I’m a miserable failure when it
comes to not committing sin. I’ll be the first one to jump up and say, “Yup,
I’m a sinner!” I fail every day. I’m disappointed in myself, like the apostle
Paul who said:
“For that which I do I allow not:
for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that
which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no
more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me (that is, in
my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to
perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but
the evil which I would not, that I do .Now if I do that I would not, it is no
more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me” (Romans 7:15-20).
I sometimes forget that I’m not
perfect. The enemy tries to use the idea of perfection as a weapon against me,
sneaking thoughts into my head that if I’m not perfect, then I’m not loved by
Jesus and I am not saved unto Glory. It’s a slippery slope of thought if I get
sucked into that error of thinking. I must remember that being sinless is
impossible for us mere humans. Only Christ is perfect and sinless. All we can
do is strive to be like Him, even though we will miss the mark.
When I do what I don’t want to do, I
always feel so guilty. I knew I shouldn’t have done what I did but I did it
anyway. After I beat myself up I remember and I tell myself that I am of flesh
thanks to Adam, and I am by nature a sinful creature. All I can do is repent
and pray for strength not to give into that fleshly desire again; seems like I
do this a lot though.
Being a follower of Christ is not to
expect perfection in our selves or our brothers and sisters in this world. Nor
are we to judge people because they aren’t perfect. I’m reminded of the story
in John chapter eight about the adulteress that was about to be stoned. Jesus
admonished the crowd that whoever was without sin should cast the first stone.
No one did and they all left. Jesus told the adulteress to leave and leave her
life of sin (adultery). I certainly will never throw a stone at someone who has
committed a sin, for I am just as guilty as every other human.
Knowing we are human and therefore
destined to sin, we should not continue to sin? No. As Paul says in Romans
6:1-2: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that Grace may
abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein?”
We should strive to live a sinless
life, but also knowing we will slip and fall along the way. Does this make us
any less of a follower of Christ? Does this mean if we slip up we will go to
hell? No. We won't be perfect in this life and only by grace through our belief
in Christ will we spend eternity with Him as perfect creatures.
I’m trying to make a point here. I
think that non-believers and some believers get the idea that Christians have
to be perfect to be saved. I also believe that some Christians portend to be
perfect and are judgmental to others and therefore turn non-believers off to
investigating Christ. I’m not saying every Christian believes they are perfect,
but we all know of one or two in church who think and act like they are without
sin and are judgmental towards everyone else based on their false belief of
their perceived self-perfection.
I want both unbelievers and
believers to know that you don’t have to be perfect to be a Christian. In fact
it is impossible. You can never be perfectly sinless. Only one Person is
perfect─Jesus. You will never measure up to the perfect standard expected from
God. That is why we have Jesus. Jesus is the mediator between us, and God the
Father. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, past, present, and
future. Through faith in Jesus we are assured that He was our sin offering to
God so that by grace we may be seen as righteous in the eyes of God.
“Therefore by the deeds of the law
there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge
of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is
by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is
no difference:
For all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His Grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that
are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His
righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of Him which believeth
in Jesus” (Romans 3:20-26).
I want people who are still reading
-- to become believers in the promise of eternity in heaven through Jesus. I
want you to know that God is real, that Jesus is real, and that the eternity of
heaven and hell is real. Where you go, heaven or hell is ultimately your
choice. The choice is pretty simple. You get eternal life in heaven if you
believe and have faith that Jesus died for your sins and ascended to heaven
after being resurrected. If you don't have faith in Jesus, you still have
eternal life, but it will be in hell, separated from the love and peace of God.
I hope you are a little
uncomfortable with what I just stated. I hope that you are thinking of your two
choices. That is good. What you should do now is pray. It doesn’t have to be an
eloquent prayer; it is just you talking to God, your Creator. Pray to the Lord to
reveal to you the truth about Jesus. Do this and your heart will speak to you
regarding this. Also, get a Bible, or find an on-line one, and read at least
one of the four gospels books of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and/or John to
learn about Jesus for yourself. Don’t take my word for it, read the Scriptures.
As you read, pray to receive Jesus
into your heart and to help you understand Him and His message. Do this and I
believe you will no longer be an unbeliever, but a believer in: Jesus. Reading
one of the gospel books won’t take long to read and praying is easy. Try it and
see what happens to you. I’m sure you won't be disappointed.
Once Christ is in your life, the
Holy Spirit will work on your heart and you will begin to see changes in the
way you think, act, and look at the world around you. The worldly ways you once
lived won’t seem as important and your heart will change to want to please
Christ. This is a good thing. After you begin to grow with Jesus and the Holy
Spirit, your old self will be put aside and you will think of the things of
Christ and salvation more and more. If you allow the Holy Spirit to work in
your heart and mind, you will be a new creation with a firm confirmation of
your salvation in Christ leading to heaven.
If you think you are too full of sin
to be forgiven, push those thoughts out of your mind. Satan will want you to
think you are too sinful to be accepted by Christ. Know that Satan is wrong. He
wants to destroy your relationship with Christ. He wants you to believe in lies
about Christ and Christianity that are floating around in society and
throughout the world. Don’t entertain those thoughts. Keep your mind focused on
Christ and your heart to the peace and rest Jesus offers to His people─that
includes you.
Know that the world will be against
you as well. This is a daily challenge that all followers of Christ face. The
world hates Christ and when you accept Christ you will begin to hate the things
of the world. You will see the world through the eyes of Christ and will be
dumbfounded at how you used to live in your old life before you knew Christ.
You may not believe me now, but you will see what I mean as your grow with the
help of the Holy Spirit in your walk with Jesus.
If you are sitting on the fence with
the world on one side and Christ on the other, I urge you, no, I plead with you
to look at Jesus more in-depth. Seek Him and you will find Him. Ask for His
guidance and strength to believe in Him and His saving grace. God gave His only
Son as a living sacrifice for you and me to have a way to heaven. Christ was
sacrificed on a cross so that our sins are paid for, so we are blameless before
God─if only you believe in Him and His grace offer of eternity through Him.
Take this new journey for your salvation. Accept Christ. Study His Word─the
Bible, and pray continuously.
God Bless.
All Scripture cited is from the King
James Version of the Bible.
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