Aggravations of Sin

Luke xii. 48. And that servant which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.

There is no man in the world, who thinks himself so great a sinner as he truly is in the sight of God. One reason for this is, that there is no man who has so cleat and lively a sense of the aggravations of his sin as he ought to have. Sin is not a material substance, that can be measured, and weighed, and the quantity and weight of which never varies; it is the property, the acts, the disposition, the state of mind of a spiritual being, and which varies in its aggravations and enormity at different times, under different circumstances, and in different persons. It may not be unprofitable for us, in this discourse, to take a view of some of the different aggravations of sin.

I. In the first place, some sins are more aggravated than others, from their nature.

All sin has some common properties; while every distinct sin has properties peculiar to itself Sins that are committed against God, are distinguished from sins committed against men. The worship of idols, for ex* ample, is a sin of a different nature, from the sin of discontentment. Blasphemy is a sin of a different nature from the sin of disobedience to parents; and Sabbath-breaking is in its nature, different from the sin of dishonesty. Some sins therefore are more aggravated than others, from their very nature. They violate greater and stronger obligations; they arise from a more corrupt and base motive; they express a more wicked spirit; and they indicate a more determined, and more rash and desperate purpose, to do wickedly. The sins that are committed directly against God, are more aggravated than the sins committed against our fellow-men. So of the sins committed more immediately against our fellow-men, there is a difference in their intrinsic turpitude. Murder is more criminal than fraud; fraud is more criminal than covetousness; and cruelty is a greater sin than unkindness. So profane swearing is a greater sin, than light and trifling conversation; injury to a man’s person is a greater sin, than injury to his property; and injury to his reputation and influence a greater sin, than injury either to his property or person. One sin is not greater than another from the mere arbitrary appointment of the Deity; it is so in itself Every sin is an unreasonable and wicked thing; but some sins are far more unreasonable and wicked than others. Every sin is a transgression of the divine law; but there is in some sins an energy, a malignity of disobedience, which is the origin of every other species of moral turpitude, in relation either to God or man.

II. In the second place, some sins are more aggravated than others, from the persons loho commit them.

The same sin committed by one man, may be vastly greater than when committed by another. Other things being equal, a prince, a magistrate, a minister of the Gospel, a parent, or any man of influence and standing in society, never sins at so low a rate as those over whom God has given him influence and authority. The very station and influence of such persons, lay them under peculiar obligations; and, instead of extenuating their sins, always aggravate them. The sins of Christians and of God’s professed people, are on this account so much more aggravated than the same sins of wicked and ungodly men. This made the sin of Judas so vile; this made the sin of Peter so aggravated, when he denied his Lord with oaths and curses. This made the sin of Paul so great, and constrained him to exclaim, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death!” This made the sins of David so fearful as to lead him to say, “Mine iniquities are gone over my head; I am troubled: I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.” There are those whose conduct cannot be judged by the same rules by which the conduct of others is judged. Nor ought it to be. God has thrown responsibilities upon them, which it is impossible for them to throw off”; and ‘if they disregard them, they necessarily sin with a higher hand than do others.

III. In the third place, the sins of men are always aggravated when they are of such a complicated character as necessarily to involve other sins.

All sin is, to a greater or less extent, thus complicated; so that it is true that “he that offend eth in one point, is guilty of all.” But there is a more intimate connection between some parts of the divine law, and some sins, than between other parts, and other sins.

The violation of that precept, or that prohibition, which necessarily involves the violation of others, is greatlyaggravated from this circumstance. Sometimes one sin involves two in the same act. Sometimes it involves three; and sometimes multitudes. The man who is guilty of the sin of idolatry, is guilty of ingratitude, of hatred of all excellence, of injustice, cruelty, murder, obscenity, and all those revolting crimes which sap the foundation of the social state. It is a sin which includes almost all other sins; is itself a comprehensivesummary of wickedness, and a crime which, of all others, tends to degrade the character of man, and sink him to the lowest state of intellectual and moral debasement. So the crime ofpiofane swearing includes the utmost contempt of God, and the imprecation of curses and damnation on our fellow-men. The spirit from which it proceeds, everywhere treats the divine claims with disrespect and levity, and would blot out the name, the very being, of God, from among men. So the profanation of the Sabbath is a sin that never stands alone, but includes in it a neglect of the private and public worship of God, together with a multitude of other sins to which this profanation almost always leads the transgressor, and the guilt of which is greatly augmented by being committed on God’s holy day. It is impossible but the Sabbath-breaker should be a great sinner. The thief also is necessarily a deceiver, a liar, covetous and oppressive. Especially are such complicated sins aggravated, when they are committed deliberately and audaciously, and in full view of their attendant and consequent wickedness.

