"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."
(1 John 1:8-10)
Sin and Cultural Standards
We should be aware that our present standards, both culturally and personally, have changed for the worse. What was considered a low in the past generation is now considered a norm (normal). Before one was told not to talk in school or chew bubble gun, but now students are told not to take knives and guns to school and don't take guns. This does not mean that our former high standard was perfect, but it does clearly indicate how far we have slid down the dangerous moral sin slide and the difficulty of getting off it before we are dumped out into its pit.
Is it not true that what can be seen around us and on the media are unimaginable to those fifty years ago? Some accepted sexual sins include adultery, fornication, and sodomy. Divorce now is a choice. Gambling, abortion, immodesty, and violence have so far degraded that one wonders whether it can get any worse!
Our situation is even worse because of our sinful pride. We end up being prideful as long as we:
(1) act better than the norm (i.e. culture) around us
(2) feel as if we are doing quite well.
But this leads to a devasting no-change policy. The movies and programs we watch continually portray a picture of those that are worse than ourselves. We assume that just so we are condemning those worse than ourselves, that we are doing fine. In fact we are only a little higher than they on the slippery slope. We aer going in the same direction!
Our only hope is for conviction to arise which will point us back up. There are two situations in which conviction arise.
(1) The first occurs when we see that our low has gone below those around us. Our low has sunk below the culture around us. We are humbled. We see our sin and seek God for cleansing.
The problem is that if we only go back to our former standards, then no real good has occurred. At that point we need to rethink our standards and adopt God's standards.
(2) The second possibility occurs when by some spiritual experience, we get a glimpse of God's standards and see our desperate plight which then leads to repentance and adoption of God's standards.