For my life is spent with grief, And my years with sighing; My strength fails because of my iniquity, And my bones waste away.

Psalm 31:10

It’s inevitable. No matter how hard we try, We will eventually sin. Since the garden and the fall, we have that sinful nature within us. If you are a believer, that sinful nature is now battling the new spirit inside.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation;

old things have passed away;

behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

So what is sin? Sin is ‘falling short of the mark’. Some people try to sugar coat their sin with, “It was only a little white lie.” or “ It really wasn’t that bad.” along with, “No one will find out because no one else knows.” What does the Bible say about it?

All unrighteousness is sin.

1 John 5:17

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Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

James 4:17

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For all have sinned

and come short of the glory of God

Romans 3:23

Do your actions or thoughts go against God’s word? If yes, then it is sin. God knows; whether you confess it or not. Big or small; in private or in public; accepted by the world; accepted by the church; doesn’t matter. In God’s eye’s, sin is still sin. Even the good you were supposed to do, but didn’t; it’s sin.

But we are all like an unclean thing,

And all our righteousness’s are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities,

like the wind, Have taken us away.

Isaiah 64:6

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To the Lord our God

belong mercy and forgiveness,

though we have rebelled against Him.

Daniel 9:9

How does that make you feel? Guilty? Once you’re a believer, you have the Holy Spirit living inside you. One of His tasks is to convict you of your sins. You should feel guilt, you should feel shame; that is a good sign. Conviction is meant to draw us back to God. We feel the separation that our sin causes between us and Him and we should want to fix it; however we can.

“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips…”

Isaiah 6:5a

However, if you don’t feel that conviction, that is a sign that your heart is hardening to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. A sign that you have sinned repeatedly; that it already is  a habit or is  on its way to becoming one.

But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;

So He turned Himself against them as an enemy,

And He fought against them.

Isaiah 63:10

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And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Ephesians 4:30

What are we to do then? First of all, admit your guilt. Don’t try to sugar coat it, this is God you’re talking to. I used to make excuses and even sometimes deny it! To God! What was I thinking! The Creator of the universe, the One who sees all; my Father in heaven would be presented with a show of ‘blame someone else‘. No, we are to go before Him and confess what we have done and ask for His forgiveness.

For the wages of sin is death;

but the gift of God is eternal life

through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Romans 6:23

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Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your loving-kindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.

Psalm 51:1-3

Will God withhold His forgiveness? Not if we are sincere in our repentance. Not if we truly want to change. Jesus paid the price with His own blood that He shed on the cross in payment for our sins. His perfect, sinless body became the ultimate sacrifice needed to cover our sins. Because He did, God will cleanse us and not hold our sins against us. He is the God of mercy and faithfulness. If a voice in your head reminds you of your confessed sins, that is the enemy. Rebuke him, God doesn’t work that way.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

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Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Psalm 51:12

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Nevertheless My loving kindness

I will not utterly take from him,

Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.

Psalm 89:33

Once forgiven, the Holy Spirit will guide you and warn you of possible bad choices; He may remind you of a weakness you have. He will always give you an ‘out’; a way to escape temptation. You also need to avoid places or situations that tempt you.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 51:17

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No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

You should strengthen your faith so you can stand against any temptation. Memorize scripture. If you can’t, then keep written scriptures at hand; on your phone; on cards in your purse or pocket. Get someone to hold you accountable. You, yourself be willing to help someone else stay accountable. As the body of Christ, we are to lift up, encourage and strengthen one another.

But I have prayed for you,

that your faith should not fail;

and when you have returned to Me,

strengthen your brethren.”

Luke 22:32

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Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass,

you who are spiritual restore such a one

in a spirit of gentleness,

considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

Galatians 6:1

As we grow in our walk with God, our resistance to temptation will grow. We will find ourselves falling in to sin less and less. Remember, when we do fall, God is right there waiting to restore you.

Let me add this; there is no sin too great for our God to forgive. No one is too far away from God. No matter what you have done God will forgive you if you come to Him with a contrite heart. If you accept that Jesus, the only Son of God, paid our debt and has covered our sins with His own blood; on the cross, confess your sins to God; you will be forgiven. If you have any questions about this please ask. If desired , we can talk privately.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Psalm 37:24

Until next time, God bless.

Brenda

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