Respectable Sins

Confronting the Sins We Tolerate

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Why do we tolerate jealousy, anger, and pride in ourselves? Jerry Bridges explains how we have hope in the mercy of the gospel and God's transforming grace as the means to overcome subtle sins.

Description: Have Christians become so preoccupied with "major" sins that we have lost sight of our need to deal with more subtle sins?

Navigator author Jerry Bridges addresses the “acceptable” sins that we tend to tolerate in ourselves, including pride and anger. He goes to the heart of the matter, exploring our feelings of shame and grief and opening a new door to God's forgiveness and grace.

Travel down the road of spiritual formation with Jerry and discover your true identity as a loved child of God.

Discussion guide available.

Ouch! and Wow!

I so appreciate the discussion on Godliness. I so agree that this is the center of our issue with sins big and small. I taught on this chapter and topic recently and re-interpreted the word "Godly" as more "God-ward" because I don't want to loose the traditional meaning of "Godly" as related to the behavior that manifests from our internal orientation. I think they are hand in hand, one more internal focus, the other more outward action that grows out of the inward orientation. But that said, It is excellent to confront not just the big and little sins we tolerate, but more the motive/heart behind these. Thanks, Jerry, for another excellent thought and spirit provoking work. You pastor us. TJ
Posted by TJ on 3/10/2011 6:15:33 AM

If You Want To Get Serious with God, Here's A Tough but Essential Read

Jerry started off the book by drawing the attention of the readers to the spiritual condition of the Corinthians church during Paul's time. Despite the mess and sins in the church of Corinth at that time, Paul addressed them as saints (2 Cor 1:1 and 1 Cor 1:2). How could Paul address them as saints? Paul similarly used the word in other places like in Romans 1:7; 16:15; 1 Cor 1:2 and 2 Cor 1:1. Jerry then explained that the Greek word used for "sainthood" and "holy" is "Hagios", which refers, not to the character, but rather a state of being (being set apart, separated for God) (1 Cor 6:19-20). What are we separated for? Titus 2:14 says that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works (Titus 2:14, NKJV). In other words, we are set apart so that we will be zealous for good works. We don't become saints by our own effort. We are "made" saints by God Himself. Yet, as Jerry pointed out, if we are honest with ourselves, we know that nearly every waking hour, we sin in thoughts, words and deeds. Our best motives are often stained with impure or mixed thoughts and intentions. Unfortunately, it is not only that we are waging war against the lust or desires of the flesh, but we often soften our concept of sins. We categorise sins. We tend to evaluate our character and conduct based on the moral culture we live in. Often times, as we think of the blatant and obvious sins around us such as murder, rape, stealing, etc, we tend think of ourselves better than those committing such criminal offenses. We tolerate certain sins while condemning the obvious ones such as mentioned above. We let ourselves off the hook by saying that our sins of selfishness, critical spirit, impatience, anger, judgmentalism, etc are not as bad as the "sins of the world." And this book is exactly about - addressing those sins that we often think are "respectable" or "tolerable". Unfortunately, every sin is serious because every sin essentially breaks God's law. And sin essentially is about "missing the mark", falling short of God's holy standard. The first six chapters of this book are a general description, dealing with the problems of sins, and the direction we should take towards the problem of sins. From chapter seven onwards, Jerry dealt with specific "tolerable" sins, one in each chapter. These are: - Ungodliness - Anxiety and Frustration - Discontentment - Unthankfulness - Pride - Selfishness - Lack of Self-control - Impatience and irritability - Anger - Judgmentalism - Envy, Jealousy and related sins - Sins of the tongue - Worldliness In a way, I find this book "difficult" to read, it was not an easy read but it is a very vital read because as I read, the Holy Spirit, like a gentle surgeon, took the surgical blade and cut through the specific malignant areas of sins in my life.
Posted by Keng-Sheng CHEW on 1/31/2010 2:17:55 PM

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

I read this book slowly over the course of a few weeks. I struggled through some of it. Many chapters the Lord laid on my heart and used to convict me of my own sinfulness. Chapter after chapter, my own sins came into sharp focus. And I saw them for how ugly they really are. How ugly they are to God. Yet, thankfully, Bridges has a pastor's heart and did not leave me face down in the dust, but offered me encouragement and suggestions on how to practically confront those sins which plague my life. The power of the gospel, of memorizing and applying God's word, the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and reliance on prayer comprise much of his strategy in confronting specific sins. This book challenged me, yet it is one of the more worthwhile books I have read. I plan to re-read it and refer to it again.
Posted by Michelle Smith on 1/5/2010 4:16:28 PM

Confronting the Sins We Tolerate

Do you find it easy to tackle the major sins of others, such as adultery, murder, or stealing? Have you forgotten about the more subtle sins of gossip, envy, anger, impatience, pride, etc? Have you applied sin to others without addressing them in your own life because you don't see them as important? If so and if you are ready to deal with them so you can enhance your relationship with God and others, read this book. Bridges compassionately addresses those sins which we tolerate in ourselves because we see them as acceptable. He reminds us that God doesn't see any sin as acceptable. He expects us to live holy lives to glorify and honor Him. This book is easy to understand but difficult to read. I saw myself in every chapter. This is not a book you can read and tuck away somewhere. If you are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, you will find yourself somewhere in this book. You will have to deal with some ugliness in yourself especially if you want to be the person God created you to be and it won't be easy. It is designed to be used in a personal or group study. If you are thinking about using the book in a small group study, I urge you to either read the book first and see what you will be asked to confront or choose a group of people with whom you already have an intimate relationship. I was convicted by all the subtle sins I commit every day especially since I knew they were sins, but because they were not the "major" sins as Christians define them I did not think twice about it. It is not a book I will read once. It is probably a book I will read over and over again to remind myself that there are no good sins. Every Christian should read this book especially those who are seeking to live a holy life and a life that honors God.
Posted by Jill Jones on 12/10/2009 8:01:58 AM

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