quotations about sin
You'll see all other mortal sinners, the ones who flout the honor owed to gods or guests, or loving parents--you'll see them get the justice they deserve. For Hades holds men mightily to a strict accounting down below the earth; he sees all things, inscribes them within the book of his remembering.
AESCHYLUS
Eumenides
It does not matter how long we live, how exemplary our lives may be, or how we may strive to obey the laws of God; the devil will from time to time put evil thoughts into our minds. Thieves never break in to rob an empty house, but where much treasure is laid up. So it is with the devil; he will assault the heart of the true Christian from nineteen to ninety-five. Men have gone through life as humble, pure, and perfect Christians, as far as their friends could see, and whose very failings leaned to virtue's side; but if anyone could have known their thoughts, the hourly and daily striving with the evil one, how different the picture would have been. I read an account of a devout old Christian bishop, who said that on going to bed he always repeated the Lord's prayer over and over again 'till he fell asleep, to keep evil thoughts out of his mind; and of another good old bishop, who said he had fought all his life against bad desires, thoughts, and temptations, &c. If such is the case, that the devil will keep assaulting Christians all their journey here below, how necessary it is for one and all to be on their guard, and not to be taken unawares. The devil is a splendid judge of character, and soon finds out the failing or besetting sin of anyone, and with that he will tempt him. God only helps those who help themselves, so watch the evil one during all your waking hours, and pray to God to give you strength to conquer him, and He most surely will. Be not desponding; when wicked thoughts (of whatever kind, no matter how bad) come into your mind, it matters not how often, if you repel them at once you are not responsible for them. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, I believe we are taught in the Bible.
T. AUGUSTUS FORBES LEITH
"On Sinning in Thought", Short Essays
If a thing is sinful on Sunday, it is sinful on Friday.
ROBERT A. HEINLEIN
Stranger in a Strange Land
How shall I lose the sin yet keep the sense,
And love th' offender, yet detest the offence?
ALEXANDER POPE
Eloise to Abelard
Pleasure's a sin, and sometimes sin's a pleasure.
LORD BYRON
Don Juan
How fair, to sinless Adam, Eden smiled!
But sin brought tears, and Eden was wild!
EDWARD BULWER LYTTON
Constance; Or, The Portrait
My own sin
will not hinder the working
of God's goodness.
JULIAN OF NORWICH
Meditations with Julian of Norwich
Do you think that your sin is hidden away? Do you think that men will never know it? Well, you should remember that God knows it already. And you should remember, second, that sin continued in will inevitably come to light. Usually it will be exposed in this life. Certainly it will be exposed when you stand before God and God's record books are opened. That which is whispered in a corner shall be shouted from a housetop. God will bring every secret thing to judgment, we are told. What warning to our hearts!
JOHN R. RICE
What It Costs to Be a Good Christian
I don't remember ever being see-saw, when I'd made my mind up that a thing was wrong. It takes the taste out o' my mouth for things, when I know I should have a heavy conscience after 'em. I've seen pretty clear, ever since I could cast up a sum, as you can never do what's wrong without breeding sin and trouble more than you can ever see. It's like a bit o' bad workmanship--you never see th' end o' the mischief it'll do. And it's a poor look-out to come into the world to make your fellow creatures worse off instead o' better.
GEORGE ELIOT
Adam Bede
In my judgment, such of us as have never fallen victims have been spared more by the absence of appetite, than from any mental or moral superiority over those who have.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
speech, February 22, 1842
For if every sin were now visited with manifest punishment, nothing would seem to be reserved for the final judgment; on the other hand, if no sin received now a plainly divine punishment, it would be concluded that there is no divine providence at all.
ST. AUGUSTINE
The City of God
And secret sin must ever share
The secret misery.
THOMAS HAYNES BAYLY
I Love to Pace the Ruin'd Cell
By the sympathy of your human hearts for sin ye shall scent out all the places -- whether in church, bedchamber, street, field, or forest -- where crime has been committed, and shall exult to behold the whole earth one stain of guilt, one mighty blood spot.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
Young Goodman Brown
God is the only being who is good, and the standards are set by Him. Because God hates sin, He has to punish those guilty of sin. Maybe that's not an appealing standard. But to put it bluntly, when you get your own universe, you can make your own standards.
FRANCIS CHAN
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
Sin is like fire in that it will never die out while it is supplied with suitable fuel; unpardoned by grace, it will be its own fuel, and burn forever.
JOHN BATE
Six Thousand Illustrations of Moral and Religious Truths
When I look back upon my life
It's always with a sense of shame
I've always been the one to blame
For everything I long to do
No matter where or when or who
Has one thing in common too;
It's a -- it's a -- it's a -- it's a sin!
PET SHOP BOYS
"It's a Sin", Actually
A sin is wrong not because it makes you feel bad--though it should--but because it is wrong.
S. M. STIRLING
The Sunrise Lands
The problem of sin is not to be confounded with the fact of sin. As to the fact, there is no room for question. All the great dramatists have recognized it in their portrayal of remorse, indignation, penalty, repentance, forgiveness, restoration. The great historians have recognized it, in depicting the struggle of righteousness with moral evil. Religious worship is largely founded upon it; for religious worship is largely an endeavor of the worshiper to rid himself of the present burden and the future penalty of sin. All government recognizes it; for certainly the first if not also the chief function of government is to protect the innocent from the sins of the sinful. He who denies the fact of sin denies the police and the prison, the temple and the priest, the battle-field and the martyrdom, Shakespeare and Aeschylus. The problem is not, Is there sin? but, Whence comes it? If we are to cure a disease, we must know its nature and origin. What is the nature and origin of sin, the cure of which is alike the problem of government, education, and religion -- of the courts, the school, and the church?
LYMAN ABBOTT
The Theology of an Evolutionist
Sin is a terrible reality -- and one reason it's so terrible is because it separates us from God. But sin is also terrible because it affects every one of us, no matter how good or bad we are. In other words, we are all guilty before God, and none of us deserves His forgiveness or salvation.... But does this mean our situation is hopeless? Does this mean God will never forgive us, and Heaven's door is forever closed to us? No, it doesn't -- and the reason is because God has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. We can never cleanse ourselves of our sins, no matter how hard we try -- but God has provided the way for us to be forgiven and cleansed!
BILLY GRAHAM
"Jesus is all the necessary proof that God will forgive you", Marietta Daily Journal, August 12, 2017
When the sinner hath used his liberty to repent, and God hath used his prerogative to pardon, the sin which hath been, is as if it had not been.
BENJAMIN WHICHCOTE
Moral and Religious Aphorisms