My dear friend, I do see evidence in the Bible that any sin, whether in thought or deed, shows each of us that we are all hell deserving sinners. Below, I will try to show why judgment is called for whether the sins in question are physical acts, or whether they are sins of the heart and thoughts. As I’m sure you know, a righteous God requires perfect obedience to His law, God’s standard of perfection, sins must be judged.  Some verses related to this topic can be found in Romans 3; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:11-15. In short, God cannot tolerate sin; it must and will be judged in righteousness by God (see Habakkuk 1:13; Acts 17:30-31). In Romans 3:23 we read: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” In James 2:10 we read: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” In short, sin, even one single sin, shows us to be sinners and leads to judgment and death. Sin is the root cause of all our troubles today in this scene. Thus, sin of any type, and  any number of sins will result in judgment for the unrepentant sinner. Actually, even though born-again Christians are never in danger of judgment, sins are yet a very serious matter!  I shall seek to explain below.

Regarding sins in one’s thoughts, you might recall that when the Lord Jesus was preaching to the multitude, including His disciples in Matthew 5, He gave a clear picture of how God views the sins of the heart: “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” (Matthew 5:28). Thus, every sin, even those committed in our thoughts by the lusts and passions of the heart, lead to judgment and death. The good news for Christians is that there is no condemnation for those who are saved (those who are in Christ Jesus) as we see in Romans 8:1; see also Romans 3:24-25; 1 John 4:9-10). It is very good news indeed for believers on the Lord Jesus Christ that our sins are all forgiven and are completely removed from us, and we will never again need to fear God’s wrath and eternal judgment (John 5:24; 1 John1:9; 1 John 2:1-2).

But now, I caution you, this does not mean that once we are saved, God no longer cares if we sin, whether in thought, word, or deed (Romans 6:1-2; 1 John 2:1). God loves His children, and He will not long allow us to go on in unconfessed sin as though it no longer matters.  Sin is always a very serious matter, and in particular when it is found in the life of a Christian! There are often temporal consequences for sins. This is why the Bible warns us in 1 John 2:15-17 to “love not the world” with all its lusts and passions. We will never have to fear the Great White Throne judgment if we are saved, but there are a number of serious consequences for the Christian who continues on in sin. First of all, sins will negatively impact our testimony to the world (1 Peter 2:11-12, and really the whole chapter). Secondly there can be significant physical consequences for certain sins such as personal illnesses or injuries, and even death (1 Corinthians 11:30). And finally, even though true Christians will never have to stand before the Great White Throne for judgment because of our sins, we definitely will stand before Christ at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

The judgment seat of Christ is for the review of our service to the Lord while on the earth; that which is praiseworthy will receive its recognition (rewards), and that which is not praiseworthy will bring about some loss of rewards, but our souls are still saved.  Praise be to God, we do not lose our salvation. In conclusion, we are admonished to resist sin (James 4:7-8), but we can only do this by obedience to the Word of God, and by the power of the Holy Spirit who is in our hearts (Titus 3:5; john 3:3-6). It should be the desire of every Christian to conduct our lives, including our thoughts, in such a way as will honor the Lord, who has done so much for us. Remember Psalms 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer,” (see also Psalms 139:23-24).  (SF)  (673.5)