This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:5-10 (NIV)
Forgiveness and freedom – no longer slaves to sin, self and Satan, believers have a new identity – we are a child of the King. Jesus tells us in John 8:34-36 (NIV): Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Ah! Free indeed. Cleansed. Made new in Him. What cost us nothing, cost Jesus dearly. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV): “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The cross of Christ Jesus epitomizes the love of God towards sinners such as us.
We are all born big fat sinners in need of a Savior, Amen? Not one of us is exempt from this, as we were all born broken. This is easy to prove. One never has to teach a newborn to cry demanding to be fed, or a two year old to be selfish with their favorite toy, or a little one to lie. We all know an infant cries when hungry demanding sustenance in its own way, the two year old needs to be taught to share and the little one needs to learn to tell the truth. Our sinful nature comes with our packages – no one has to teach us. Apart from Christ, we remain fallen creatures. We are all born with a sense of “ought” – we all have a conscience. Albeit, some have seared it with a hot iron, but we all have one nonetheless. That is why we all need Jesus. Who, as the Apostle John writes, is the Lamb of God in John 1:29 (NIV): The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
There is much devastation and woe awaiting anyone who meets a just God without a mediator, Amen? If we love our own souls, we must not neglect the mercy of God and come to Jesus. Happy is the one who can proclaim on their death bed “Forgiven!” There is no sin that can stand before the effectiveness of His Christ’s blood shed for sinners such as us.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)