[Biblemat] A) WHAT TO DO WITH OUR SINS!

Tue Oct 16 06:13:25 CDT 2007

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Tuesday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my ancient files:

WHAT TO DO WITH OUR SINS!

     1 Jno. 1:6-10 is one of the most striking and sobering para-
graphs in the New Testament.  "If we say we have fellowship
with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellow-
ship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanseth us form all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us form all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have
not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us."

     The "us" and "our" in this paragraph undoubtedly refers
to Christians.  All Christians do sin!  The consequence of sins
is tragic -- death (Rom. 6:23).  If you are a Christian, please
address this matter.  What must one do with his sins?

FIND THEM: -- Many Christians can't seem to find their sins.
They can find the sins of others but somehow cannot find 
their own.  The first thing that all Christians need to do with
their sins is to find them.  How can this be done?  This calls
for self-examination.  The apostle said:  "Examine yourselves,
whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves..." (2 Cor. 
13:5).  When that examination is made, it must be one that
truly reflects one's condition.  The only way that can be done
is a comparison with that which is absolutely right.  Take a
look in God's mirror: "For if any be a hearer of the Word, and
not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in
a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and 
straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  But who-
so looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth there-
in, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall 
be blessed in his deed" (Jas. 1:23-26).  Christ-
ians can fidn their sins if they really look for them.  It seems
that some seldom really look at themselves in the mirror of
God's Word.

REPENT OF THEM: -- Once Christians have found their sins,
knowing how this endangers them, they should repent of them without delay.  
This is obsolutely necessary if forgive-
ness is to be had.  One new convert was told in Acts8:22,23:
"Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if
perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.  For
I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the 
bond of iniquity."  Again and again in the New Testament, 
Christians are told to repent of their sins.

CONFESS THEM: -- Then, for reasons known to the Lord and
oftentimes at the consternation of men, the Lord has demand-
ed that Christians must confess their sins (1 Jno. 1:9).  This
confession is to be one to another (Jas. 5:16).  Obviously this
is done before and to the Lord, for the Lord is sinned against
every time one sins, else it  would not be sin.  This surely must be just as 
public as the sin has been.  This seems to be
one of the most difficult things God has required of Christ-
ians.  This is because such an action strips one of every vest-
ige of pride.  As a result, this is one of the most ignored com-
mandments in the New Testament.  People will be guilty of all
kinds of sins and even quit worshipping; and then when they 
come to their senses, they will slip back into the assemblies
and act like nothing is amiss.  The Lord certainly requires 
Christians to do something with their sins.  Certainly they must confess that 
they have sinned before heaven and in God's sight.

PRAY THAT THEY MAY BE FORGIVEN: -- In addition to the 
above mentioned things, and not as a substitute for any of
them, the Lord has required Christians also to pray that their
sins may be forgiven them.  That new convert in Acts 8:22 
was told not only to repent of his sins but to pray that they
might be forgiven him.  Christians are urged to pray for mercy and grace.  
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).  This is what Jesus had 
taught His disciples from the beginning, saying in Matt. 6:12,
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

NO SINS ARE TO BE OVERLOOKED: -- This paragraph from
First John is saying that Christians must not overlook any
sins.  We must do something with our sins, and if we don't do
something with them, they will do something with us.  Recall
Isa. 59:1,2, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it
cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But
your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have 
hid His face from you, that He will not
hear."   ------- Curtis E. Flatt in Gospel Guide, Vol.28, No. 1,
January 1996.   </HTML>
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