. They may appear small, but they
cause big damage to us and to others. Left unattended and
unconfessed, they will smother our love for God, sap our spiritual
vitality, and mock our claim that we are Jesus’ followers.
Are we guilty of subtle sins? The response to this question
depends upon how we answer the following questions. Do we tell
a lie occasionally? Do we gossip? Are we resentful or bitter? proud
or impatient? rude or haughty? irritable or closed-minded? envious or
jealous? prayerless or apathetic? Do we take God’s goodness for granted?
Can we identify someone we just can’t stand? Do we entertain immoral
fantasies? Do we dismiss such traits as harmless or inevitable or just
a part of human nature? If we answered yes to any or all of these
questions, we are guilty of subtle sins, and we need to revisit Jesus’
teachings.
Jesus taught that evil originates in the heart. It is not the product
of a bad environment or a dysfunctional family or a below-poverty
rating or the construction of one’s genes or an inferior education.
Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder,
adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew
15:19). His words affirm what the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed to
the nation Judah about 600 years earlier: “The heart is deceitful
above all things . . . .” ( Jeremiah 17:9). His teaching also recalls the
Lord’s indictment of the human race in the time of Noah: “The
LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become and
that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
all the time” (Genesis 6:5). Clearly, God knows our thoughts
and emotions, and if they offend Him, we need to regard them as
serious sins. They may be subtle, but they are as odious to God as
murder and adultery.
Here’s how Jesus characterized some subtle sins:
• He placed spiteful anger in the same category as murder. “You
have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not
murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be
subject to judgment . . . ” (Matthew 5:21, 22).
• He charged that sexual lust is a form of adultery. “You have heard
that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ But I tell you that
anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27, 28).
• He condemned a vengeful attitude (Matthew 5:38); self-righteous-ness
and hypocrisy (6:1-5); unforgiveness (v. 15); materialism
(vv. 19-24); worry (vv. 25-34); judgmentalism (7:1-5); doubt,
skepticism, and unbelief (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:25; John 20:24-29);
selfish ambition (Mark 10:35-45); indifference (Matthew 13:15;
Luke 7:31-35); lack of affection and ungratefulness (Luke 7:40-47);
immoral fantasies and slander (Matthew 15:19); deception (Mark
13:5); fear ( John 14:27); egoism and haughtiness (Luke 14:7-11;
18:14b; 20:45); discord and dissension ( John 6:43); and prayer-lessness
(Luke 22:45, 46).
Jesus’ teachings about subtle sins underscore several truths. First,
sin is sin whether it is covert or overt, visible to many or visible only
to God. Second, we cannot legitimately excuse our subtle sins. The
Lord does not accept such lame defenses as, “I am only human” or
“Everybody has a bad day now and then” or “I can’t help it; I was
born that way” or “Sure, I have a hot temper; after all, I am a
redhead.” He holds us accountable for our unconfessed subtle sins
as well as our blatant sins. Jesus warned: “There is nothing
concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be
made known” (Luke 12:2). In his letter to the Romans, the apostle
Paul reiterated Jesus’ pronouncement. He wrote concerning future
judgment: “This will take place on the day when God will judge
men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares” (2:16).
A person may feel that smoldering resentment or bottled-up
anger or egoism or immoral fantasies or covetousness or idolatry are
locked deep inside. He assumes they are his secret cache of wrongs
and has no intention of confessing and forsaking them. But just as
every web site visited on a computer can be tracked on a hard drive,
so every unconfessed subtle sin leaves its mark on the soul.
Someday God will retrieve it and judge it!
Comparing ourselves with those whose sins seem larger than life
may convince us that we live on higher moral ground and our
subtle sins are nothing to be concerned about. Criminals and nasty
neighbors deserve condemnation. On the other hand, we deserve
commendation. Criminals and nasty neighbors are the bad guys.
They wear black hats. We’re the good guys. We wear white hats.
We reason that we have favored-class status with God.
A proud father and mother attending Parents Day at a military
academy watched the cadets parade past them and hundreds of
other parents. Catching sight of her son, the mother pulled on her
husband’s shirt sleeve. “Look, Dear,” she blurted, “everyone’s out of
step but our son Jimmy.”
