A key aspect to the Christian faith is that many of the choices people make, stand between them and God, because those choices are not in accordance with God’s will. This is known as ‘sin’.
This ‘barrier of sin’ between God and us (and the effects of this barrier on our ultimate destination in the afterlife) can be removed. That is what Jesus Christ achieved when He died on the cross. He paid the penalty for our sins, and if we accept Him as our Savior, the barrier of sin is taken away; our sins are forgiven, and we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Job done? – or is there something we need to consider beforehand?
1. “I never sin!”
Whereas most Christians are quite familiar with the concept that God does not approve of everything we do, many people who are not (yet) followers of Christ, do not acknowledge that such a thing as ‘sin’ exists. And if there is no such thing as ‘sin’, it is not possible to repent of it, they argue. Their starting point, of course, is that God doesn’t exist.
Well, let’s say that He does, and that He, like humans – after all, we were created in His image! – consciously knows things, contemplates things, has a mind, a character, and a nature. He is holy (Revelation 15:4), and He is love (1 John 4:8), and many other things.
Is it likely that a loving, holy God has no opinions on anything?
Let’s say that this isn’t likely.
And although it is true that we humans can never fully know God (Isaiah 55:8-12), we do know that He never changes, because this is what the Bible tells us (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). Consequently, we can read the Scripture to find out what God does, and doesn’t approve of. Jesus mentions a number of these things in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”
Who can honestly say they have never entertained an angry thought about something or someone? Or never told a ‘white lie’…….?
So, yes, we all sin!
2. “Maybe I have sinned. But my sins are nothing compared to the sins of others!”
For the sake of this article, our starting point remains that God exists. Let’s now assume that His Word, the Bible, is also true. If so, we are cautioned that at some point in the future, we will be judged.
Our heavenly Judge will not be comparing our sins to those of others.
It will not be the case that because there are other, worse sinners than us, we are excused.
No, we will personally be judged, on the basis of God’s perfect and holy will.
Presumably, few people will refer to themselves as perfect and holy but, as Scripture informs us, God is, and it is His standards we would have to meet before we can expect to join Him in His presence in Heaven. As we have all done things that are not ‘perfect and holy’, we are all ‘sinners’ (Romans 3:23).
Is there nothing we can do to change this? – yes, there is.
If we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, God has promised that He will see us through Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). Revelation 1:5 says that Jesus, “has released us from our sins by His blood”. That is magnificent news!!! At least…. if you have accepted Jesus as Savior, it is magnificent news! If so, you have been ‘made righteous before God’ which means the Heavenly Judge will not see your sins because Jesus has already removed the penalty for them, by paying the price Himself.
3. “YOUR belief in God does not make ME a sinner! I’m a good person!”
That is certainly true, but your rejection of God does not make Him go away, either!
And while it may certainly be true, too, that you are a good person, your goodness will still not make you ‘perfect and holy’.
Please consider that your ‘being a sinner’ has nothing to do with others. Christians do not cause you to be a sinner. You are not a sinner because they say so; you and they are sinners because none of us are perfect and holy. You are not as perfect and holy as the perfect and holy Creator of the Universe, therefore, the Lord Who decides in such matters, has decided that we fall short of His glory.
“Okay, so what does that mean?” you might say. “I don’t care if I ‘fall short of glory’!”
Well, this is of the utmost importance. When we die, we do not ‘disappear’. Our person (the ‘soul’) is separated from our earthly body and, following the Judgement, has only two places to go: God’s presence (for which we need His glory) or the place where God is not. This place is to be avoided at all costs. But anyone who is still a sinner cannot join God in His presence. Being a sinner means ‘to be separated from God’, and that’s exactly where sinners will be. Their own choice – after all, they rejected God – but not a good place to be, at all.
The only way to avoid that is to repent. Repent, and accept Jesus Christ.
4. “I don’t want to ‘repent’! I have free will, don’t I?”
Yes, you have free will. It is your choice not to seek God’s will. However, if you seek to do your own will, you must also accept the consequence of your free will not leading you to the GOOD place (God’s loving presence). This is logical and makes sense; you cannot expect God to reward rejecting Him.
And as you have no definitive proof that God does not exist, you need to make very sure that you are ready to accept this consequence.
Repenting may not be easy. It involves distancing yourself from everything that is not in accordance with God’s will. It means you have realized all the different and many ways in which you are not following His guidance. Jesus went to the cross for you and paid the penalty for your sin, but He didn’t do so without you being sorry for your sins. It was also not His intention that you might be sorry today, but return to your sins, tomorrow.
“Saying goodbye to my ‘sins’? You must be joking!” you might say.
Your eternal future is not a joke.
5. “The Bible calls many things that I like, a sin! That’s not my fault!”
Yes, you have a point. Ever since God’s spiritual enemy brought evil into our world, every person has an innate tendency to sin. We cannot undo this. But this does not excuse us from not repenting. We do have the choice to continue with, or stop sinning.
Out of our heart, says Jesus (in Matthew 15:19) come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. Thankfully, most people do not find it hard to remove ‘thoughts of murder’ from their heart, or theft. Adultery and other forms of sexual immorality are more difficult. The Bible clarifies that the only ‘perfect and holy’ way to engage in sexuality is when one male and one female are joined together in a monogamous marriage. That is because the human marriage symbolizes the ultimate (perfect and holy) union between Jesus and His Church.
Repenting in this respect will be a struggle to anyone who is sexually active outside of this marital arrangement. And it cannot be underemphasized how important it is that the Holy Spirit will HELP anyone who struggles with this. But it is of great importance; not just for ‘the afterlife’. Accepting Jesus Christ as Savior allows the Holy Spirit to make His home with believers: they become His dwelling place. Not symbolically, but actually.
That’s why Jesus returned to heaven: so that the Holy Spirit could take His place in His Temple, the Church.
Telling a lie while being a ‘Temple to the Holy Spirit’ is not a very good idea, but committing adultery while hosting the Holy Spirit, is utterly disrespectful to your Holy Guest. That is why many churches pay more attention to ‘bodily sins’ than to others, but keep in mind that all sins oppose God’s will.
If you are a Christian, please prayerfully consider the above. If you are not, please consider what evidence you have that God does not exist and that you will not be called to account for your choices.