On Sin, Righteousness
And
Forgiveness
We are all sinners. We often will not admit our downfalls and try to hide our sin from God himself.
How many times in your life have you run across a person that you know for a fact did a foul deed, denied his/her actions and, after a while believed his/her own denial?
As I wrote in a sermon a few weeks back, we are to worship God, “in spirit and in truth.” If you were to try to deny your sin before God then you would not be in true worship of Him.
1 John 1: 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
As I said in my opening line, we are all sinners. Once you are willing to admit that you are willing to admit your humanity thereby placing yourself spiritually beneath God. That is proper.
It is our human weakness that causes us to sin and fall away from God. Do not be discouraged by this as by admitting our weaknesses we are saying that we are in need of God. If we had no need then we would not be the people He seeks to bring to Him.
Matthew 9: 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'[a]For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Luke 5: 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
I have written this in past sermons and write it again, “Religion is man seeking God while Christianity is God seeking man.” It is the REPENTANT soul that He seeks not the proud and haughty.
I have also written on the many Christians (so-called) that walk around with their ‘holier than thou’ attitudes displaying foolish natures. Sadly some of these people are Pastors and Christian teachers. In their mistaken idea as to what God sees as His children they seek to show their own holiness and this is wrong.
Matthew 23: 12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
God sees everything we do here on earth and know what is in our hearts. It is the most unwise of men that think they are ‘pulling the wool’ over God’s eyes.
Matthew 23: 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
God sees and knows what is in the heart of every men and to think that there is a way to act in a manner so as to seemingly say, ‘ I am holier than thou,’ is not only foolish but is sinful!
There are also men and women that say, “Jesus Christ died and all my sins are forgiven.” To them I say, if that is actually what you believe, then why does Jesus say, time and again, “Repent?” To repent is to turn from sin and to God.
Romans 2: 13For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
God set forth His Laws and His Commandments and we are to live by them and obey His Word. True, Jesus died so as to make it possible for us to gain salvation but it is ours to lose if we fail to obey God. We must seek God’s forgiveness for our sins and repent of those sins and to Him.
1 Peter 3: 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
Both the righteous as well as the unrighteous are saved by the Blood of Christ but they must repent to God and from their sin.
Matthew 12: 31And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
Our sins will be forgiven us but we must ask for forgiveness and repent. God is the sole One that can forgive us our sins and it must be with a truly repentant heart that we must bring to Him.
John 2: 1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Our only defense to sin is through Jesus Christ. This is why all prayers and supplications of God are made in the name of Jesus Christ. Do not fall into Satan’s trap of thinking you can sin and fear no consequence! You must obey God and if you fall, seek forgiveness!
1 John 5: 17All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
The sin that does not lead to death is the sin confessed to God and forgiveness asked of God.
Matthew 6: 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Just as God forgives our sins if we ask for forgiveness we must forgive any that sin against us. We have all been lied about, stolen from, subjected to false claims made by another and we must forgive those sins against us and not only forgive them but be able to forget them as well. If you bring up a persons sin against you, you have yet to truly forgive that sin as you are showing resentment. This does not mean you are to let down your guard and see yourself sinned against again but you must forgive that sin.
Luke 17: 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
If you do not show mercy, how do you even ask for mercy?
Our God is an awesome God and is forever willing to forgive. He knows that we are weak and subject to falling. He knows that we are His children and is merciful. He is also willing, on His, own to not only forgive but to forget our sins as well. We do not have to ask that He forget our sins as He tells us that He will do just that.
Hebrews 8: 12”For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Our Heavenly Father, Him who created us, is a loving God and wants what is the best for His children. As His children we must seek His forgiveness when we fall and we must realize that not only does He forgive but He forgets as well. We too must be willing to accept His forgiveness and we too must be willing to forget!
1 John 1: 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Hallelujah!
(Closing prayer)
Lord, we came to you with hearts filled with wonder and awe of Your magnificent powers and grace. How we were found to be worthy of Your love and all that You give us is amazing. It is by our faith in You that we are saved and Lord, that is truly thrilling.
Lord, You have given us a wonderful world, a place of beauty and unimaginable wild life. We see many of Your birds and fish and marvel at the sheer numbers You have seen fit to bless us with. How You find time to manage all of the things You have created is beyond our ability to comprehend.
Lord, it is with our closing prayer that we usually ask for things only You can give. With this prayer we are hoping to be seen as praising You and worshipping You and asking for nothing and giving You our everything. It is truly marvelous to be one of Your children and Lord we love You and bow to You.
In Jesus name we pray, who is One with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever,
Amen, amen and amen.
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