But Don't We All Sin? by Andy Mitchell

It is most definitely true that all who have reached the age of accountability, have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 5:12)· “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:9-12)· “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa. 53:6)When I read these verses, this is what it should remind us of:- We all need a savior.- We shouldn't be so quick to point our finger at others.- We shouldn't be so quick to throw stones at others.- We shouldn't think of ourselves as better than others.- We should take a good look at ourselves when correcting others (Gal. 6:1).This keeps us humble. This reminds us to not act as an enemy, but as a friend helping his fellowman.But was it God's intention with these passages to discourage us from ever speaking against sin?- “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.” (Eccl. 7:5)- “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.” (1 Tim. 5:20)- “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2 Tim. 4:2)How could Peter deny the Lord three times, but less than two months later, stand before at least 3,000 people and boldly tell them they crucified our Lord? (Ac. 2:36) How could Paul think of himself as the “chief of sinners”, but when Peter acted like a hypocrite around the Gentiles, Paul said, “I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.” (Gal. 2:11)? When Peter and Paul rebuked some people, do you think they forgot that they had sinned before? No. The goal of their teaching was love (1 Tim. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:22).However, most of the time, when someone says, “But don't we all sin?” what do they REALLY mean? Do they really mean?: “You have no right to tell me I'm wrong” or “Leave me alone”? Here's some questions to ask ourselves that will be more productive:- “Do I want help with my sin?”- “Is it ok to sin just because I think everyone else does?”- “Am I willing to turn from my sin, or am I just trying to justify why I don't want to change?”