Who's The Biggest Sinner?

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." —James 2:10

Who's the biggest sinner? I am! You are! We all are! WE HAVE SINNED! Put down your stones you self-righteous hypocrites! It is human nature to look upon the sins and faults of others, while often overlooking our own sins. This is hypocrisy. One of the worst deceptions is overlooking our own faults. The Word of God proclaims in James 2:10 that committing even ONE SIN makes a person GUILTY in God's eyes of breaking every command in the Bible. James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” This is a startling doctrine that is hardly touched upon in churches today.

If you are a Christian the whole world is waiting for you to fall. Sermon uploads that would change lives are fortunate to receive even a hundred hits, but you upload some juicy gossip about a preacher sinning and millions of people want to know it. This evidences the hypocrisy and desperate wickedness of the human heart, just as Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” If you are truly right with God, then you see yourself as the biggest sinner, because you know yourself better than anyone. Do you know what a hypocrite is Biblically? It is a person who thinks that someone else is a bigger sinner than them self.

Here is a precious MP3 sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles titled, “Chief Of Sinners.” No real Christian claims to be less a sinner than others! There is no teaching in the Bible that says Christians are less sinful than unsaved people. The only difference is that we as believers have the Holy Spirit indwelling our bodies. As separated Christians, we must never accept the sin with the sinner, nor should we ever reject the sinner with the sin. We ought to love everybody with God's unconditional love through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Did you know that the divorce rate amongst professed Christians is equal to that of the heathen unsaved world? This is because Christians think the same way as the heathen world. Romans 12:2 exhorts Christians not to be conformed, that is, fashioned, according to this present world. Divorce is always worldly, never Christian. In filing for divorce, a person is saying: “My spouse is a bigger sinner than I am; therefore, I have a right to abandon, quit and break my marriage vows.” No you don't! Divorce is a horrible sin rooted in one's own hypocritical self-righteousness. The Bible teaches that we are all as guilty as the vilest sinner in God's eyes. This doctrine is virtually unheard of nowadays, because few preachers stress the Law of God anymore, which condemns all of us as guilty sinners before God...

Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

In the eyes of men, murdering someone is obviously worse than stealing their lunch; but as far as God is concerned we are all equally lacking any righteousness of our own. We are each as dirty and rotten as the other guy. Oftentimes what people perceive as acceptable, such as homosexuality, is an abomination unto God. If we SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES as Jesus commanded in John 5:39, then we can only come to the conclusion that we are as sinful as the worst sinner in God's eyes and it matters not who is more guilty. We are all guilty (Romans 3:10-23). The fact of the matter is that we are all sinners deserving of punishment in Hell (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:11-15). Although we may never commit murder or rob a bank, that does not make us any less guilty of being a horrible sinner in the eyes of God. 

“If we could ever hate the sin in ourselves as much as we hate the sin in others, we might have some idea what His Book is all about.” —Pastor Jack Hyles (a quote from page 322 of the awesome biography of Dr. Hyles titled, “The Fundamental Man”)

May I say, no matter how righteous I may try to live, the ONLY reason why I will ever be righteous is because of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus paid my sin debt, and He alone is my righteousness. I have no righteousness to offer God, and neither do you.People tend to selfishly judge themselves based upon what sins they personally DON'T commit. Did you understand that? People who don't commit adultery are quick to condemn others who commit adultery, because that's not their sin. But perhaps they are a thief for a living, and so they are silent when it comes to the sin of theft. This is how shallow, wicked and hypocritical most people are. The Bible perfectly illustrates this in Jesus' account of the Pharisee and the publican who went up to the temple to pray...

“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).

The Pharisee in Luke 18:10-14 made the grave mistake of comparing himself with other people, instead of measuring himself up against the holy Law of God. If we foolishly look at other people who commit the sins that we don't, or sins that we perceive as being worse than our sins, then we naturally become self-righteousness and think we are “better” than others. I tell you, you are as filthy and rotten as Adolf Hitler in God's eyes, and so am I...

Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Reproach For Sins Comes Now Or Later

The Bible teaches that some people's sins are open (known) beforehand here on earth. But the Bible teaches that everyone else's sins will follow them and be revealed in eternity, causing shame and reproach. 1st Timothy 5:24, “Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.” When the truth is known, ALL PEOPLE will be exposed as wicked and shameful sinners. When asked to give the name of the worst and most horrible sinners we know, most people tend to think of people besides them self. This is the hypocritical nature of humanity. This is why all gossip is sinful and wrong, that is, because we are just as sinful as the person that we criticize. Hey, let's talk about our selves instead. All of a sudden no one has anything to say?

