What You Need to Know About Sin—and Finding Freedom in Christ

Published: June 19, 2025

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By Movieguide® Staff

Pastor Jonathan Pokluda reminds us that “sin always impacts us,” no matter how small we think it might be.

“I think God is a good father who desires to give good gifts to His children,” he explained during an episode of “The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast.” “God’s not trying to rip me off…He wants to set me free.”

Pokluda said it’s “incredibly naive” to think, “Oh, that doesn’t impact me,” about sinful acts.

“Sin always impacts us,” he said. “In fact, no one in the history of the world, of all creation, no human that has ever lived has ever gotten away with sin. It always brings some kind of death to any and every situation.”

Pokluda continued, “Christ has paid for my sins. He’s paid for my freedom. He’s set me free. But here on this earth, when I’m entertained by the things that He died for, it’s impacting me, always, in a negative way.”

“God has this perspective that’s greater than ours,” he concluded. “He sees eternity past from eternity future, and he’s giving us instruction that leads to life…Jesus has come so that we might have life and live it to the fullest.”

Pokluda and Candace Cameron Bure have been discussing this topic during the current season of her podcast. In an earlier episode, the pair explained that it can be difficult to have discussions about hell because so many people don’t take it seriously.

“I think a great way the enemy deceives us is trying to make light of hell,” he explained. “I’ll share the gospel with people, and they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to hell.’ I’m like, man, if you really knew the horrors of hell, you wouldn’t be able to get out of bed if you were going there.”

Pokluda added, “Hell is the realization that you could have had a paradise with God, but you chose self.”

Pokluda also explores the topic in his latest book, Your Story Has a Villain.

“If you read the Bible like it’s true, then you have to take spiritual warfare seriously,” he told Relevant Magazine. “It’s not a metaphor. It’s not a suggestion. It’s real.”

He continued, “We blame God for Satan’s attacks. But James 1 tells us every good and perfect gift comes from God. Satan is the one who steals, kills and destroys. If you don’t recognize that, you’re going to live your whole life confused.”

Pokluda’s comments are a reminder that, no matter how small it might seem, every sin negatively impacts you.

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