Are we like Jimmy’s parents? Even when the Bible parades our
subtle sins past us, do we fail to see that we are woefully out of step
with God’s will? Others may see our egoism or irritability or anxiety
or judgmentalism or skepticism, but we may not see it because we
choose not to. Sadly, we will never experience the blessings and joy
God wants to give us until we see our subtle sins as God and others
see them and repent.
Robert Burns, the revered 18th-century Scottish poet, must have
understood the significance of viewing ourselves from a more reliable
perspective than our own. He wrote:
Oh would some power the giftie gie us
To see ourselves as others see us.
The King James Version uses the words “sincere” and “without
offence” in Philippians 1:10 to describe what kind of people believers
ought to be. The New International Version uses the words “pure”
and “blameless.” Both translations are based on the Greek word
eilikrineis derived from the words for “sun” and “to judge.” Therefore,
it indicates the purity of a substance or object that is tested by
sunlight. Clearly, eilikrineis provides clear notification that our
character, as well as our conduct, must bear God’s presence and
activity. We are, after all, His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).
Have you known anyone who purchased a “previously owned”
car, only to learn later that its outward shine betrayed a faulty engine
or transmission? More than a few first-century consumers experi-enced
a similar fate at the hands of crafty, unscrupulous, merchants
who hid the cracks in their pottery by filling them with wax and
coloring over the defective areas. After purchasing a doctored piece
of pottery and setting it outdoors, a buyer soon discovered he or she
had been deceived. Strong sunlight would melt the wax and reveal
the vessel’s cracks.
Fortunately, honest craftsmen could be found in the first century,
just as honest car salesmen can be found today. Many honest first-century
pottery vendors placed signs at their marketplace stalls,
advertising in Latin: sine cera, “without wax.” Our English word
“sincere” comes from sine cera. If we are sincere, as Philippians 1:10
instructs, God’s workmanship will be clear to all. There will be no
bad surprises!
Philippians 1:10 also summons us to be “without offence” (KJV)
or “blameless” (NIV). The Greek word is aproskopoi, meaning not
causing anyone to stumble. The same word appears in 1 Corinthians
10:32, where we read, “Do not cause anyone to stumble.”
Can a subtle sin like discord cause anyone to stumble? In answer
to this question think of the damage discord has inflicted on more
than a few professing believers. Some refuse to get involved at
church because of the “politics” there. Others have stopped attending
church altogether, because they grew tired of seeing Henry snub
Bill because Bill’s choice of a color scheme for the church offices
clashed with his; or they became exasperated because church members
bickered over items in the church budget or over worship styles.
No, it doesn’t take an act of adultery on the part of a church
leader to cause someone to stumble. Nor does it take an act of
embezzlement on the part of the church treasurer to weaken the
faith of the faithful. Any number of subtle sins can trip and injure
those who are trying to walk along the straight and narrow road.
After hearing glowing reports of the Welsh Revival, an American
believer traveled to Wales to investigate the phenomenon. He
approached a police constable in the first city he visited and asked,
“Officer, can you tell me where the revival is?”
The constable put a finger on one of the shiny buttons on his
uniform jacket and replied, “Under these buttons, sir.”
Revival is always an individual matter. When it reaches the
heart, subtle sins flee; then blessings and joy move in and overflow
to family, congregation, and community.

OVERCOMING Subtle Sins
3. If you were to compare the spiritual condition of the human
heart to a color, what color would you choose? Why?
4. How can a believer help another believer cope with subtle sins?
5. How do subtle sins manifest themselves in family living? How
can families learn obedience to Jesus’ teachings?
6. What link, if any, do you see between discipling oneself and
discipling our nation?
7. What do you believe are the three most frequently committed
subtle sins?
8. How can obeying Jesus’ teachings help His followers overcome
anger, hatred, prejudice, and resentment?
9. What might a place of employment be like if the employer were
an obedient follower of Jesus? If the employees were obedient
followers of Jesus?
10. How might a righteous life persuade others to be obedient
followers of Jesus?