Sin - 3

The reality of sin - it is, to use modern terminology, in your DNA and in mine. It is something of which, deep down, each of us is aware. The results of sin - it creates a great gulf between us and our Creator God; a gulf that none of our good works, resolutions, turning over a new leaf, giving to charitable causes, attending worship services, or anything else you care to name, can bridge that gulf. 

However, as I stated at the end of the previous post, this does not mean that we are without hope.  That is because there is, indeed, a remedy for sin - but not one that we are capable of providing by ourselves! Paul writes to his brothers and sisters in Rome that "... the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 6:23). Notice, if you will, that wages are deserved! If I have worked for my employer, and completed the tasks that have been assigned to me, in the time allotted, then I fully deserve the wages that I am paid. However, a gift is something that I don't deserve, but simply accept - with gratitude! So, my spiritual death is the fully deserved wages of a life lived in sin, and rejecting my Creator. On the other hand, I may receive, here and now, eternal life - the very life of Almighty God in me, now, and throughout eternity.* 

                                                                                                               

In what is almost certainly the best-known verse in the New Testament part of the Bible, the apostle John tells us that "... God so loved the world that He [the Father] gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him [the Son] should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). The Lord Jesus, Himself, claimed that: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." (John 14:6; emphasis added). In those two verses we see both the inclusiveness, and the exclusiveness, of the Christian Gospel. It is inclusive in that it is available to all; it is exclusive in that it is available only to those who come to the Father through the Lord Jesus. Now there are some who will immediately ask about "predestination". That is too big a subject to deal with in a post - but I do deal with it in my first book, "Great Words of the Faith". The Kindle version costs less than a couple of cups of coffee in an average coffee-shop, and the royalties go directly, and entirely, to Release International in support of those who suffer in the persecuted church.

The God-provided remedy for your sin, and for mine, is the Lord Jesus Who, at Calvary, as the perfect spotless Lamb of God, paid the penalty for our sin, and opened the way into the Father's presence - without the need of an intermediary, whether physically alive, or already departed this earthly life. 

There are three things that we must do.

1. We must believe that He was, and is, God the Son - the second Persona (not a typo - see the chapter on 'The Trinity' in "Great Words") of the eternal Godhead. John tells us that he wrote his account of the Gospel "... that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ [the Messiah], the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:31).

2. We must repent. Repentance is more than being sorry for our sins. After all, if I rob a bank and am then caught, I will be sorry - but not necessarily for my crime, but for now having to pay the price of that crime. Hell will be full of people who are sorry for their sinful lives - but too late! Repentance is seeing my sin as God sees it. The prophet Isaiah describes it, very graphically, when he writes: "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment." (Isa 64:6). It was a Messianic Jew (i.e. someone born a Jew but who accepts Yeshua [Jesus] as HaMashi'ach [the Messiah]) who explained to me, many years ago, that the Hebrew expression used by the prophet referred to the rag used, at that time, by a menstruating female during her time of menstruation. Not a pleasant 'word-picture'!

3. We must confess. That is to say, we have to share our new life, and our new-found faith, with others! Paul, again in his great letter to the early believers, writes: "... if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved." (Rom 10:9-10). 

All three steps are necessary. My current car is almost too clever for my liking! To start the engine, it is not sufficient that I turn the ignition key. Oh no! I must insert the "key" (that isn't even a 'key' as in my previous cars); I must press down, hard, on the clutch; and I must push the "starter button". No one of those actions, or even any two, will start the engine. All three are required! Would I expect my eternal salvation to be any different?!

However, when I follow the requirements, and the car engine starts, I may go on my journey - should it just be to Pineuilh, to the shops, or much further afield on holiday. So with the Christian life - life "in Christ Jesus". Our recognition of our sinfulness - its reality; our understanding of what it does - its results; if it leads us to the One Who is, Himself, the remedy; provides us with a new birth, that starts a new life, that will not always be easy, but will always be rewarding. 

And there is more! Just this morning, in Lamonzie-St.Martin, we were reminded of Paul's words in Rom.3: 23-24: "... since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, " Now there are some things that don't translate well, and one such is the easy way by which to understand the word "justified"* In the English language, and probably no other, it is that when I am "justified", it means that Father God treats me "just as if I'd" never sinned at all! Do you realise the magnitude of that statement? I am a sinner; I sin on a daily basis; yet because "...  the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." (I John 1:7), Almighty God no longer sees my sin, and treats me as if I am sinless! Wow!

As the Gaither Vocal Band (the best-ever line-up!) sing - the iron bars and chains of the enemy, the devil, that hold us down are broken, and we are free, free indeed.

If anything above has touched your own heart,and you wish to receive further help, please do not hesitate to contact me. I shall endeavour to put you in touch with someone who lives in your own area, and who will be able to provide that help. Otherwise, I shall try to help you, myself, from a distance!

"There's a way back to God from the dark paths of sin; there's a door that is open, and you may go in: at Calvary's cross is where you begin, when you come, as a sinner, to Jesus."(E.H.Swinstead).

* This concept is also dealt with in "Great Words"!