There is this true story of a woman who once observed that part of the skin of her leg has changed colour. She did not like it so she got some native chalk and painted the area back to look like the rest of her skin. After some days she discovered that the same area has changed colour again. She reported at the hospital. There she was diagnosed as
having leprosy and placed on treatment.
That woman’s solution to her
problem is an age-long problem of humans, that is, covering up the problem and
giving it less attention than it deserves. That could be out of ignorance as
seems the case of this woman, or it could be out of a good intention to please
as was the case of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Upon discovering that
they were naked they sewed fig leaves to cover their nakedness (Genesis 3. 7).
It was their way of trying to present themselves acceptable to God. We always
have solutions to our problem, but God has a better plan.
Our problems are many, but the
most important of these is sin. The Bible says it separates us from God (Isaiah
59. 2). But nobody in their right mind wants to separate from God. So even when
we sin we tend to avoid calling sin by its name because we fear this drear
consequence. Someone has given an illustration of the effect of such dilution.
He said to assume a bottle of poison deliberately labeled ‘Chocolate Drink’ and
given people to take. You can guess the effect. Today’s world calls adultery an
affair; drunkenness, tipsiness; nudeness, fashion; and homosexuality, human
rights! These are things the Bible expressly calls sin. But we have re-labeled
them ‘Chocolate Drink’ and are serving the unsuspecting, leading them down
their way to the grave. No one seeks solution to what they do not identify as a
problem. Similarly no one who indulges in sinful practices ever thinks they are
wrong, or are heading to destruction, because they have re-labeled their acts.
The Bible is not equivocal
about what it calls sin. And God cannot lie. The catalogue of human woes
includes
Evil
thoughts, Sexual immorality, Theft, Murder, Adultery, Greed, Malice, Deceit,
Lewdness, Envy, Slander, Arrogance, Folly, Homosexuality, Strife, Gossips,
Insolence, Evil inventions (including parcel bombs and chemical weapons),
Senselessness, Faithlessness, Heartlessness, Ruthlessness, Impurity,
Debauchery, Idolatry, Witchcraft, Hatred of fellow humans, Hatred of God,
Hatred for the good, Discord, Jealousy, Fits of rage, Selfish ambition,
Dissensions, Factions, Drunkenness, Orgies, Lust, Evil desires, Anger, Filthy
language, Love of self, Love of money, Love of pleasure, Abusiveness, Pride,
Boasting, Disobedience to parents, Ingratitude, Irreverence, Lovelessness, Impulsiveness,
Brutality, Unforgiving spirit, Treachery, Rashness, Self conceit, Religious
formalism.
Mark
7. 21 -22; Romans 1. 26 – 31; Galatians 5. 19 – 21; Colossians 3. 5, 8; 2nd Timothy 3. 1 – 5.
Is the list exhaustive? I
doubt. The Apostle Paul, knowing he could not exhaust it, concludes it with “…
and the like” (Galatians 5. 21), meaning “… and similar things not listed.” Is
it any surprise then that the Bible says, “All have sinned” (Romans 3. 23)? Who
can escape being guilty of at least one? And being guilty of one is being
guilty of all (James 2. 10). Yes, everybody is guilty. There’s no pointing
accusing finger somewhere. You are just as guilty as the person you accuse.
So what do we do? Treat
ourselves like the woman in the story above? Cover it up and rationalize about
it? Like, for example, if someone objects to our position, we accuse the person
of pride, but if we do the same thing (objecting to other people’s opinion), we
term it ‘principle’. If a person is unwavering in his or her position we say
they are stubborn, but if we do the same we term it ‘firmness’. By this, we
re-label the sin and allow it have a free course in us. So, you have no excuse,
Paul would say, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point
you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you do the same
things (only you re-label them). Or do you think when you, a mere man (or
woman) passes judgment on others and yet do the same things, that you would
escape the judgment of God? Are you not rather showing contempt for the riches
of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience which are intended to lead you to
repentance (Romans 2. 1 – 4)?
So, what do we do?
Simply turn to God. God
has a better plan for you. The load is too much for you to carry. You
cannot carry it. Sin, even if a single act of wrong, is too heavy for you to
carry about. It would crush you because sin attracts the death penalty.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezekiel 18. 4
The wages of sin is death. Romans 6. 23
Sin came into the world through one man, and death came by sin Romans 5. 12
When you turn to God He will
take away the load from you. There is a
one-time turning to God that brings about a lifetime change in a person.
That was the experience of Christians of old. Of the Thessalonians Paul said:
You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. 1st Thess. 1. 9
Of some new converts in
Ephesus Luke wrote:
Many of those who believed now came and
openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought
their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value
of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
Acts 19. 18 - 19
In these examples of turning
to God, there was a permanent positive change in their lives. It brought about public
testimony, a complete forsaking of their old wicked ways, and an unreserved
commitment to God through Christ. It should be noted that this one time turning
to God is not the same as daily going to God to confess sins or pray to Him. It
is a radical change within you brought about by the Holy Spirit. It is God who
does it in every person who sincerely calls out to Him to save them. You can
also experience it. God’s promise to you is:
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your
heart.
Jeremiah
29. 13
People miss out of God’s
better plan for them because of half-heartedness, insincerity, hypocrisy and
pride. These would condemn many because they do not want to let go of their
past evil ways. But we pray that the Lord would help you so that your heart
would totally turn to Him.
We urge you to turn to God
because He has already made provision to offload you of your sins, however few
or many they may be. God has a better plan for you than
you may have for yourself. This provision is found only in Christ. The Bible
says:
God made Christ who had no sin to be a
sin-offering for us, so that in Christ we might become the righteousness of
God. 2nd Corinthians 5. 21
Your load of sins was laid on
Christ when He suffered and died by crucifixion on the Cross of Calvary. The
Bible says:
Christ died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous,
to bring you to God.
1st
Peter 3. 18
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. Hebrews 9. 28
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the
tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness. 1st
Peter 2. 24
On the Cross, Christ shed His
sinless blood to wash away your sins and cleanse your heart from its guilt and
power.
The stripes (or wounds) He got
from the torture by the soldiers drew blood. The crown of thorns on His head
drew blood. The nail punctures in His hands and feet from the crucifixion drew
blood. The piercing of His side with a spear by a soldier drew blood. He
endured it all for you. O, consider, dear friend, the agony, humiliation, shame
and pain Christ went through all for you. He is calling you to come to Him. He
has a better plan for you than you may have for yourself. Will you say
Him nay? The best of you is yet to come.
It is hidden in Christ, and realizable only as you come to Him by faith.
Come to God through Christ
today. That’s your key to life, peace, good health, success, prosperity, security
and any other thing you may desire in life. God has a better plan for you.
Like the woman in the story above eventually did, we urge you to drop your own plan
and take up the better one found only in Christ. This is your rest.
May the Lord give you
understanding of these things, and also give you grace to respond to His own
glory and to your eternal joy.
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