07/03/2021
The great sin that has caused the ruin of millions of souls is pride. It is the sin that was found in Lucifer and coursed through the angelic host as a plague. It was pride that kept Lucifer and a third of the angels to refuse repentance. Selfish pride has brought death to God’s creation.
Self-sufficiency, self-satisfaction, is the hardest of all sins to overcome. But there is hope for everyone who humbles their heart before God and confesses their sin. If anyone has given themselves up to lust and lasciviousness, if they have been unfaithful to their marriage vow, their case is not hopeless.
If they realize that they have violated the law of God, if they repent and confess their sin to their Maker (and Him alone—no minister or priest for Christ is our Mediator with the Father) and to those they have injured, and earnestly strives to make restitution for the past by kindness and sympathy, they will receive forgiveness.
Nothing else will avail them. Only by pursuing this course can their soul be cleared from guilt. If they do not show the evidences of reformation, then the record of their sin remains charged against him in the books of heaven. This should give us all pause for one day we will have to give an answer.
If a covetous, self-centered person sees their sin in the light of the law of God (the Ten Commandments) and repents, bringing forth the fruits of repentance, God looks upon them with joyous pleasure. And as they now practice self-denial, they learn by faithful experience that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
But when someone possesses defects of character, and yet fails to realize that they do, when they are so imbued with self-sufficiency and self pride that they cannot see they have faults, how can they be cleansed from sin? “They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” [Luke 5:31.] How can anyone improve when they think that their ways are perfect?
Again, the sin that is most hopeless and incurable is pride of opinion, self-conceit. This sin stands in the way of all advancement and growth in attaining a Godly character.
That is the way it was with the Pharisees in the days of Christ. The Lord set before them their true position, pronouncing a woe upon their self-righteousness, and declaring that the publicans and harlots would go into the kingdom of heaven before the scribes and Pharisees. Why? Just how could the wicked tax collectors and prostitutes enter heaven ahead of the “righteous” leaders of God’s people?
Well, the wicked tax collectors, who were liars and thieves, and the prostitutes actually knew that they were sinners, and they did show genuine repentance for their sins. Even the thief on the cross next to Christ showed the fruit of faith and repentance by accepting Jesus as his Savior and Lord. If it had been possible for him to be taken off that cross he would have been baptized and lived a life worthy of a Christian believer. What a testimony he would’ve given!
But the leaders in Israel, the “righteous” pretenders of God’s people did not come to Christ in repentance; for they did not think that they needed a Savior. They did not realize that they cherished sins which needed to be repented of, forsaken, and forgiven. This is the greatest of all the devils deceptions. Thinking we are good when we are sinners in need of a Savior.
Let us remove the self conceited blinders from our eyes and take a very close look in the mirror. Let us compare our attitudes, thoughts and actions against God’s law and see the truth about ourselves. What is that truth? Each of us are guilty of sin and in need of being saved. And who will save us? Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Don’t wait my friends. Today is your day of salvation. Rejoice in this day. Rejoice in Christ. Keep looking up and be at peace.
Pastor Joel