IV. In the fourth place, sins are aggravated by the degree of misery which they produce.

Especially is this true, where the consequent misery is foreseen by the transgressor. All of it may indeed be never foreseen; but enough of it is often foreseen to brand the transgressor with deep infamy. A man may sin in full view of the effects of sin upon his own mind and character. Take, for example, the sin of covetousness, and an inordinate love of wealth, and see how it chains down his soul to time and sense; how it leads him to love and serve himself more than the Creator; how it wraps him up in selfishness, and indifference to the concerns of all other beings; how it encroaches upon the principles of honor, equity, and justice; how it blunts the feelings of humanity and compassion, and prevents him from attending to his soul’s salvation. A man may sin on purpose to corrupt others by his example; and the moral effects of his conduct are no unfair comment upon his wickedness. Take the profane and profligate parent, corrupting the thousand streams which he ought to purify, and diffusing poison throughout every department of society. Look at the negligence of that professedly religious family, where the training up of the youthful mind in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is overlooked, and their children are left to the influence of their own wayward passions. Look at the libertine multiplying, wherever he goes, the most revolting scenes of wretchedness, and persisting in indulgencies which hoist the flood-gates of all iniquity. Look at the liar, severing the great bond of union between man and man — destroying all confidence between intelligent beings, and all happy intercourse and relationship, and as far as his influence can extend, throwing this earth into a state of universal anarchy and woe.

V. In the fifth place, sins are aggravated by the restraints which men break through in order to commit them.

Men often sin through weakness and infirmity, and through sudden passion and the hurry of temptation; and such sins, though altogether without excuse, are not so deeply criminal as sins which are committed in defiance of sober thought and reflection, and in opposition to powerful restraint. Where men sin in defiance of the restraints of reason, and where they are endued with a vigor of intellect to appreciate those restraints, they are much more guilty than persons of meaner capacity, who commit the same sins. Where persons have enjoyed peculiar advantages for piety and moral virtue; where they have been trained up under the influence of prayer and pious example; where they have seen the reality, and known the power of godUness in others, either in the peace in which they lived, or the hopes in which they died; and notwithstanding this, have become loose in principle, and profligate in practice; they are peculiarly guilty in the sight of God. Where they sin in opposition to warnings and entreaties, their sin is aggravated by every admonition they disregard. Where the providence of God smiles upon them, and his exuberant goodness would lead them to reflection and repentance, and they disregard all these considerations, and become more evil; their iniquity also becomes strongly marked. Where the judgments of God overtake them; where their way is hedged up with thorns; where they are prostrated on beds of sickness, and brought back again to life and mercy from the mouth of the grave; where they have been frequently called to the house of mourning; and still break through all these preventives to evil, their sin is fearfully presumptuous. Sometimes, also, men are so evil, that they will commit one sin for the purpose of committing another; or a series of sins, for the purpose of committing a particular sin. They will deceive, and overreach, and lie, and swear falsely, and steal, that they may live in luxury and voluptuousness. And all these are most fearful restraints to break through, in order to commit sin. Whenever men commit any act of wickedness, in opposition to the strong and frequent remonstrances of conscience, their guilt is augmented in proportion to the remonstrances that are thus overcome. There are instances of this kind where the sin is peculiarly aggravated. A person may, for example, be tempted to a particular sin, or a particular course of sinning, from which he instantly revolts, and his conscience is horror-stricken at the very thoughts of it. But he gradually becomes familiar with the thought, and it appears less odious. Still he is afraid to commit it; and the strong arm of conscience holds him back. But in process of time, perhaps of years, conscience becomes wearied; her voice grows weaker, her arm is palsied; her faithfulness and courage gone; and the pertinacious transgressor triumphs. I am disposed to believe that there are very few acts of wickedness in the world greater than such acts as these. You may add to these restraints the expostulations of the Holy Spirit; and to these you may add solemn resolutions, promises, and vows, all disregarded and broken; and in these you may see the characters that have “treasured up wrath against the day of wrath.” Just in the measure in which men have disregarded, and broken over all that has been done to restrain and prevent them from sinning, is their sin aggravated and vile.

