If you spend 5 minutes around a toddler, you will be convinced that all human beings are born with a sin nature. No one needs to teach a toddler to be selfish or to disobey. That is because each one of us is born in sin and is separated from God because of that sin. If we want to be right with God and have a restored relationship with Him, we must begin by acknowledging our sin.
The Bible makes it clear that we human beings have a sin problem that has existed from the moment that Adam and Eve brought sin into the world in Genesis 3 by disobeying God's instructions to them and eating fruit from a tree that God instructed them not to eat from. Paul writes about our sin problem in Romans 3, saying, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard" (verse 23). Notice the word "everyone" in this verse. That means that every single one of us has sinned. None of us is excluded from this verse. We have all sinned. We have all disobeyed God and gone against His instructions to us in His word, and our sin has broken His heart. Not only that, but our sin has caused us to "fall short of God's glorious standard." In short, our sin separates us from a holy God. Praise God that this is not the end of the story! Paul continues writing in this passage of Scripture, “Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin” (verses 24-25). When we were lost in sin, God sent Jesus to pay the price by becoming a sacrifice for our sin. What an amazing God that we have who stopped at nothing to rescue us from our sins!
Make no mistake, each one of us has sinned. We cannot erase our sins by doing more good deeds, nor can we overlook them. The good news is that there is freedom from sin in Christ Jesus. That freedom begins by acknowledging our sins and confessing them to God. After all, confessing our sins is the beginning of healing and having a restored relationship with Christ.
Admitting our sin is often difficult, but it is also freeing. Admitting our sin and confessing it to God is the first step in having a restored relationship with Him. Take some time now to confess any unconfessed sin that is in your life. Acknowledge that sin and tell Him you are sorry for your sin. Then, repent of it. Commit to turning away from it and obeying Him instead.
1Then what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision? 2 Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.
3 True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? 4 Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him,
“You will be proved right in what you say,
and you will win your case in court.”
5 “But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.) 6 Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world? 7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.
9 Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous—
not even one.
11 No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16 Destruction and misery always follow them.
17 They don’t know where to find peace.”
18 “They have no fear of God at all.”
19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
