New York City has recently installed sophisticated traffic cameras equipped with sound detectors capable of measuring excessive decibels rumbling from motorcycle exhausts and souped-up sports cars. According to the Associated Press, more than seventy drivers have already been ticketed for such “excessive noise.” Now, hit the brakes for a moment: doesn’t it seem like something so insignificant would fly under the radar? After all, it’s only noise, and reckless or drunk driving are certainly more serious crimes. Excessive noise may seem like a “little sin,” but it is illegal in the eyes of NYC law, and there are now both watching eyes and listening ears everywhere to catch lawbreakers.
There are also transgressions of God’s law that we may deem as “little sins” that God overlooks, ignores, or excuses. We tend to think that sins such as white lies, stretching the truth, and gluttony fly under God’s radar. But, according to the Scripture, even “little” sins are big to God, and all of them deserve eternal death (Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 6:23). We typically see sin like we would see skyscrapers from ground level—some of them tower in the clouds, while others are fairly small by contrast. But God sees sin as satellites see skyscrapers from space: they all seem to be the same size. And thus, all wickedness is worthy of woeful wrath from God’s vantage point (Isa. 13:11).
Moreover, His eyes are always watching and His ears are always listening. And He doesn’t need traffic cameras to observe us at all times—He can see what man is doing even with His eyes closed: “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man” (Psalm 11:4). We cannot escape His penetrating sight or His constant omnipresence—He sees everything and He is everywhere (Rev. 19:12; Ezek. 1:19-21). That’s why the writer of Hebrews said, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13).
Furthermore, God rigorously records every sin in His perfect ledger of divine justice, from the smallest white lie to the most heinous homicide. And when His record books are opened on the day of judgment, the guilty will answer for them—even for the “little” sins (Rev. 20:12). As Charles H. Spurgeon preached,
“An eternity of woe is prepared for what men call “little sins.” It is not alone the murderer, the drunkard, the whoremonger, that shall be sent to hell. The wicked, it is true, shall be sent there, but the “little sinner” with all the nations that forget God shall have his portion there also. Tremble, therefore, on account of little sins.”
And there is only one way to have your record cleared and to be forgiven of your “big” or “little” sins: through salvation in Jesus Christ. Only He can erase and eradicate your record of sin debt, and He does so when you turn to Him in repentance and faith (Col. 2:14). “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:
Brandon's Desk 