The mention of sin tends to immediately polarize. In a culture where self-esteem and high views of self-worth are considered psychological essentials, talking about sin seems to be an attack on mental well being. It conjures up images of dour Puritans and preachers screaming damnation upon those who don’t repent. It feels like judgment without mercy, tearing down rather than building up. Sin, however, is simply a reality. …

The good news that Jesus proclaimed and offered is that there is forgiveness of sins, not through our own attempts to please God, but by placing our confidence in Jesus himself, in his death and resurrection. If sin is not our primary problem, then the gospel of Jesus is no longer the most important event in all of human history.

Edward T. Welch, Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave: Finding Hope in the Power of the Gospel, (Phillipsburg NJ: P&R Publishing, 2001), 18-19, 21.