Recently the youth minister at my in-law’s church in Tennessee was indicted for soliciting prostitution of a minor.
It made the national news. Maybe you saw it.
While it was probably the youth minister’s fifteen minutes of fame, I’m guessing it was not the kind of fame he had hoped for.
Of all the transgressions he could have committed, as a youth minister solicitation of a minor is probably the dumbest. It certainly would have been better for him had he opted for a less grievous sin like failing to put the toilet seat down or take out the trash. But then again, such sins rarely have anything to do with intelligence.
All that aside, there is something more important at stake when a Christian sins than the possibility of public humiliation, and that something is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is manifested on earth as citizens of the kingdom voluntarily submit to Jesus’ lordship. The Kingdom works when people submit to King Jesus.
Conversely, when citizens of the kingdom of God solicit prostitution they are choosing to obey the ruler of the Kingdom of Darkness (and I am not referring to Ozzy Osbourne), who is the enemy of the kingdom of God. It is like John Kerry deciding to take his orders from Vladimir Putin. Sin is treason in the kingdom.
And it is not just public sin that is treasonous. Even the sins that no one else knows about manifest an obedience to the enemy of the kingdom of God. Such sins establish the will of the enemy in the kingdom of God, and therefore thwart the purposes of God on earth. Even the wise pagan, Cicero, understood the seriousness of treason, as you can see from the pic above.
So don’t let anyone tell you sin is just a personal matter; it has implications in the kingdom of God. GS