A Sinner in Need of a Savior

(Prov 20:9 NIV) Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?

Here Solomon poses a rhetorical question. Sure, people have said it, but no one (outside of Jesus) could ever make this statement and it be true. Every one of us was born a sinner in need of a savior.

Paul preaches this powerful message (the Gospel) in all his letters. In his letter to the church at Rome Paul made it clear that every human, unequivocally, has sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Why? Because we were all born with a sin nature, a sin conscious, and a sin-induced death sentence. In addition to the fact that Adam's sin left us an inheritance of iniquity (causing us to be born into sin), Adam's sin also transferred to us a sin nature. This means that we were all born with the tendency to do wrong. I heard a preacher once say, "I have lived all these years and I have never heard a baby say "yes" first." Why is that? Because of the inheritance of Adam.

All of us are born sinners. In Ecclesiastes Solomon made this message very clear by saying, "Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins" (7:20). Both Solomon and Paul taught this message, however, Paul had a message Solomon never heard and that is the message of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. That is why Paul could go on to explain that God, by His grace, made a way for every human to receive salvation from sin and that is: through the saving power of God's Son, Jesus the Christ (see Romans 3:23,24).

Solomon was writing as he looked forward: in hopes of a coming Messiah. Paul was writing as he looked back: at a Messiah who had already come into the earth, had lived a sinless life, suffered all manner of suffering, experienced a crucifixion on Calvary's cross for a debt He did not owe, and conquered satan, hell and the grave by being raised from the dead with all power in His hand! That is the message we preach. Solomon's message was incomplete. Paul's message tells us the rest of the story.

John, like Paul, also preached the saving power of Jesus Christ. John's New Testament letters are chock-full of the gospel message. In his first letter John said, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." If we stop there we feel like there is an un-crossable gulf between a holy God and fallen man. However, John goes on to say, "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." That tells us that we can have fellowship with God (in whom there is no darkness at all), just as long as we walk in the light and receive the cleansing power of Jesus' blood.

However, without understanding the whole of counsel of God's Word it sounds like we would have to be sinless to walk with God. So I am thankful that John goes on to say, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives" (see 1st John 1:5-10).

So yes we, as believers, still sin, but we quickly confess our sin, repent, and move forward by faith. It's not that we are sinless, but since we are committed to walking with God we definitely sin less!

So what does this mean to you? Simply put, it means that you were born a sinner in need of a Savior. The Father provided that Savior in His Son; Jesus is His name. Once you accept Jesus as Your Lord you are to walk in the light, as He is in the light, so you can shine as divine light in a dark, dying, and decaying world.

Father, I thank You for sending Jesus, Your Son, to die in my stead. Because of Adam I was born in sin and with a sin nature. Sin was common to me and I was in dire need of a Savior. I heard the gospel message that Your Son paid the price I could not pay for a debt He did not owe. Without Him and You I am nothing. I could not even breathe my next breath without You. I am forever grateful for Jesus and what He did to pay the penalty for my sin. I declare, by faith, that I will walk in the light, as You are in the light, and together we will shine in the midst of darkness and impact all those we come in contact with today! In Jesus' name. Amen!