VI. In the sixth place, the sins of men are aggravated in proportion to their numbers.

All wicked men sin constantly. Their minds are probably always active; and therefore they sin, not only as constantly as they act, but as constantly as they think. Their sins are as rapid, and in as constant and thick succession, as their inward emotions. We know there is no cessation in their sinning from the existence of any one holy, or right affection. So that from the nature of the case, their sins very rapidly accumulate, and become greatly aggravated by their numbers. Some persons sin faster and stronger than others, because the operations of their minds are faster and stronger; but other things being equal, they are always greater sinners, as their sins increase in number. Two sins are not so many as three, nor are three so many as twenty; and where they are all equally aggravated, the person who commits the greatest number of sins is the greatest sinner. A child is a great sinner, and has committed a great many sins; but he has not committed so many sins as the youth who has walked according to the course of this world for twenty years. So the man of thirty cannot be so great a sinner as the man of fifty, sixty, or seventy years, unless he has sinned as much faster and as much stronger as to make up for the deficiency in time. There are babes in sin, as there are babes in grace. And there are full-grown men in sin; and there are those who are old in sin — giants in wickedness — whose “hairy scalp” God shall wound, because they” go on still in their trespasses.’* Time and years make the way to hell broader and steeper. The youngest sinner is a debtor to divine justice, and has nothing to pay. But as he grows in years, his debt is running on, and justice is more clamorous and inexorable. Every additional sin adds to the weight and burden of his offences, and to the cry of his abominations that goes up to heaven. I add,

VII. In the last place, one of the greatest aggravations of sin is the light and knowledge against which it is committed.

This is the aggravating consideration brought to view in the text. “That servant which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.” “The servant that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes,” was to be “beaten,” because there is ill-desert and criminality in sins of ignorance. No man need be ignorant of God’s will, because God has given to all less or more of the means of instruction. Yet, those who have little light shall be accountable only for the knowledge they possess. Great knowledge is a dangerous thing, if it be not improved; and greatly aggravates the guilt of the transgressor. “To whom much is given, of them will much be required.” It is the universal law of the divine government, that in proportion to the degree in which men have the means of instruction, and are actually acquainted with the will of God, their wickedness becomes more aggravated, more direct and deliberate rebellion, and their punishment will be proportionably more severe. This was what made Paul desisnate himself as the “chief of sinners.” He knew more of God’s will than most other, if not than all other men. He had great talents and great privileges, and he made very rapid advances in knowledge. No man of his times was a greater proficient in the learning of the Jews, or the Gentiles, than he. After his conversion, he had more enlarged and consistent views of God and his truth, and of the doctrines and duties of the Gospel, and of heaven and of hell, than other men. This made him feel the burden of sin. The man who knows what God has done for him in sending his Son to seek and to save that which was lost; the man who knows what the Saviour has done in suffering and dying for his salvation; the man to whom this salvation is offered, and on whom God waits to long-suffering, to accept of his mercy, and who does not accept, but neglects and despises this great salvation; is a very wicked man. The man who has the Bible in his hands; whose place has been allotted to him in the house of God; who has enjoyed the solemn instructions and exhortations of a faithful and earnest ministry; the man who has had line upon line and precept upon precept, who has been urged with plainness and solemnity, and by considerations the best suited to impress the mind of a rational and immortal creature to ‘’ flee from the wrath to come,” and yet remains in his sins, is a very wicked man. He may not be an idolater, a thief, a murderer, a liar, while he may be worse than they. Many an idolater, and thief, and liar, and adulterer, and murderer, who has never heard of the Bible, nor the sanctuary, nor the Saviour of sinners, shall have fewer and less sins to answer for than such a man. “It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for him.” Light is the great thing which aggravates the guilt of men.” This is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men have loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.’ Men cannot be great sinners, in comparison with others, without great light. Flagitious and scandalous sins, under the direction of a benighted and erring conscience, are not half so ill-deserving as more decent transgressions under the clear and convincing light of the Gospel. Misim proved privileges only aggravate sin. Light and mercy carry nothing but terror to their guilty opposers. Where they are not a savor of life unto life, they are a savor of death unto death. Where they do not make men better, they make them worse. Where they do not sanctify, they desecrate. Where they do not save, they damn. They never leave men as they find them; but if misimproved, make them tenfold more the children of hell than before.

I might advert to other things which show the aggravations of human iniquity. But I will close the view already given, by the following

REFLECTIONS.

1. We learn from this subject, in the first place, that it is of great importance that men should have a tender and enlightened conscience. God has given men a conscience, for the purpose of enabling them to form a just estimate of their own character. One reason why they do not see themselves to be great sinners, is that their conscience is impaired, and the edge of it blunted, and its moral discernment weakened. No man is beyond the reach of a true and just conviction of his own sinfulness, and all its aggravations, so long as he has a conscience. He may stifle conscience for a while; but he cannot destroy it.

