Sin

Scrolling through FB last week, I came across this image and it made me pause and I began to wonder why we don’t hear the word “sin” so much anymore. I mean, I get we need the message of God’s love, how precious we are in His sight, and we are all God’s children but is that the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? No, it’s not. Honestly, I cannot absorb the magnitude of God’s love through the events of passion week without taking a hard look at sin. My sin.

You know, God in His Word says that because of our sin, we are His enemy. That’s a long way from being precious in His sight or His child. All through His Word we learn that our sin not only separates us from Him but there is a huge penalty involved. The penalty of sin is death and when He says death, He’s not talking only about a physical death but a separation from Him, from His presence, for all eternity. Eternal death. That’s right — we are eternal beings. We will either live forever in His presence or forever excluded from His presence.

So, what exactly is sin? James, in his New Testament letter, says that sin is knowing the right thing to do and not doing it. Plus, all through God’s book, He tells us how we are to live and act and even goes so far as to tell us why! None of us have ever lived up to His standards which means we are all – each and every one of us — sinners. Doomed we are to spend our lives and eternity separated from God’s presence. His enemy. Just one offense, knowing the right thing to do and not doing it, and we are doomed! Seems harsh, doesn’t it?

Well, it would be if it were not for His saving grace. You see God says that when we were His enemy and while we were helpless to do anything about our sinful condition, this is when God demonstrated His great love for us. But wait, I thought we were doomed. Nope, that’s when Christ paid our sin penalty for our us sparing us the wrath of God. What is that wrath? Eternal death. Eternal separation from the presence of God. I cannot even imagine such hell.

God doesn’t force us. He lays it all out in His beautiful book (the Bible) and we can believe it or not. Easter is such a powerful reminder that God loves us so very much that He, in the person of Jesus, confined Himself to a human body, came to earth, died and shed His blood on our behalf so we could be reconciled to Him for all eternity. Why, oh why? Perhaps die for a good man but for us sinners, enemies? Such love I cannot comprehend. I am so grateful. Forever grateful.

Our sin is why Jesus died on that cross that day long ago so that we could be called His children. And our hearts so filled with gratitude that we no longer want to walk in sin as we once did. When we believe and put our faith and trust in Jesus, we are given the Holy Spirit who now helps us to walk in obedience to God's Word. Because we love Him, we want to know what He says in His book, live by what He says in His book, and behave as He says His children should. Sure, we stumble, wander, and sin but when we do our hearts are broken with a godly sorrow. We cry out for forgiveness not because we are “supposed to” but because we love Him and long to be obedient children.

All this to say it’s important to bring the word “sin” into our discussions because we must not forget why Jesus died and why He rose from the dead. Agreeing with God about our sin can be hard to do. It can “feel like” we are having to give up a life we love and maybe even people we love. But who we choose to love more tells us a lot about our relationship with God. All I can say is, the more I’ve spent time in is Word getting to know Him and His ways the more “in love” I have fallen with Jesus. I pray daily for a love of Jesus that causes me to be obedient in all things. I mean, if I can't agree with Jesus, I probably don't love Him like I say I do.

Do you love Jesus?