Every generation, every age group, every tribe, they all have some sins they wink at and some sins they balk at. They let some things slide while harping on others. They totally ignore some sins but magnify others.
The church where I came to know Christ was a good church. They were sincere people and I’m sure they truly loved God but they tended to harp on things like the evils of drinking (because none of them drank any alcohol) while all but ignoring the gossip and gluttony going on at almost every fellowship dinner.
O, that we would be utterly appalled by ever sin and uncompromisingly gracious to every sinner.
This has truly been a growing and maturing process for many of us who grew up in, and had learned the ways of, traditional churches in the South. Like you said in your message yesterday, we seek a concrete list of do’s and don’t’s to measure our faith and the faith of others. So many times I have to step back from a situation and pray to see the person and not the sin, and to have the eyes of God, who sees us all as spotless after we put our faith in Christ.