Cosmic Treason

I have been reading through R.C. Sproul's classic work "The Holiness of God". In it, he underscores how understanding the nature of God, in particular His "set apartness", is necessary in understanding who God is, and how we should act towards Him.
At one point, Dr. Sproul talks about how every sin is an act of cosmic treason. Our sin is a crime against God Himself. This is true because when we sin, we are guilty of bearing false witness against God. Here are his thoughts:

The slightest sin....is an insult to His holiness.  We become false witnesses to God.  When we sin as the image bearers of God, we are saying to the whole of creation, to all of nature under our dominion, to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field: "This is how God is. This is how your Creator behaves. Look in the mirror; look at us, and you will see the character of the Almighty." We say to the world,  "God is covetousness; God is ruthless; God is bitter; God is a murderer, a thief, a slanderer, an adulterer. God is all those things that we are doing.

Now, that is a sobering thought.  Our lives reflect our God. Our sin is an affront to God's character. We are sending a message about God to all of creation through our lives. 
I don't know about you, but the thought of this truth lays a tremendous burden on my soul. It is a burden because I know just how how much I have failed to properly reflect God in my life.
But this knowledge is not meant to emotionally cripple us and leave us wallowing in our sin, guilt, and shame. This knowledge should only drive us to the cross each day. It should drive us to revel in the matchless, incomprehensible grace that Jesus provides for us. It should cause us to rejoice that Jesus perfectly represented God in His purity and holiness on earth for us. Praise the Lord!


If you have never checked this classic out by Dr. Sproul, it is a great work.