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Jesus Saves From Sin
Isaiah 59:2 Your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that
he will not hear.
Sin separates men and women from God. Isaiah 53:6 says “all we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…” When
we turn away from God and choose to live to please ourselves, our act of
rebellion causes us to pursue a life of sin and selfishness. The more
we engage in sinful habits, the harder it is to break free. Eventually,
we become bound by our sins, or addicted to them, and in a sense, a
servant of them. They command us, not we them. A person bound under
sinful habits is miserable, trying to break free but cannot. Such a
soul would be in despair except for the good news of the gospel. Jesus
Saves From Sin. He didn’t come to just forgive our sins, but to deliver
us from them. Matthew 1:21 proclaims “And she shall bring forth a
son and He shall save His people from (OUT OF) their sins.”
Sin is not something that you cannot help. It is not a mistake.
Sin is a disobedience or rebellion, an intentional act against God’s
laws. The bible describes sin as a transgression of God’s law, but
without knowledge of that law, we are not charged with sin (Romans 4:15,
7:19). It is only “to him that knows to do good, but does it
not to whom it is sin” (James 4:17). Something can be
displeasing to God, but not counted against us as sin if we don’t
realize it’s wrong. When the knowledge of the commandment comes and we
refuse to stop the wrong deed, then it is considered sin to us. When
the commandment came, sin revived and I died (Romans 7:19).
Because sin is something we chose to do, we play a
part in our deliverance from it. God cannot magically deliver us
without our permission. The person who enjoys his sins will remain in
them (John 3:19). But those who want to be free from them can be.
Proverbs 28:13 states whosoever “covers their sin shall not prosper,
but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.” It all
boils down to the question “do we want to quit our sins? If no, then
there is presently no help for us, but if we do, then God has a remedy.
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thought: and
let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to
our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:7). When we make
up our mind that we want to quit our sins and return to the Lord in
order to live as He would want us to, God will have mercy on us and
pardon our transgressions. He is waiting for us to turn back to Him
just so He can forgive us (Psalms 86:5). At that instant, our desires
change. We will no longer desire to live the same sinful life.
Ezekiel
36:26 describes the change this way: “A new heart also will I give
you and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.”
The heart of mankind represents his desires, intentions, and
goals. The old ones will be gone and new ones will replace them. God
will then begin to purify our lives and change our conduct so the deeds
we do align with His commands. We will keep His commandments as He
reveals them to us as seen by Jesus’ words in John 14:13. Then we can
say like Paul, the apostle in Ephesians 2:3-4 - in times past,
we lived according to this old sinful world, conducting ourselves in a
manner that satisfied our sinful desires, but we have been raised up a
new person(v.6) in Christ Jesus to walk or live a life of obedience to
Him. Many people can testify to such a change in their life for God
has broken the power of sinful habits and put them on a new course. And
He can do the same for you. Thanks be to God!
- By Debbie Rude
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