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As children of God, we have the privilege of being forgiven for our sins. As such, we're often tempted to commit these deadly sins with the excuse that God will forgive us for such. In the Bible, Paul warns about this specific attitude.¹ Paul's point is that sin is death, and death is the ultimate enemy of Christ. As such, if we are in Christ, we should have no desire to associate with that sin.

I see it like this: we are civilised. As such, there are certain maxims of civility that all civilised people share. Specifically, we share in the desire to remain clean. In this world of filth, that is not an easy task to accomplish. Dust consisting mainly of dead organic material continually hovers in the air until contact with another object. Dirt clings to a person's skin and settles in the pores of that skin. The body itself emits an oily substance that causes a person to leave a residue on every object that he touches. When the temperature reaches heights, the body will emit a salt-water substance from the sweat glands that gives off a foul odour. This sweat and dirt can also end up underneath the fingernails of a person through contact with the skin. Through the natural consumption of foods and beverages, the body disposes of this material in substances that also emit foul odours. In the mouth itself, bacteria can form within and cause more foul odours. However, our civility doesn't allow this. If there was a man walking down the street drenched in his own bodily fluids while covered in dirt and chicken manure, any person with a milligramme of civility in his soul would think of the person as a lunatic. There's not just the social stigma, but the fact that poor hygiene and sanitation promotes disease and sickness. So, our civility does us a favour. The civilised person washes himself with water, but water's not good enough. The civilised person mixes the water with soap to make it even thinner in order to clean his skin better. He uses shampoos to cleanse his hair (or her hair if it's an expensive shampoo). Twice a day, his teeth are brushed of plaque. He flosses in order to further cleanse the areas between the teeth. If that weren't good enough, he uses mouthwash in order to kill the microscopic germs in his mouth. Throughout the day, he uses gum or breath mints in order to suppress the odours that occur within his mouth. Deodorant is applied to places in which it might be necessary. He will style his hair in a certain manner or cover it with a hat because appearances matter just as much as cleanliness. With appearances, he will wear clothing that has been just as thoroughly cleaned as he has.

How is our spirituality similar? Where we have civility, our soul has God's grace. Where we have soaps and detergents, our soul has God's forgiveness. Our soul is made even cleaner than our body can be made clean. However, we are bound to sin just as much as we are bound to become dirty. It's our human nature to sweat and sin, but when we are dirty we can be made clean again. However, as far as civility is concerned, do we seek ways to make ourselves dirty? Do we roll around in the mud or jump in a septic tank even with the knowledge that we can cleanse ourselves again? By no means! Such is surly the mark of an uncivilised person. In the same way, are we to commit sin intentionally knowing that we can be forgiven again. By no means! Such is surly the mark of someone who is not of Christ. Paul says it plainly, “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”²

1. Romans 6
2. Romans 6:14