“Now
Dinah
the
daughter
of
Leah,
whom
she
had
borne
to
Jacob,
went
out
to
visit
the
daughters
of
the
land.
And
when
Shechem
the
son
of
Hamor
the
Hivite,
the
prince
of
the
land,
saw
her,
he
took
her
and
lay
with
her
by
force.
And
he
was
deeply
attracted
to
Dinah
the
daughter
of
Jacob,
and
he
loved
the
girl
and
spoke
tenderly
to
her.
So
Shechem
spoke
to
his
father
Hamor,
saying,
‘Get
me
this
young
girl
for
a
wife.’
…
But
Jacob’s
sons
answered
Shechem
and
his
father
Hamor,
with
deceit,
and
spoke
to
them,
because
he
had
defiled
Dinah
their
sister
…,
‘Only
on
this
condition
will
we
consent
to
you:
if
you
will
become
like
us,
in
that
every
male
of
you
be
circumcised.’
…
And
all
who
went
out
of
the
gate
of
his
city
listened
to
Hamor
and
to
his
son
Shechem,
and
every
male
was
circumcised,
all
who
went
out
of
the
gate
of
his
city.
Now
it
came
about
on
the
third
day,
when
they
were
in
pain,
that
two
of
Jacob’s
sons,
Simeon
and
Levi,
Dinah’s
brothers,
each
took
his
sword
and
came
upon
the
city
unawares,
and
killed
every
male.
…
Then
Jacob
said
to
Simeon
and
Levi,
‘You
have
brought
trouble
on
me,
by
making
me
odious
among
the
inhabitants
of
the
land,
among
the
Canaanites
and
the
Perizzites;
and
my
men
being
few
in
number,
they
will
gather
together
against
me
and
attack
me
and
I
shall
be
destroyed,
I
and
my
household.’
But
they
said,
‘Should
he
treat
our
sister as a harlot?’” (Genesis 32:1-4,13,15,24,25,30,31).
“Everybody Makes Mistakes”
It
is
true
that
all
people
make
mistakes,
or
sin.
This
truth
is
captured
in
the
famous
proverb
expressed
by
the
18
th
century
English
poet,
Alexander
Pope,
when
he
said,
“To
err
is
human;
to
forgive,
divine.”
The
Bible
confirms
it
in
Paul’s
statement,
“For
all
have
sinned
and
fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
On
the
other
hand,
“everybody
makes
mistakes”
might
often
be
expressed
as
a
means
of
relieving
guilt
for
mistakes
made.
As
such,
it
is
an
excellent
illustration
of
the
fallacy
of
“moral
equivalency,” which treats all sins as if they were equal. They are not.
Yes,
everybody
makes
mistakes,
but,
first,
not
everybody
exacerbates
their
mistakes
by
continuing
them.
Christians
are
not
distinctive
by
virtue
of
the
fact
that
they
are
perfect,
while
everybody
else
is
imperfect.
Instead,
they
are
distinguished
by
the
fact
that,
when
they
do
make
mistakes,
or
sin,
they
repent
of
them
and
strive
for
improvement.
They
do
not
continue
to
wallow
in
the
mire
of
sin
and
console
themselves
with
the
thought
that
at
least
everybody
else
is
in
the
mire
with
them.
Rather,
they
get
up
and
clean
themselves
off
by
the
blood
of
Christ
and
try to do better the next time.
Second,
not
all
sins
are
equal.
Some
have
more
serious,
even
irreparable,
consequences
and,
thus,
require
a
heart
which
can
contemplate
those
consequences
but
still
be
indifferent
to
the
hurt
they
cause
others.
It
would
be
ridiculous
for
the
murderer
to
say,
“At
least
I
don’t
litter.”
Victims
of
littering
usually
survive;
victims
of
murder
do
not.
Jesus
said
to
Pilate,
“…
He
who
delivered Me up to you has the
greater sin.” (Jn. 19:11).
When
Jacob’s
sons
responded
to
the
rebuke
of
their
father
for
the
murder
of
the
Shechemites
by
saying,
“Should
he
treat
our
sister
as
a
harlot?”
they
were
attempting
to
justify
themselves
by
an
appeal
to
moral
equivalency.
Shechem’s
sexual
crime,
as
bad
as
it
was,
did
not
warrant murdering and pillaging a whole city.
Even
though
all
mistakes,
or
sins,
do
not
rise
to
the
same
level
of
seriousness,
all
sins
require
the
same
remedy:
the
blood
of
Christ,
which
is
made
available
to
them
for
their
cleansing,
as
they
repent
of
their
sins.
So,
the
solution
to
the
sin
in
a
person’s
life
is
not
to
excuse,
ignore,
or
minimize
it
by
implying
that
he
is
no
worse
than
anybody
else,
but
to
repent
of
sin
and
stop it.
