At the beginning of each new year, it is the same old thing: So many of us want to improve some area of our life. Everywhere we look, from gyms to retail stores and restaurants, there are promotions for a new outlook on life. Yet, with all of these means in place to assist us, why do we still need them again for each successive year thereafter? The answer is sin. It is something that each and every one of us has to deal with all of the time.
No matter what effort we take to hide or overcome it, sin will always be there. In essence, sin is disobedience to God’s Word. It is also something that keeps us from entering into God’s Kingdom. God cannot tolerate any of this, even the tiniest amount.
Sin brings us into a period of pleasure while we are committing it, and then leaves us in a state of emptiness, despair, and disappointment afterward.
Therefore, we are never satisfied with just one act of disobedience. We continually seek more and greater ways to do it in order to reach a point of gratification.
Sin Always Gets Worse
Sin escalates while, at the same time, it degrades. It is never isolated to just the one who is involved in it Many feel that as long as it is hidden, then everything will be fine. Yet, whether the results are seen or not, it impacts some thing or someone else. From the rocks to the animals to the oceans to the sky, and everybody in between, the whole earth is ultimately affected by our disobedience. Since the time of Adam and Eve to the present time, the world has been steadily in decline. Every attempt throughout history to save this world from destruction has been nullified by our continual wrongdoing.
Nothing in our own efforts will solve the sin problem in our life or anyone else’s. While not all of our ills are directly caused by our wrongdoing, we are still impacted by it. Sin is like quicksand—the more you try to escape, the deeper you sink into it. It may not have hurt when you slipped in, and may not be painful while you are in it, but you still are descending slowly to your death.
The only solution to this problem is to turn to someone who is greater than sin itself.
We can’t get out of the quicksand through some self-help program or a fitness or dietary regime. No amount of financial planning or seminars will help. We might be able to stay afloat for an extended period of time, but it is not until we grab hold of a lifeline, like someone’s hand or the equivalent, that our rescue is possible.
The Only Answer is Jesus Christ
That ultimate help is Jesus Christ. He is the only one qualified to deliver us from the hold and finality of sin. He willingly left His place in Heaven and came to this sinful earth to rescue us. He took all of the sins of the world – past, present and future – upon Himself and was crucified on a cross so to pay for them so that we could be free.
He paid a penalty that was impossible for us to pay on our own. He gave us the means to come before God through Him. When we acknowledge and accept the sacrifice He made for us as our own, ask for forgiveness of our sins, and allow Him to live in our heart and life, then He will pull us out of the grip of sin. His blood shed for us will cover our wrongdoings against Him, never more to be seen by God.
Not only are our sins removed, but we are given a whole new nature—one that is no longer bent toward wrongdoing and desiring the ways of this world.
Instead of trying to make ourselves better each year by our own strength and efforts, we just need to yield to Jesus and turn our concerns over to Him, “casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Only He can bring about real success and change in our life—when we let Him. Won’t you do it today?
For more direction on how to let God remove the sin in your life please visit our page on The Way to God.
{Additional image credits: Opening images: (clockwise) image by Amanda Mills from Pixnio; image by breakingpic on Pexels; image by Tikkho Maciel on Unsplash; image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay; image by Tom from Pixabay]
