What are we to do about SIN? REPENT!!!

"Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins" (Isaiah 58:1).

Here is a command in the Bible that says God’s servants are to speak boldly, to cry out loudly like a trumpet and tell His people about their sins.

How do we begin telling God’s people about their sin? All we have to do is pick up a newspaper or listen to the nightly T.V. news and we will see and hear about the sins of our world, nation, state and our local community. We will see violence, war, murder, burglary, crime, rape, adultery, homosexuality, child abuse, parental abuse, abortion, drugs, scandals involving government officials, scamming the elderly, dignitaries lying under oath, people cheating on their income tax, and children killing their classmates at school.

What is the cause of all of this crime and violence? The answer is SIN!

The Bible definition of sin is: "Whosoever commits sin transgresses the law: for sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4).

The law being referred to here is God’s Ten Commandments. They are listed in Exodus 20:3-17 and repeated in Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

Everybody Has Sinned "Sin" is the breaking of God’s Ten Commandments. Everybody has sinned: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God " (Romans 3:23).

There was only one man who has walked upon this earth who did not sin, and that man was Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul said of Jesus: "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

What happens when we sin? The prophet Isaiah gives us the answer: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. {2} But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Our sins, transgressions and iniquities separates us from God.

The apostle Paul declared: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Our sins, transgressions and iniquities cuts us off from God and leads to death.

We all are responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. We have to look at this from a personal point of view: Jesus was crucified and put to death for me!

What did Peter say to the Jews on Pentecost shortly after Jesus’ crucifixion, Verse 38 of Acts 2, ""Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. {39} "For the promise is to you and to your children, ....{40} ... Be saved from this perverse generation." What is Repentance?

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word "Repent" as: " to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life, to feel regret or contrition, to change one's mind".

Strong’s Concordance #3340 defines the word "Repent" as: "to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (mor. feel compunction):--repent".

Repent means to "turn from sin and change one’s mind."

We must change how we think about God. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).

Enmity suggests positive hatred which may be open or concealed. Synonyms are hostility, animosity and rancor.

Man has a desire to hate, avoid and reject God. In order to repent we must change our attitude toward God! We must learn to love God. We must become a new man: "Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him" (Colossians 3:10). 

How Do We Repent?

First of all, we have to realize that we are sinners. "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 ).

We must realize that salvation comes only through Jesus. "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Jesus died for us sinners. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

We must accept Jesus as our personal savior and walk as He would walk.

We must ask God to forgive us of our sin of breaking His Commandments and ask Him to give us strength in keeping His Commandments. We should ask God for grace and mercy because salvation is a gift.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast. {10} For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Repentance is an ongoing process and we must "bear fruit worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8). Repentance is a very important part of being a Christian. Each one of us should go to our prayer closet and read and meditate on Psalms 51. Let’s ask God to have mercy on us, create a new heart within us and to restore to us the joy of His salvation.

In Conclusion: REPENT!