After much debate the question of right and wrong has come to a standstill. Educational scholars, professors with PhD’s, are working again to determine how morals are founded and whether the idea of “right and wrong” is fluid or fixed. Some argue that what was “right” or permissible 200 years ago is clearly immoral by today’s standards. While many of their points have significance, the end of the conversation focuses on Biblical significance. Thus the question is asked, “Is there such a thing as sin?”
Paul wrote that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. David said that he was born into sin and was shapen in iniquity. The prophets called the nation to abandon sinful practices. John, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, began a ministry centered around the baptism of repentance, which implies the need to be free from a life of sin. Thus the scripture itself is a book which declares the death of the Lamb of God, Who came to take away the sins of the world. Yes, sin exists!
However, subjectivism and good intentions have almost eradicated the idea that people sin. If the definitions are fluid, meaning shifting, then perhaps no one is wrong. If God’s Word is true, then a person enters this world with a sinful nature. This battleground is not new. Philosophers have been debating this subject for thousands of years. What has changed is the mindset of the Christian.
The world is filled with desperate people looking for an answer. They want something that is real, not a watered down version of salvation by intention. People are bound and the only way out is to die to the flesh. Jesus said, Unless you repent, you shall die. Acts 3:19 tells us to repent and be converted. Conversion occurs when we repent of our sins. The great commission is clear that Repentance and Remission of Sins should be preached in Jesus’ name!
The philosophers will never stop debating. To them, there is no settled truth. However to the Church, His Word is forever settled and we are all sinners saved by Grace through Faith, it is the gift of God! Paul said of himself that he was the chief sinner. He also said that he died daily and offered his body as a living sacrifice. There is no debate in this house. Jesus has cleansed us by His Blood and we are striving for the Kingdom.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole