We are all sinners.
There isn’t a human on the face of the Earth who isn’t a sinner.
There are those who are righteous in the eyes of God. Are they sinners too? Yes, they are. They are sinners too.
How can a man/woman who is righteous in the eyes of God be a sinner?
The main difference between whom the Bible refers to as a sinner and a righteous individual is one word, REPENTANCE!
Genuine repentance means to fully turn away from sin inwardly and outwardly. When you repent, you intend to never do that which you are repenting from. It means taking active steps to reduce your chances of falling back into temptation.
Example: you suffer from alcohol addiction, you are repentant and have made up your mind to renounce alcoholism. You must now take active steps to help you maintain your repentance by minimising temptation. You do this by staying away from bars, changing your circle of friends, getting rid of all alcoholic beverages from your home, etc.
Whatever sin you struggle with, be it fornication, masturbation, drug addiction, murder, theft, etc, repentance requires complete turning from the sinful act -first in your heart with God, and then with yourself, renouncing the sin, and finally taking active steps to minimise the temptation of falling back into it. This is what genuine repentance looks like.
Notice my emphasis on genuine repentance.
God sees the heart. He knows those who belong to him in spirit and in truth and those who pretend to. God isn’t interested in fake repentance. It has to be real, it has to be true, it has to be genuine, and it has to come from your heart. Most importantly, it should come with a genuine want to turn from a sinful life and to live a righteous life.
Do not underestimate the power of true repentance. True repentance is what differentiates a human that is viewed by God as a sinner, from a human that God classifies as righteous.
Repentance is what differentiates willful (Presumptuous) sin from unintentional sin.
Willful sin is normally committed by those who know better but willfully commit them anyway. When a willful sinner sins, they continue without conceptualizing the need to repent and ask God to forgive and cleanse them of their transgressions.
Willful sin has a sense of continuousness. It indicates a sin so bold, so vicious, so in-your-face, and so continuous in its rebellious attitude that it cannot be passed over on the basis of ignorance.
Many times when we sin, we have a willingness to sin because we give in out of weakness and do what we know is wrong. But willful sin occurs when a person expresses deliberate and sustained opposition to God and His law, and his heart has hardened enough that he defiantly refuses to repent. It could be any sin that is committed with a heart that is against God and that refuses to soften.
Note: Sin committed out of weakness requires repentance and renunciation as well.
Read (Hebrews 10:26-29) to get the full picture.
God demands individual responsibility. He never condones sin nor grants license for anyone to disobey His commands. Willful sin is not about transgressions done out of weakness or ignorance but those committed as a way of life with knowledge of wrongdoing. He judges such sins seriously. Yet, even for such sins, God always desires and allows the sinner to repent.
When a righteous sins, they are quick to repent. Their first instinct is to get back on track with God and mend the relationship.
You could have two people commit the same sinful act, one is headed on the path of salvation, and the other is headed on the path of destruction.
Don’t underestimate the power of genuine repentance.
King David of the bible was described as ‘A Man After God’s Own Heart’. Was David without sin? He certainly was not! He murdered a man so he could get with his wife. Why then was he one of God’s favourites? David was a man who had mastered the art of repentance. Read his Psalms.
One of his famous Psalms is Psalm 51 called ‘The Psalm of Forgiveness’. It begins like this:
“Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin……”
David in all his imperfections was one of God’s favourites because he was a genuinely repentant man. David wasn’t without sin. None of the prophets in the bible were without sin, yet they were all righteous men with unique relationships with God. They had a true relationship with God which they valued. Unrepentant sin was off the menu.
No human is sinless, but a righteous human is quick to repent and return to God for absolution.
Yeshua died once for the sins of humanity. Every human that has lived, is living and will live is qualified for this redemption. It is up to us to access His redemptive act and use it to its fullest advantage.
Yeshua’s death is God’s way of issuing free train tickets to his Kingdom for all eternity. It doesn’t matter what race, religion or gender you belong to. Every human has a ticket hanging over their heads. It is up to us to grab hold of it and RSVP to God’s invitation.
Don’t take another breath today without RSVPing to God and letting him know you will be boarding that train to Eternal life. Once you have done this, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit as one of Gods. The Holy Spirit will then get to work convicting you of your sins to make sure you live a righteous life. This doesn’t mean you will never sin again. It means when you do, you’ll have an uncontrollable urge to repent and get things right with God.
A genuine Christian has a personal relationship with God that he/she values on a personal level. Falling out with God would be like falling out with your best friend.
Today is the day to pick the path of repentance. This is the moment to decide if you want to be seen by God as a sinner or as a righteous man/woman.
To me, it’s an easy choice to make.
Genuine repentance is like a ‘Get Out Of Jail Free Card’. This is how a man like David who had committed various atrocities was still ‘A Man After God’s Own Heart’. His repentant nature meant he was a righteous man before God. A righteous man has an automatic ‘get out of jail free card’.
Don’t ever fear falling into temptation, every human does. If you ever do, get right back up and get things right with God. This is the ‘trialled and tested’ formula of a righteous man/woman.
1 Comment
God bless you Ma.