The omnipresence of God as related to sin on the one hand is obvious, but not necessarily in all of the aspects. Clearly an omnipresent and triune God with perfect knowledge and wisdom does not need any other witnesses to establish any facts since all sin is committed in His presence. Each sin committed by each person is always in the presence of God. Each sin is practical atheism in that we would never do what we do if we really believed that we were in the presence of God. Each and every sin is directly against God because God is present with each sin. When people sin, they are denying the fact that God is present or that they think He will forget their sin. This is why people try to convince themselves that atheism is true. We don’t want to believe that all we do is in His presence. However, an atheist denies that there is a God and practical atheists deny by the way they live the truth about God. The omnipresence of God heightens the level of each sin into a form of practical atheism. It also shows that there is no such thing as a small sin in that all sin is directly against God and in His very presence.
While people think of God’s presence in more of a physical way, almost like Deism does, this is entirely inadequate. In fact, all thoughts and desires are in His presence as well. It is not that God is hovering above and around us and in that way we are in His presence, but He is everywhere inside us as well. Our thoughts and desires do not have to be transported to Him, but He is present in our minds and the core of our being as well at each moment. It is more accurate to say that in ever sub-atomic aspect of my being I am set out in all parts inwardly and outwardly in the presence of God. We cannot find a place, no matter how small, where God is not and there is no part or aspect of my being that is not immediately in His presence.
The omnipresence (immensity) of God means that every sin is against His whole being since all of God is present. With humans, we don’t think that a person that shoots another in the foot is as bad as one that shoots another in the head. With God, all of our sin is against Him in all of His being. It is not that I can sin against the holiness of God without sinning against His mercy and love. It is not that I can sin against one aspect of God since He is all present at all times. Every sin is against every attribute of God in some way since God is not only just present, but He is all present. This should cause us all to tremble.
Every sin is judged immediately in one way or another. Because each sin is directly in the presence of God, each sin is dealt with in some way immediately. Each sin is judged by a hardening of the heart or a withdrawing of the expressed presence of God. Believers know what it is to say or do something and then to immediately know that the expressed presence of God has withdrawn. God draws back from the person to teach them that He is to be desired more than anything else. With the unbeliever, however, that sin is judged immediately. There is no need to go through a judicial process or a transfer of information or anything else. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18). This text and its context indicate that the judgment of God is swift and sure. The omnipresence of God assures us that this is true.
Psalm 90 is quite clear in this regard. “For we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed. 8 You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence” (vv. 7-8). The anger of God was consuming them and His wrath dismayed them. Why is that? Clearly it was because even their secret sins were in His presence. Not only were their secret (they thought) sins in His presence, but they were being judged by God and apparently rather quickly. He did not wait for eternity to judge their sins. There are also several passages in the Old Testament where the outward judgment of God was carried out quickly. It can only be because the sins were in His presence and God carries out many of His judgments immediately. We can also think of the New Testament version of that in Acts 5 when Ananias and Sapphira were judged immediately by the Lord for lying. Both fell dead.
If human beings could only see the degree and intensity of the presence of God and what it means to sin in that presence, all outward sin would cease virtually immediately. Since the heart is in bondage to sin even the presence of God would not drive all sin from the thoughts and desires of the mind and heart, but people would strive to be more careful and to fight sin rather than just give in to every little thing. This truth of God should drive any comfort in sin away from our hearts. But men are born practical atheists and haters of God.
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