“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23,24).

Sin is a very unpopular subject, concerning which many misconceptions abound. Liberalism soft-pedals sin; perhaps a mistake, they say, or a primitive hangover. To another group, sin is an error of the mind to be overcome by good thoughts. The subject of sin is strictly forbidden.

On the other hand, the Bible clearly teaches that man was created in the image of God, became a sinner through Adam’s fall, and is, therefore, lost at birth. Only through regeneration, or rebirth, by accepting Christ as Savior, can sin be overcome and righteous living take place. The word “sin” must best be understood by printing it as “sIn,” an inherited nature producing “I” sins—sins of pride and lust. Thankfully, all sin can be forgiven, once confessed ( I John 1:9).

David, the great Israelite king and psalmist, describes his misery from unconfessed sin: “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me” (Psalm 32:3,4). “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (v.5). In David’s day, Christ had not yet died on the cross for sin, but David had experienced forgiveness just like a born again Christian whose sin is no longer charged to his account. After confessing his sin and receiving forgiveness, David worshiped God: “Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (v.2), concluding with the exhortation: “Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (v.11). JLG