The Bible contains passages that condemn certain behaviors and mindsets because God, in His holiness and justice, cannot tolerate sin. Sin separates people from God and leads to death and destruction. Out of His great love for humanity, God wants to warn people away from evil and point them to righteousness and life (Ezekiel 18:23).
Throughout Scripture, God condemns behaviors such as idolatry, sexual immorality, greed, pride, hypocrisy, injustice, selfishness, and callousness toward the poor and needy. He condemns harmful mindsets like self-righteousness, stubbornness, and hard-heartedness. God even condemns things that may seem harmless on the surface but can lead to bigger issues, like gossip, envy, and jealousy.
God doesn’t condemn just for the sake of condemning. He desperately wants people to turn from wickedness and find salvation in Christ (2 Peter 3:9). His condemnations serve as severe warnings about the dangers and consequences of sin. They reveal how deeply God cares about the wellbeing of humanity and how seriously He takes violations of His holy standard.
Here are some key reasons why Scripture contains so many condemnations:
To Communicate the Seriousness of Sin
The Bible highlights the utter sinfulness of sin and its offenses against a holy God. When God condemns something in Scripture, He is emphatically declaring how completely opposed He is to it. God’s condemnations underscore that sin is life-threatening, destructive, and utterly at odds with His nature and standards.
For example, passages like Revelation 21:8, which warns that unrepentant sinners face eternal judgment, powerfully communicate that sin is extremely serious and leads to death. They jar readers out of apathy and complacency toward their own sin. God’s repeated condemnations are like warning signs planted throughout Scripture, underscoring the dangers of continuing in rebellion against Him.
To Warn People Away from Sin’s Harms
A key reason God condemns sin is to warn people of sin’s disastrous consequences. He cares deeply for humanity and wants to protect people from choices that will ruin their lives and relationships. Like a loving parent cautioning a child against touching a hot stove, God’s condemnations aim to restrain His people from paths that lead to pain and destruction.
For instance, Proverbs condemns folly, greed, laziness, gluttony, pride, and sexual immorality because these sins have horrendous outcomes. Proverbs 5:22-23 warns, “The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.” Passages like this graphically demonstrate why sin must be avoided.
To Show God’s Passion for Holiness and Justice
God’s repeated condemnations reveal how deeply He cares about holiness and justice. God is completely perfect, righteous, and pure. He cannot tolerate any sin in His presence. His condemnations flow out of His morally pure nature and His commitment to maintaining justice throughout His creation.
When people disregard God’s commands and harm others through sin, God speaks out in condemnation because it violates His passion for justice and righteousness. For instance, God condemned the murderous violence and oppression in Nineveh not just to warn Nineveh, but because He was righteously angry about how they had mistreated others (Nahum 3:1-7).
To Call People to Repentance
Ultimately, God’s purpose in condemning sin is to call people to repentance and salvation. God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). He uses His word to draw people away from destructive sinful paths and toward His grace and forgiveness.
When the prophet Ezekiel proclaimed God’s warnings to Israel, his purpose was “that they may know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 6:7). Through condemnations of sin, God makes known His standards and His desire for humanity to live in holiness, thriving in fellowship with Him.
To Help People Discern Right from Wrong
By clearly condemning certain behaviors and mindsets, God helps train His people to discern right from wrong. God’s word functions like a lamp exposing the dangers of sin (Psalm 119:105). The more Christians understand what God prohibits, the better they can embrace His wise and loving commands.
For example, the New Testament contains stern warnings against sexual immorality and false teachings so that believers can perceive these dangers and avoid them (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 1:8-9). Scripture works to calibrate people’s moral compasses to God’s standards of righteousness.
To Show the Need for Christ’s Redemption
Importantly, God’s repeated condemnations of sin underscore humanity’s universal need for a Savior. God’s word makes no excuses for human sinfulness – it highlights over and over just how far short people fall of God’s perfection. This shows why people desperately require forgiveness and redemption through Christ.
As Romans 3:19-20 explains, “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
The law, in other words, stops our mouths from making excuses and reveals our need for mercy. Christ alone offers that mercy to all who repent and believe in Him.
Because of the Seriousness of the Gospel
God’s gospel message is incredibly serious – it proclaims that sin has put humanity under condemnation, but by repentance and faith in Christ, people can receive eternal salvation. This message must be communicated soberly and with gravity. It leaves no room for casual attitudes toward sin.
The prevalence of condemnations in Scripture matches the weightiness of its gospel proclamation. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible communicates with utmost seriousness the reality of human sin, its consequences, and people’s desperate need for redemption. That way, the offer of eternal life in Christ will be received with proper joy and gratitude.
God Also Offers Grace and Forgiveness
Importantly, while Scripture contains many condemnations of sin, it also brims with God’s promises of grace, mercy and forgiveness to all who repent. This forgiveness flows from Christ’s atoning death on the cross for sinners.
Though God hates sin, He loves people and wants to redeem them. Ezekiel 18:23 says God takes “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” Anyone who turns from sin in repentance and faith will be saved from condemnation and receive eternal life as God’s dearly loved child.
So in summary, God condemns sin tirelessly in Scripture because He ardently desires the everlasting joy and thriving of humanity. His condemnations aim to lead people to repentance and faith in Christ, through whom anyone – no matter how sinful – can receive full redemption and become God’s cherished possession.
