" SIN "

This week we are looking into " SIN. " It is truly important for us to get this. "Sin:" Is an offense against God. (2) Fault (3) The weakened state of human nature in which we are estranged from God. Numbers 32:23 Warns us... " BUT if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your SIN Will Find You Out." You are free to choose between two masters, but you are not free to manipulate the consequences of your choice. Each of the two masters pays with their own kind of currency. Please get this, the currency of sin is death. That is all you can expect or hope for in life without God. Jesus' currency is Eternal - Life with God that begins on earth and continues forever with God. What choice have you made? Confession is supposed to free us to enjoy fellowship with Christ. It should ease our consciences and lighten our cares. But some Christians do not understand how it works. They feel so guilty that they confess the same sins over; then they wonder if they might have forgotten something. Other Christians believe that God forgives them when they confess, but if they died with unconfessed sins, they would be forever lost. These Christians do not understand that God wants to forgive us. He allowed his beloved son to die just so he could offer us pardon. When we come to Christ, he forgives all the sins we have committed or will over commit. We don't need to confess the sins of the past all over again, and we don't need to fear that God will reject us if we don't keep our slate perfectly clean. Of course we should continue to confess our sins, but not because failure to do will make us lose our salvation. Our relationship with Christ is secure. Instead, we should confess so that we can enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with him. This is a heads up, True Confession also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We wouldn't be genuinely confessing our sins to God if we planned to commit them again and just wanted temporary forgiveness. We should also pray for strength to defeat temptation the next time we face it. Until Next Time... Jim,