“Now
Dinah
the
daughter
of
Leah,
whom
she
had
borne
to
Jacob,
went
out
to
visit
the
daughters
of
the
land.
And
when
Shechem
the
son
of
Hamor
the
Hivite,
the
prince
of
the
land,
saw
her,
he
took
her
and
lay
with
her
by
force.
And
he
was
deeply
attracted
to
Dinah
the
daughter
of
Jacob,
and
he
loved
the
girl
and
spoke
tenderly
to
her.
So
Shechem
spoke
to
his
father
Hamor,
saying,
‘Get
me
this
young
girl
for
a
wife.’
…
But
Jacob’s
sons
answered
Shechem
and
his
father
Hamor,
with
deceit,
and
spoke
to
them,
because
he
had
defiled
Dinah
their
sister
…,
‘Only
on
this
condition
will
we
consent
to
you:
if
you
will
become
like
us,
in
that
every
male
of
you
be
circumcised.’
…
And
all
who
went
out
of
the
gate
of
his
city
listened
to
Hamor
and
to
his
son
Shechem,
and
every
male
was
circumcised,
all
who
went
out
of
the
gate
of
his
city.
Now
it
came
about
on
the
third
day,
when
they
were
in
pain,
that
two
of
Jacob’s
sons,
Simeon
and
Levi,
Dinah’s
brothers,
each
took
his
sword
and
came
upon
the
city
unawares,
and
killed
every
male.
…
Then
Jacob
said
to
Simeon
and
Levi,
‘You
have
brought
trouble
on
me,
by
making
me
odious
among
the
inhabitants
of
the
land,
among
the
Canaanites
and
the
Perizzites;
and
my
men
being
few
in
number,
they
will
gather
together
against
me
and
attack
me
and
I
shall
be
destroyed,
I
and
my
household.’
But
they
said,
‘Should he treat our sister as a harlot?’” (Genesis 32:1-4,13,15,24,25,30,31).
“Everybody Makes Mistakes”
It
is
true
that
all
people
make
mistakes,
or
sin.
This
truth
is
captured
in
the
famous
proverb
expressed
by
the
18
th
century
English
poet,
Alexander
Pope,
when
he
said,
“To
err
is
human;
to
forgive,
divine.”
The
Bible
confirms
it
in
Paul’s
statement,
“For
all
have
sinned
and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
On
the
other
hand,
“everybody
makes
mistakes”
might
often
be
expressed
as
a
means
of
relieving
guilt
for
mistakes
made.
As
such,
it
is
an
excellent
illustration
of
the
fallacy
of
“moral
equivalency,”
which treats all sins as if they were equal. They are not.
Yes,
everybody
makes
mistakes,
but,
first,
not
everybody
exacerbates
their
mistakes
by
continuing
them.
Christians
are
not
distinctive
by
virtue
of
the
fact
that
they
are
perfect,
while
everybody
else
is
imperfect.
Instead,
they
are
distinguished
by
the
fact
that,
when
they
do
make
mistakes,
or
sin,
they
repent
of
them
and
strive
for
improvement.
They
do
not
continue
to
wallow
in
the
mire
of
sin
and
console
themselves
with
the
thought
that
at
least
everybody
else
is
in
the
mire
with
them.
Rather,
they
get
up
and
clean
themselves
off
by
the blood of Christ and try to do better the next time.
Second,
not
all
sins
are
equal.
Some
have
more
serious,
even
irreparable,
consequences
and,
thus,
require
a
heart
which
can
contemplate
those
consequences
but
still
be
indifferent
to
the
hurt
they
cause
others.
It
would
be
ridiculous
for
the
murderer
to
say,
“At
least
I
don’t
litter.”
Victims
of
littering
usually
survive;
victims
of
murder
do
not.
Jesus
said
to
Pilate,
“…
He
who
delivered
Me
up
to
you has the
greater sin.” (Jn. 19:11).
When
Jacob’s
sons
responded
to
the
rebuke
of
their
father
for
the
murder
of
the
Shechemites
by
saying,
“Should
he
treat
our
sister
as
a
harlot?”
they
were
attempting
to
justify
themselves
by
an
appeal
to
moral
equivalency.
Shechem’s
sexual
crime,
as
bad
as
it
was,
did
not warrant murdering and pillaging a whole city.
Even
though
all
mistakes,
or
sins,
do
not
rise
to
the
same
level
of
seriousness,
all
sins
require
the
same
remedy:
the
blood
of
Christ,
which
is
made
available
to
them
for
their
cleansing,
as
they
repent
of
their
sins.
So,
the
solution
to
the
sin
in
a
person’s
life
is
not
to
excuse,
ignore,
or
minimize
it
by
implying
that
he
is
no
worse
than
anybody
else, but to repent of sin and stop it.
