Saving Grace!
What is sin? -Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 1 John 3:4 (sin is transgression or disobedience of the law)
The Bible says: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 .
But we are promised that we can be cleansed from all unrighteousness (or sin). 1 John 1:7-9 says:
1:7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We have hope! Not through any merits of ourselves but only through the blood of Jesus can we be cleansed from all sin and wrong doings. We can be forgiven and the weight of guilt that has for so long weighed us down will roll off us. Then we can have that “peace which passeth understanding”.
But there are two conditions;
1. we must “walk in the light”
2. we must “confess our sins”
What does it mean to walk in the light?
1 John 2:10-11 says: “he that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”
So to walk in the light is to love your brother (in the Bible a brother can be a brother in Christ not necessarily a physical blood relation. For example Revelation 1:9 says I John who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ…) So we must love all human beings even our enemies because they are our fellow brothers in Jesus Christ.
John 8:12 says: Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
If we want the light we must follow Jesus and do as He did. Christ should be our only example. Then we will be given the light of life and we shall not walk in darkness.
John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
If we do not want to abide in darkness then we must believe on Jesus and then we will abide in the light.
To be cleansed from all our unrighteousness we must :
1. Walk in the light. To walk in the light means:
· to love all fellow men.
· to follow the life of Jesus and imitate His example,
· and to believe on Jesus because He is the light of the world.
2. Confess or plead guilty for our sins.
· to confess or plead guilty for our sins is to realize our need of Christ's cleansing blood and fall at the feet of Him; realizing that we are guilty and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) Jesus is the only one who can save us and give us the gift of God, eternal life. Believe that God will forgive your sins (as He has promised in 1 John 1:9 ).
When our sins are forgiven we must claim the victory over those sins in our life. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 says:
“The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus will give us the victory. When we claim the victory we must believe that we will get the victory. Otherwise we are making God out to be a liar because we don’t believe that He will do what He has said He will do and we will not be granted the victory.
Jesus Christ died in our place, He took upon Himself the sins of the whole world. So that we can gain the victory over sin. (see Isaiah 53 and 1 John 2:2)
Jesus died for us so that we can come boldly to God’s throne of grace and have the remission or forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus.
But does this mean that once we have salvation we can continue on sinning because Christ has given us His grace and mercy to forgive us of all our sins? To find the answer to this question go to the topic 'Salvation, can we lose it?'
Salvation is a free gift. It cannot be purchased with money. We do not deserve it but through the grace of God it is available to us.
In Summary
1. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God
2. But we are promised that Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.
3. To be cleansed from all our unrighteousness we must:
4. Walk in the light.
5. Love all fellow men
6. Believe on Jesus
7. Follow Christ’s example
8. Confess our sins and realize that we are guilty.
9. We have been promised the victory over our sins 1 Corinthians 15:56-57, believe that when we pray to God for the victory that He will give us the victory
Can we lose salvation? Find out in the topic 'Salvation, can we lose it?'
how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost,
But now am found,
Was blind but now I see