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Your New Life -
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 | A societal injustice, such as the oppression or marginalization of minorities or attacking defenseless people for personal or nationalistic gain |
| Whatever someone else does that takes unfair advantage of me, hurting me or making me unhappy |
| "Doing unto me before I can do unto them" |
| Breaking some rule or law (major or minor) |
| Whenever I take advantage of a situation or another person for my own gain or benefit |
All of these have an element of sin about them. Sin implies a situation or activity where one seeks one's own way, usually to the disadvantage of another.
And, hey, when we think about it, we've all been guilty of sin one time or another. After all, we have to admit that no one's perfect. We've all sinned, and we've all been sinned against by others.
When it comes to a relationship with God, sin means wanting to have it our own way. Sometimes it is exhibited when we say, "I don't really need God. I can make it just fine on my own." It's the old "I am the captain of my fate and the master of my soul" syndrome.
Another way sin expresses itself is, "Look, I live basically a good, moral life. Sure, I'm not perfect. But the good outweighs the bad most days. If I'm just good enough, it has to tip the scale in my favor, doesn't it? Surely if I'm good enough, God will have to accept me!" It's as if somehow we think that God must 'grade on the curve.'" Nice try, but God's standard is perfection!
Still another way sin shows itself is in expressions such as, "I know I'm not perfect, but I'm no mass murderer or rapist. I don't drive above the speed limit (most of the time). I'm a lot better than other people." That leads to a sense of pride—oops, that perfection thing again (not to speak of self-justification)!
Trying to do enough to earn God's favor is the hallmark of religion. It's all about what I can do or must do to get God on my side. It's trying to be good enough.
But sin has consequences: death—eternal separation from God. While God is loving, God is also just. Being good doesn't excuse our wrong actions. Being good most of the time, for example, doesn't make stealing something once in a while all right. If relationship with God is about what we can do to make our wrongs right, we're in big trouble!
Fortunately, God did not leave us in a hopeless or helpless situation . . .
A relationship with God is about what God has already done. Because of a love beyond anything we can imagine in human terms, God loves us so much that he has done what is necessary for us to be reconciled with him.
The Bible puts it this way:
"Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are now justified [their relationship is restored] by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23, 24).
That's why Jesus, as God living on earth, lived a life of sinless perfection. Then, as a perfect human being, he died in our place to meet the requirements of sin and to reconcile us with God. But Jesus also came back to life to give us life and hope and relationship again with God.
That's where confession comes in. God already knows we're not perfect. The role of confession is that we acknowledge to God and too ourselves what God already knows: that we have sought to make ourselves right with God on our own terms. And, as a result, we've acted like gods in our relationships with others—again, justifying our actions toward others in ways that make ourselves seem right.
Confession is an important step in having a relationship with God. It is an act of honesty. And confession can be healing. You know the popular saying, "Confession is good for the soul."
But confession is more than some form of psychological catharsis. Confession is also acknowledging and accepting that what Jesus did—in his life, in his death on the cross, and in his resurrection from the dead—he did for you and for me. It is accepting God's plan rather than following some human plan to try to be good enough.
Are you willing to:
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Acknowledge that you are a sinner—that you've been trying to make your own way to God by making yourself good enough? |
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Accept that what Jesus did for you—through his exemplary life, through his death on the cross, and through coming back to life again—is your only way and hope for having a relationship with God? |
If so, you are on the road to having a relationship with God.
All Bible passages taken from the New Revised Standard
Version. This presentation written by Ronald W. Waters and freely adapted
from "A Concise Reference for the Ministry
of Evangelism" developed by the Commission on Home Ministries of the
General Conference Mennonite Church and Mennonite Board of Congregational
Ministries of the Mennonite Church.
2000-2010 New Life
Ministries (www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org).
All Rights Reserved.
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