sin + confession + forgiveness = ?

Whether we realize it or not, our life is meant to be a journey.  Our God, the Creator of all things, has set before us a path that we are to walk.  He speaks to this path in Matthew 7:12-14.

In walking along this path, there are conditions of our heart that we must deal with and it is called sin.  Sin is something we all have! Romans 3:23

Our condition of sin is a far cry from what we are called to be, for we are called to be a holy people. 1 Peter 1:15-16

So, how do we get from this sinful wretch of a person, to a holy child of God?

We must first understand our condition.  1 Timothy 1:15-16 tells us that we are all the worst of sinners.  When I say understand this, I mean exactly that.  We must know in our heart, that we have fallen so far short of the glory of God, that there is nothing that we, in and of ourselves, can do get that ground back.  It has been that way since the first fall, and has and will always be that way until Christ returns.

What is sin anyhow?  The definition in the Holman Bible Dictionary says this:
"Sin - actions by which humans rebel against God, miss His purpose for their life, and surrender to the power of evil rather than to God."

This definition tells us we have a choice:  We serve God or we serve Satan.  There is no middle ground here.  What is your choice?

For me and my household, we will serve the Lord! Joshua 24:15

That being the case, we must fully understand our being the worst of sinners.

When we realize our sin, we need to confess those sins to Christ.  Yes the Lord already knows our deeds and our hearts, but He wants us to realize our hearts and come in humility. 1 Peter 5:5

If our confession comes from our broken and contrite heart, then God is faithful and will forgive us. 1 John 1:9

Once God gives us this forgiveness we must receive, which means we must also forgive ourselves.  This does not mean do not grieve, however we must be-careful not to linger or hold onto our confessed sin, as it may rear it ugly head once again.

It will helps us greatly to understand the state of our sin.  Many times our sin will have layers to it.  What I mean by this is, the sin that is most visible and may be the "only" visible sin at the moment, may be caused by other sins in your life.

If we have the sin of lusting after the flesh and looking at women in a sexual manner, which brings about thoughts of sex with these women, we know Christ tells us that if we look at a woman with lust in our hearts, we've already committed adultery.  Matthew 5:28

Though adultery is the most visible sin, where does this sin actually begin?  If all we do is confess the adultery, we will not be fully delivered, we must mortify the flesh in it's entirety.

If we do not cut the root cause of our sin out, we will be tempted once again, and will undoubtedly fall once again.

Read this Scripture in Matthew to see what is says about our eyes.

Christ talks about how we must deal with our sin.  He mentions the different parts of the body and what He suggests we do.

I can tell you He doesn't desire us to cut of or mutilate portions of our body, but I can tell you that we serve a Holy God and He desires us to be holy because He is holy!

We must get to the root cause of this sin.

You might be thinking that you are a good person, "I am always nice, kind, helpful," but...

...if you've ever stolen anything, great or small, lied about anything great or small, looked a person with less than honorable thoughts sexually, or cursed in the name of the Lord, how do you believe God will judge you?

Only through our relationship with Christ are we saved and justified.  Only by the pure gift of grace from our God, are we offered this.  Ephesians 2:8

Our belief in the fact that Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was punished and hung on a cross where He died, and after having been buried for three days, rose from the dead.  This is where our hope lies.  Christ died on the cross for us.  For our sins.  Through the spilling of His blood on that cross and our belief in Him, we are able to confess our sins, except His forgiveness and become a brand new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17

We can not do this on our own, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of the Living God, we have the ability to do all things in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:13

Though this gift of grace is a free gift, there is a responsibility that comes with this gift of grace.  If we truly believe in Christ and that He is the Son of God and that He did live sinless life and died on our cross as our sacrifice; that He did rise from the dead three days later and we have truly tasted and seen that the Lord is good, we will seek the Lord will all our heart and He will reveal Himself to us.

This relationship is one that takes work, focus, and should be the utmost priority in your life!  Exodus 20:3 only begins the journey!

The sin in our life is a huge deal and makes all the difference in our life in how we deal with it or do not deal with it.  If we fail to deal with the sin in our life, then we neglect the relationship with our Savior.  We grieve the Holy Spirit, which is sent to us.  The Holy Spirit is here to help us and if we distance ourselves  in this relationship, we lack the power and guidance to live a life pleasing to God.

When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are not expected to be perfect, but we are expected to make changes in our life and begin to grow in His likeness.

sin + confession + forgiveness = ?

? = freedom from the ways of this world and a glorious hope of a life with Christ.