12/27/2025
Do we deny the sin within us? Do we say to ourselves that we are moral, good, and that we harm no one? Do we argue that our morality makes us righteous? Well, my response to this is that if we believe this then we mustn’t have any idea what sin truly is... or else we are lying to ourselves. Let’s look at sin further today.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”
Romans 3:23-24 ESV
In this scripture, Paul tells us that we have all sinned. Not just some of us, or most of us, but all of us. We each have two portions of sin within us... the conscious sin that we are aware of, and the unconscious sin that lurks in the darkest reaches of our very soul and nature. Without the redemption of Jesus Christ, we might successfully confront many of the conscious sins we face, but the deeply rooted and engrained unconscious sin is illusive, and lurks in our very hearts, and it can only be relieved by grace through Christ... by being reborn. Pastor Oswald Chambers wrote of such sin using these words…
“No man knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced on Calvary. The evidence that I am delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me.” - Oswald Chambers
We also read about our unknown sins in Psalm 19 where we are asked a riveting question, “Who can discern his errors?” Many times, this question can open a door to truths that we have known intuitively yet denied to our conscious mind. The question in this passage reveals such denial, and it is followed by a discussion of hidden sin. Let’s read:
“Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
Psalms 19:12-14 ESV
Scripture also tells us about how we can deal with both conscious and unconscious sin by asking for forgiveness. It warns us that by denying our sin we are denying the Word of God, and that this is paramount to calling Him a liar...
“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 cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
1 John 1:7-10 ESV
So, we have sinned. We have sinned consciously by our outright disobedience, by not doing those things we ought, and unconsciously in such things as pride, hubris, and others flaws that are imbedded in our souls and character. We are also told that we must accept Jesus as our Redeemer before we can truly realize these sins, and that it is by His sacrifice alone that we realize the extent of them and gain the forgiveness of God by His grace. Do we believe this to be true?
Are you ready to open your eyes to the sinner that you are? Are you prepared to accept Jesus Christ as your savior and redeemer and allow His light to shine into your very soul and to expose the true character of who you are? Are you ready to face your failures, and ask Him to intercede for you by hearing your confession and contrition for your sins and seeking God’s forgiveness for these transgressions right now?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who reveals of my sins, and for exposing my sinful nature through the His life which illuminates my sin as it skulks about within me. Seeing this revelation I throw myself at your feet and pray in His Holy Name that you will forgive me of all my sins... those I have committed knowingly, unknowingly, and by abstention. Help me Lord to not only live a better life but to avoid sin in all its forms. In my failures Father, cover me by your grace and the blood of your Son Jesus. Guide me Father as I avoid the sinful transgressions of which I am aware and lead me, by changing my very nature, from those sins; even the sins I find hidden in my heart. Give me the courage and determination I need to obey your commandments in my life and to resist the temptation to sin by leading me from it, and delivering me from evil. Teach me to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and do all those merciful things you have asked of me. Holy Father, let my desire to be with you shepherd me away from every sin before it even becomes a temptation, and deliver me from the hands of the evil one in all his forms. Keep me ever close Father and wash me in the blood of your Son Jesus so that I might remain without sin in your eyes, and be able to praise you in the purity of my faith forever. Forgive me especially for those things that I feel are unforgivable in myself, and allow me the realization, through Jesus, that I am always free to come home, forgiven and unblemished in Him to your house. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who was, and is, and is to come. Holy are you who opens my eyes to the truth about sin, and to the perfection of your grace that delivers me from it. I praise your name Father for loving me as you do, straightening the paths before me, and leading me through your Son Jesus into righteousness for your name’s sake. I sing your praises Abba and give you all the glory and honor for who I have become by your merciful grace in Christ. Though I have sinned, now I am made righteous.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV
“He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
Psalm 23:3 ESV
Hallelujah and Amen!
Rich Forbes