What Do You Do When You Sin?
What do you do when you sin?
Do you try to pretend it didn’t happen? Do you use all your energy to hide it from Christ and others, or do you bring it to Jesus? What do you do?
I will confess to you that I am a great hider. Now when you are playing Ghost in the Graveyard or Hide-n-Seek, this is a good skill to have in your bag. However, it is not a good skill when it comes to dealing with sin.
Regardless, hiding sin is what I did. I worked so hard to hide my sin and look like I had it altogether that some people actually accused me of being overly prideful. Oh the irony! Here I was feeling like an utter failure, completely broken inside, and people were accusing me of being overly fond of myself! Only when Satan is in charge can such things happen.
For me, my biggest problem with Jesus was that He never sinned. I wanted to know how He could possibly understand me and my sinfulness if He always resisted temptation. I wanted to know how Jesus could possibly help me in my sinfulness if He lived a pure, holy, sinless life. Wouldn’t He just be disgusted and appalled by all my sinful choices--check that--all my deliberate sinful choices after He suffered and sacrificed so very much for me?
The fact is, however, that even though Jesus never sinned, He does indeed have firsthand knowledge of my sin. Note what I just wrote there. I did not write “firsthand knowledge of sin.” No, I wrote “firsthand knowledge of my sin.” Jesus is intimately acquainted with my sin and yours. He bore all of it inside Himself and took it to the cross.
The Bible tells us that Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ~ 1 Peter 2:24
What does that mean? It means that all my sin was on the cross with Jesus. The sharp words I use with my wife, the impure thoughts that fill my mind, the lust that consumes my heart, and more. It was all there with Jesus. And guess what? Your sin was there too. The secret affair, the tawdry internet surfing, the “little” white lie, the major scam, the cheating on your taxes, the anger towards your children, it all filled Jesus. He felt that guilt, that shame, that darkness.
Make no mistake. Jesus knows sin. More specifically, Jesus knows our sin. He probably was totally disgusted by it, but He still took it all upon Himself and died on the cross, so we could be rid of it once and for all.
What wonderful news! I don’t have to hide my sin from Christ, He knows about it already. Praise the Lord! I don’t need to run from Jesus and wallow in my sin. I can run to Jesus and have victory over my sin.
Don’t doubt this amazing truth. Believe it! Running to Christ will transform your life!
