Matthew 4:17 CSB “From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

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With everything going on today it’s easy to forget the basics in Christ—things like repentance. Without repentance we have nothing. Everything starts with it. Confessing our sins, turning from evil, and turning to God is fundamental. It always has been. We must be willing to change. Those who don’t have this attitude have nothing.

Many say they are saved and live for sin. They justify and glorify their sins and others’ sins too. This is what God says about that:

Romans 1:32 CSB “Although they know God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die,—they not only do them, but even applaud, others who practice them.”

Yes, sin has a heavy penalty: death. Wrongdoing is nothing to wink at. How delusional to live for sin and claim God as our Father. We are the walking dead unless we repent. We must change our attitudes. Repentance means to change one’s way of thinking. Once our thoughts become different our behavior follows.

Isaiah 1:18-20 ESV “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. ¹⁹  IF YOU ARE WILLING AND OBEDIENT, you shall eat the good of the land; ²⁰  but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

THE STRUGGLE WITH SIN😠

Some people struggle with sin and God is their Father. They are willing and obedient but sometimes fall short. They are like the apostle Paul. These next two scriptures are an anchor for those who accept Jesus’ sacrifice for their sins:

Romans 3:23-24 CSB “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; ²⁴ they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 7:14-25 CSB “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold as a slave under sin. 15 For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. 21 So I discover this law:, When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me. 22 For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, 23 but I see a different law in the parts of my body,, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 THANKS BE TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.”

Paul was an apostle yet he was honest about his struggle with sin. Does Paul’s struggle with sin sound familiar to you? ‘I keep on doing what I don’t want to do? What I hate is what I do,’ etcetera? Take heart; “Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me.” If you genuinely hate when you fall short God will forgive you and me as long as we keep repenting like Paul. Yes, we must constantly come to Him confessing our sins. Never hesitate to tell God how sorry you are when you fall short. Keep asking for and seeking His help to do better. This must be our attitude until the day we die. Unfortunately, we will sin one way or another as long as we are in these bodies of death. But the difference with us is we don’t live for sin. We live for God. We hate our sins like Paul hated his. Hence sin is not our master. Jesus is.

“THANKS BE TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!”😊

Once we start living for God the sin struggle becomes very real. We start understanding why Jesus’ sacrifice is so valuable. We come to realize that we cannot through human effort stop sinning. None of us can make ourselves righteous. Jesus has to cleanse us with His perfect, sinless blood. Our blood is tainted from birth. Sin is in our genes. Only Jesus’ DNA is perfect and has eternal life. Jesus has the authority to extend this life to whoever he pleases. His blood gives life to those who believe in Him:

John 1:12-13 NLT “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”

1 John 1:7-9 “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. 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. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.”

Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ!😃 The curse of sin (death) is broken by simple, childlike faith in Jesus. He loves us so much that He died for us rather than live without us.😂 How can we not love Him back? How can we not live for God and continue in our fight against sin?

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