May I remind you of something you may know in theory, in conscience or in intellect but that I would desire that you know in the depths of your heart and soul?
Sin is destructive.
Sin is devastating.
Sin is a black hole of guilt and shame.
Sin is an abysmal place of agreement with wickedness and evil.
It may have been a while since you thought about or heard about sin in such blatant and unflinching terms. You may have been reminded of these things by the prick of your conscience. You may have had a fleeting thought about the wickedness of our world, the selfishness of such and such a person in your life or even perhaps the thought that you wish you could be a better person, but can I tell you that sin is truly appalling, full of heartache and it wreaks havoc on our lives and relationships?
In this world a lot of time is spent thinking about, planning and working towards making better lives for ourselves. We set goals, start new routines, work on breaking old habits, lift up “heroes” that we would like to emulate in order that our life might be as good as what we think it could be. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes all of these efforts are in vain because we neglect to address the main thing and the heart of the issue.
The biggest problem in life, the downfall of humanity, the depths of chaos and destruction in the world is caused by sin: the ignoring of the righteous command and holy promises of God and our own personal attempts to do what we think is right in our own eyes. Scripture reminds us that the wages of sin is death but that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We need freedom from sin and selfishness. We need to replace the sinful choices of our lives with righteous choices and the selfish attitudes of our hearts with selfless attitudes of love.
The opportunity and the privilege is there to all who would believe on the Lord Jesus as Savior. Sin will not only bring destruction in this life but ultimately will result in judgment and separation from God (and His love/life/mercy/joy/peace) in the next. The perfect provision of God is for our forgiveness, the removal of guilt, the vanquishing of shame, the cleansing of the heart and mind and the placing of God’s own righteousness and Holy Spirit within our hearts.
If you are struggling with a bad habit that you know God doesn’t approve of,
If you are constantly making unrighteous decisions,
If you are battling constant and ongoing consequences for things you know you shouldn’t be doing,
Please confess it to God. Repent of it (turn away from it). Ask God and let God forgive and cleanse you. If you and I are not free of sin, oh the devastation and oh the consequences! But oh the joy of knowing forgiveness and deliverance!
But even though we have all fallen short of God’s righteousness and holiness by our own sinful choices and selfish motives, God has a free gift for all who will receive it. And then let us get on with living for the glory of God and letting the fruit of His righteousness flow through our lives! God will help you to live a new life full of righteous choices, attitudes and behaviors if you let Him.
Pastor Michael Johnson 