Thought for the morning
Romans 7:24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Unfortunately, we have an enemy within us called the “old self” and regrettably, the “old self” is not immune to sinning. As believers in the Risen Lord we also have a new nature within us and there is a struggle that goes on between the old and the new “self”.
Paul speaks of this in his letter to the Romans Chapter 7. He is aware of the old nature that dwells within each of us. He is aware of the constant battle between what we were as sinners and what we are in Christ. Earlier he wrote in: Romans 7:19-20 “ For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. We live in a body of death infected by sin!
There will be some who will say that after becoming a believer in Christ they do not sin. They may rest in what John writes in 1 John 3:6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. But if we look deep within ourselves, we know we can easily yield to sin, even as a believer.
The word of God makes it clear that we will, and we do sin. Paul knew it and the Lord led him to share it in this portion of scripture.
The Apostle John knew it when, led of the Lord, he wrote early in his first epistle “1 John 1:8“ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Christ died for our sin , all our sin “past, present, future”. But what are we to do? We do not come before a righteous God with unconfessed sin. The Apostle John wrote, 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confession is not a onetime occurrence; it must be part of our prayer life. I/we sin every day and this is to be laid before the Lord. With our confession comes His forgiveness!
To carry around unconfessed sin is a burden we don’t have to bear. We have a Savior who loves us as a Father and forgives us. We only have to acknowledge our sin to Him, and He will forgive us.
Daniel 9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.. Sin is a rebellion, but with confession comes forgiveness! Just a thought for the morning
Carl
