You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. Ephesians 2:2a
From the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God and introduced sin into the world, sin invaded everything. In fact, no person has been immune from sin's grasp. Every single person on earth was born into sin. No one is immune from sin's hold over humanity. There is no one "good" enough to outrun sin's grasp. Praise God that He had a plan from the very beginning to rescue humanity from sin, and the first step in turning to Him for rescue is acknowledging our sin problem.
Paul teaches us about our sin problem in Ephesians 2. In this chapter, He writes, “You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world” (verse 2). Each one of us was born into sin. This was our reality before Christ. Isaiah 53:6 says it this way, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.” Each one of us, like a rogue sheep, turned away from God. We chose sin instead of Him.
Our human tendency is to hide from our sin. We prefer to pretend that our sins are minor or even non-existent. The reality is that we cannot find help or healing if we hide our sins. It is only when we acknowledge our sins that we can receive that healing and hope that God makes readily available to us. That is why 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." Our loving, gracious Heavenly Father will forgive us whenever we confess our sins to Him. That is the promise for all who follow and love Him.
It is time, my friend, to come clean before God. It is time for us to confess our sins. When we turn to Him, He offers us forgiveness and grace. He trades our shame for freedom. Confess your sins to Him today; there is freedom on the other side of confession.
If we want to experience the hope that Jesus offers, we must admit we have a sin problem. Take time now to confess any sins you are struggling with to Him. Tell Him you are sorry for your sins, knowing they have broken His heart. Ask Him to help you let go of that sin and live an obedient life that honors Him.
1 John 1:1-9
1We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.
5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