The most thoughtless sinner carries that within him, which is able to discover all his guilt, and destroy all his peace. The boldest and most presumptuous, are not safe from the reproaches of conscience. Nor are the self-righteous and self-deceived. Nor is the man who sins in secret, safe from the eye of conscience. And the longer any of you resist and stifle conscience, the more power will you ultimately give it to disturb your peace, destroy your hopes, and fill you with insupportable anguish and distress.

2. In the second place, does not our subject furnish an humbling view of allimpenitejit shiners in ChristiaK lands? Do not the leading circunlstanoes which impart such aggravation to the sins of men, distinguish the character and conduct of such persons as enjoy the privileges of the Gospel, and yet persist in impenitence? If to do wrong, knowing it to be wrong, greatly aggravates the sin of men, is not your sin, my friends, greatly aggravated? If you know God, and yet you do not glorify him as God; if you acknowledge him as your Creator, your Preserver, your Benefactor, and yet refuse to be devoted to his service; if you know that your iniquity is vile, and that God hates it, and that you ought to hate it, and yet you cleave to your sins, and will not forsake them; do you not make light of sin — mock at it? It is a burden too heavy for any intelligent being to bear; yet you trifle with it. You know that there is but one Saviour, yet you reject him, to the jeopardy of your eternity; You know there is no time for delay in the great business of the soul’s salvation; yet you delay. You know that there is no excuse for your impenitence and unbelief; yet are you continually framing excuses. You are in the midst of light and mercy; yet your sins are continually increasing. God is lengthening out your days and years of peace and comfort on the earth; he is continuing to you the smiles of his providence, and the enjoyment of his bounty, so that every place and scene through which you have passed in the world, or where you ha,ve dwelt, bears the memorials of his loving kindness; yet you remain ungrateful and rebellious, and will neither fear him, nor love his Son. Instructions, warnings, counsels, mercies, judgments, all fail to reclaim you, and instead of softening, have only hardened your hearts. Time and opportunity have been lavished and lost upon you, and have only served to render you more inexcusable. You choose the path that leads to death; you resist the strivings of the Spirit; you love the vanities of the world, and will go after them; and though God still calls, you refuse his calls. You might have lived to do good; but instead of this, you have buried your talent in the earth, and are the means of destroying, rather than saving, the souls of men. And are you not sinners? Are you not great sinners? Must you not reproach yourselves? Must not the time come, when your sins will make a very deep impression on your minds; when they will fill you with painful reflection; when they never can be again forgotten? That day must come. I add,

3. In the third place, how obvious is it from this subject, that we all need an interest in Jesus Christ! If Paul could say, “It is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief ;^’ it may be that some of us can say it also. It may be that you yourselves feel that you greatly need the pardoning mercy of God, and an intere in the atoning blood of his Son. Yes, my friends, you have need of just such a Saviour as the Gospel reveals. Nothing but the blood of the great Atonement can cleanse from such sins as yours. If Paul could not find peace with God, except through Jesus Christ; if the best of Christians never have found it except there; where else, suppose ye, it can be found? Believe me, you stand in great need of him who came to seek and to save that which was lost. You stand in great need of him who came to save the chief of sinners There will be a great company of sinners, and of great sinners saved by the abounding grace of God in Jesus Christ; and you may be saved as well as they. However far you may be from thinking that God has mercy for you, or that his Son suffered and died to save you; if you see your sins, if you see their aggravations, and feel the burden of them, and would indeed have an interest in that holy and precious salvation; then are you the very sinner to whom he this day offers his free redemption. If you are willing to come to Christ just as you are, and here at his cross part with your sins for him and heaven; be assured, he will not cast you out. Great and aggravated as your transgressions are, they are not so great as the exceeding riches of his grace. Let the greatness of your necessity then, be your plea for the greatness of his mercy. Address the throne like one ruined and undone, and say, “Lord, save or I perish!” Flee to the stronghold as prisoners of hope. Flee to the arms of that Saviour, now as ready to welcome you to his bosom, as they were once so willingly stretched on the cross. There is but one sin so aggravated that he cannot paraon; and that is the sin which contemns offered mercy, and tramples upon Christ and his salvation, to the last. O may God incline your hearts no longer to oppose your own salvation, and to his name be the praise. Amen!