Perhaps we have never commit a particular sin per se, but we ought not to judge others simply because they sin differently than we do. Mankind is inherently sinful and has NO self-righteousness to offer God. Even committing one sin is enough to be damned to the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:11-15). That's the reason why God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross of Calvary, shedding His precious blood to pay for our sins.

God's Law indicts all humanity as guilty sinners (Romans 3:19). 1st Timothy 5:24 says that some men's sins are open to criticism and judgment beforehand, but everyone else's sins will be made known eventually on judgment day. NO ONE is going to retain their dignity and honor on judgment day as a self-righteous person who didn't do anything shameful, disgraceful or surprising. The Bible declares that ALL men have come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible teaches that the Pharisees who condemned others were the guiltiest of all sinners (Matthew 7:1-5). The reason why hypocrites throw rocks at others is because they are proud, arrogant and saturated with sins them self.

Those hypocrites who condemn others for their sins will one day be silenced completely in eternity when THEIR SINS are revealed. Christians who realize their own sinfulness DON'T condemn other people when they sin. Slanderers and critics of sinners are self-righteous, FAILING to see their own depth of sin and evil. Most people have absolutely no idea how sinful they really are in comparison to the holy Bible. You and I are dirty, rotten, guilty, sinners in God's eyes.

Therefore, we had all better think twice before we decide to throw rocks at other people who sin, denouncing them as evil, and taking delight in their calamity. Our day of reckoning is also coming! So before you look down in disdain upon someone else who has sinned horribly, you had better consider your own horrible sins in God's eyes, because the Lord will judge us according to how we judge others...

Matthew 7:1-3, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”

Even the best Christians still have a mote (tiny piece) in their eye, meaning that we are all sinners; but those evil critics who spread gossip, tell tales, condemn others, reveal secrets and hypocritically destroy their neighbor with their mouth have a beam (large piece) in their eye. God's harshest judgment is reserved for those arrogant sinners who condemn other sinners, overlooking their own wickedness in hypocrisy while trying to destroy the good name of others. If the truth be known, we all have a skeleton closet of sins. The Bible says that a person is calling God a liar if they deny their sinfulness (1st John 1:8,10).

We are living in an evil generation that tolerates all manner of sin and wickedness from Hollywood, rock music stars, and their favorite immoral professional athletes; yet, the world is waiting for every Christian to fall flat. Jesus taught in John 15:19 not to marvel if the world hates us as Christians, because the world hated Him first. 2nd Timothy 3:12 foretold that those faithful Christians who live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL SUFFER PERSECUTION. The world hates the Holy Bible and Christians who uphold the truths of the Bible. Jesus is the living Word of God. John 7:7, “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”

We Have Sinned

Would to God that Christians in churches today would stop saying, “he has sinned,” and “she has sinned,” and that we'd all start saying, “we have sinned.” It is sinful pride that causes a wife to publicly criticize or divorce her husband. It is sinful pride that causes the manure-spreading newsmedia to mercilessly destroy people's lives. It is sinful pride that causes children to broadcast their parent's dirty laundry to others. It is sinful pride that causes self-righteous hypocrites to meddle in other people's marriages. I came to the realization one day as a believer that I am as rotten and sinful as the worst sinner. I am just as sinful as any adulterer, mass-murderer, homosexual, thief, liar or Satan worshiper. AND SO ARE YOU! Our sins are just as woeful and wrong. We have no room to condemn.

The Apostle Paul realized this great truth...

1st Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

The Apostle Paul was a faithful missionary who loved the Lord Jesus Christ and helped people everywhere he went. Paul suffered horribly from shipwreck, hunger, turmoil and malicious beatings from his enemies; yet he kept going for God. Paul was a mighty preacher and a strong Christian. Although Paul was arguably the greatest missionary who ever lived, he still addressed himself as the “chief” of sinners. I don't know too many believers today who are anywhere near as dedicated and committed to Jesus Christ as was Paul. If a good Christian like Paul esteemed himself as the “chief” of sinners, then we ought to feel the same way.

“I can't make you love me, but you can't keep me from loving you.” —Dr. Jack Hyles