Since it is impossible for me to be perfectly blameless, does it matter if I sin occasionally?

Romans 6:1-2Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

The Christians in Rome were pondering another side of this same question: If God enjoys being gracious, why shouldn’t we sin more so that God can exercise more of this grace? Every version of this temptation errs by taking God’s forgiveness for granted. When we have reached this point, the deeper sin is not our behavior itself, but our assumption that God will forgive us no matter what we do. Such license makes it very difficult to repent.

Philippians 2:14-15Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Treating our own sins lightly is a terrible mistake. Our responsibility is to live like children of God. To do this, we must keep our hearts and minds pure. Imperfection is no excuse for perversion. It is better to treat seriously our unintended sins than to embrace premeditated sins that trip up others and destroy us.