Sin is a word that is very unpopular today. But the Bible speaks a great deal about sin. The Bible says that the very reason that Jesus came to Earth, was to deal with the issue of sin.
We read in Matthew’s gospel an instruction to Joseph to give Mary’s child “the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).
The Apostle Paul also writes in his first letter to Timothy: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15).
Who is a sinner?
The Bible gives an emphatic answer. It says in the book of Romans “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) And just before that statement, Paul points out “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12).
This is definitely a damning statement on mankind.
We are also told that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and that this death involves being cast into “the fiery lake of burning sulphur.” (Revelation 21:8).
So the just punishment for sin is an eternity spent in hell where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:42). This is a very bleak prospect.
But remember, we read that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Please read the justification page to understand God’s plan for the salvation of sinners.
How about you?
There are three ways that you can respond to the Bible’s claim that you are a sinner. Firstly you can choose to believe that sin doesn’t matter. Philosophers down the ages have told us that we can come up with our own notions of what is right and what is wrong. We don’t need a two thousand year old book to tell us that we are sinners.
Conveniently for people who think like this, their own moral code always allows them to lead their life just how they want.
If you fit into this category, I appeal to your God given conscience. Deep within us we know that, as the Ten Commandments teach us, it is wrong to lie and to steal and to hate and to lust. Sin does matter.
The second way that people respond to the idea of sin is to believe that sin is important, but that they can make up for their sins with good deeds. This is the idea in every religion in the world except true Christianity. That somehow good deeds cancel out bad deeds.
At the heart of this belief is the idea that man can be good enough for God’s standards by his own works. This suggests that God’s standards aren’t very high!
People who believe that they can earn their own place in heaven are by definition self-righteous.
The Biblical way
Now most people fit into one or other of these two categories – in fact people often change between these categories depending on the situation. But the Biblical response to sin is very different. It involves soul searching and admitting that you are a sinner, and that you deserve punishment for your sin.
Only then can you be justified before God. Only then can you get to heaven.