Deal or no deal?

Years ago, a friend said to me, “I don’t know what the big deal is about believing that Jesus died for sinners. I believe that.”

I replied, “What about your sin?”

He was silent for a few moments, then said, “Oh, I see what you mean.”

Christians know the reality of sin, but instead of generalizing it, we admit it personally. In fact, when I do something that violates the will of God, I get the distinct sensation of Him turning His back. While Jesus promises that He will never leave or forsake His people, He is not pleased when we disobey Him, and I know the feeling of His displeasure. It is like He has left me.

Actually, it is me that has left. Every time I say ‘no’ to God, I am turning my back on Him. That is why it is up to me to turn around and come back.

Over and over Scripture affirms God’s invitation to sinners to do just that. He says, “Repent” which means to turn around, go a new way, God’s way.

In Luke 13, Jesus said that unless sinners repent, they will perish. In 1 John 1:9, Christians are told, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” but verses 8 and 10 say, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” and “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Instead of going along with it, God’s people have always struggled against sin, and sometimes lose. In the Old Testament, when Moses was up on the mountain receiving the Commandments, the Israelites were caught up in idolatry with a golden calf. He came down, confronted their sin with judgment, and after those who were guilty were slain by the sword, he said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”

Consecrate yourselves. Turn back. Give your lives back to the Lord. Set yourselves aside for Him and not for sin. Do it so He can bless you.

Sinners are blessed in many ways; life, sunshine, abilities, opportunities, pleasures. However the blessings of God go far beyond the ordinary things of life. They include forgiveness of sin, a clean heart and fresh start, and sweet fellowship with Him, and so much more.

Believing Jesus died for sinners is a big deal, but a far bigger deal is believing that He died for me.