“They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:29-32, NIV)

Who are “they?”

The simple answer is that the pronoun “they” refers to those who have rejected God, who instead “suppress the truth by their wickedness.” (Romans 1:18(b)) That is, these verses describe the immoral actions and attitudes that characterize the lives of those choosing to live in rebellion against God.

But there is a more biting, darker answer.

The fact is that “they” can include each and every one of us. While “murder” is beyond the bounds of where most may tread, greed, envy, deceit, gossip and pride are not. These were all on display in the Garden of Eden and are innate to our humanity. We are surrounded by sin…and we are all sinners.

The question before each of us is this: How do we choose to deal with that sin? After all, sin is a choice – as is our response to it. Ignorance of sin is a choice. Forgiveness of sin is a choice. Repentance of sin is a choice. These choices will determine how we are judged before God.

“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Obedience to God’s word is a choice each of us must make. Our choices reflect our faith and our love – our love of God and our love of others. Morality cannot be legislated as the Christian Nationalists would have us do. Removal of choice means removal of the opportunity to display one’s love of God through obedience to His will and word. Instead, the so-called “Christian” Nationalists seek to force obedience to governmental mandates – not only barring the choice of obedience to God but, in their hypocrisy, dissuading the hearts of those who have yet to embrace the Gospel.

There was a time not that long ago that my choices were quite poor. My sin was often brazen. While I acknowledged my sin and was marginally repentant of it, I did not abstain. Instead, my choice was to rationalize my sin. I told myself that circumstances justified my iniquity – and that I would not be held accountable for it by a just God.

Just writing those words sickens me now.

I am still human. Thus, I still sin (though, I hope, less brazenly). But I wake each day striving to be more like my savior Jesus Christ. It is that endeavor which influences how I deal with sin – both my own and that by which I am surrounded.

As Christians, the manner in which we confront the sin of this world is critical to the effectiveness of our testimony. In Matthew 18, Jesus directly teaches us how to speak to the transgressions of our brethren in Christ. But what about those of the yet-to-be-saved?

The answer to that question, I believe, is found throughout scripture but is perfectly articulated in Matthew 5:16:

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Like Jesus, we are to be a light in this world. The temporal pleasure of prideful sin pales in comparison to the perpetual joy, peace and love that stems from our faith.

Jesus, of course, did not sin. Although I cannot emulate Him in that regard, I do strive to follow His instruction – and that of His Apostles.

Jesus commanded His church to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15).” To have any influence in a sinful world, we must each deal first with our own sin. Hypocrisy undermines influence.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)

I choose to be led by faith. Thus, I am guided by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. While I still have choices to make, He steers me from the pride and hypocrisy that lead to sin and inability to influence others.

But it is really not very complicated. The prophet Micah has dumbed it down for us:

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)