Hi, sinner! …wait, what?

Hi, sinner!

“Sinner? I don’t kill, do drugs, drink or betray people, so I’m not that bad.”

“It’s not like I go around doing harm…I live a good life.”

“I’m a good person.”

It’s so easy to associate sin to scandalous behavior. Then, when we read in the Bible that we are all sinners and need repentance and forgiveness, it can be hard to picture us being “that bad”.

I mean, come on…all of us fall short? If we are sinners, and the “wages of sin is death”, do we all deserve just that?

Having a light, categorical view of sin can also diminish in our minds the sacrifice of Christ. After all, if you don’t consider yourself a sinner, then Jesus dying for your sins is not of special importance. It doesn’t bring you to your knees in thankfulness because you do not understand how you are saved through His sacrifice.

1 John 1:8 says “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the thruth is not in us”

Sin has a way of creeping into our hearts and minds without notice. Sin deceives. Sin feels good, and sin is never in accordance with light and thruth. (Sin won’t admit it’s sin!)

For this reason, it is so easy to fall into self-righteousness, and to believe just “being a good person” is enough.

For another meaning of sin, James 4:17 says: “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it”.

Sin, then, can even be disobedience. Take this example:

Joshua 1:8 says: “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it”.

Here, we are told to meditate on God’s word day and night. Do we do that? Do we study the Bible continually, “day and night”? That, in itself, is a command, an instruction from God to us.

If we don’t do it, and we know we ought to do it…then we go back to James 4:17 (“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it”.)

See how it is?

Hopefully, you are getting a wider grasp of sin. If we were to come up with a definition, sin is anything goes against the nature of God and His purposes for our lives. Sin keeps us away from God and away from having a relationship with Him.

Sin puts other things above God. Sin is selfish and self-seeking.

Most of us have heard of the ten commandments. The first one says: “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Ex. 20:3)

How many times do we put something before God? How often do we give more importance to a person, an activity or a thing than to seeking the Lord?

Psalms 7:14-16 and James 1 14-15 talk about sin’s effect on us – very graphically – as a person that is pregnant. If we allow it, and don’t detect / understand it, it grows insides of us slowly but surely. Then, it starts becoming visible. It gives birth to sinful behavior and ultimately leads to death.

Something as “simple” as being too lazy or putting off actions like prayer, reading the Bible and going to church can have terrible consequences in our lives. We can be slowly drifting away from God without knowing it.

Sin is real. And we sin all the time. I know I do.

In Psalms 31:10, David expressed what sin did to him.

“…sin has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within.”

[Oh, and by the way, I hope I haven’t drained your strength with this post. I pinky promise it will get better :D]

You see, realizing and knowing our human condition is essential and necessary in order to understand what Jesus did. Like I said before, the way we see our sin will be directly proportional to the way we look at salvation and how it affects the way we live. His sacrifice is of no worth if we are not sinners. We wouldn’t need a savior.

Nevertheless, if you’ve realized you are – indeed-  a sinner like me, welcome to the club!

Knowing our human condition is the first step, and you are on the right track.

The good news, and I’m sure you’ve heard this many, many, many, many

many, many, many

many, many, many

maaaaaaaaany

mAAaaaNnnNY

many

times,

is that Jesus died for our sins. He paid the price. Through His sacrifice, we are clean. Spotless. Shazzamed. With more than Oxy Clean.

Jesus did all of this for us in spite of who we are,  what we’ve done and what we will do.

“The Lord is compassionate and merciful,  slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us,  nor remain angry forever.  He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him  is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Psalms 103: 8-12

“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy…” Titus 3:5

 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Not a result of works, so that no one may boast” Ephesians 2:8-9

“He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

He already did everything for us!

What are we to do?

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved…” Romans 10:9-10

You have two choices.

1. Now, when you remember Jesus’ sacrifice, be thankful. Start living for Him or be more intentional in your walk. God can’t fully bless you and fulfill His purposes for you if you don’t align yourself with His will. Seek Him more.

2.  Don’t do anything. But know, if you don’t want to know Him right now, in this Earth, He won’t force you to spend eternity with Him.

Whichever the choice that each of us make, it’s on us. It’s on you. It’s on me.

Bye, sinner!

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