Today’s Bible readings are Deuteronomy 33:1-29, Luke 13:1-21, Psalm 78:65-72, & Proverbs 12:25
Luke 13:1-5
About this
time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as
they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 “Do you think
those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?”
Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you
will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And
what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were
they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again
that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
Why is it that we
like to compare the sin in our lives to somebody who we think has greater sin?
I believe the answer is so that then we don’t feel the condemnation that comes
with sin. We all know what it is to experience condemnation.
When we do wrong
there is always that heavy conviction that follows. Many times, if we continue
in the things that we are convicted about, that conviction can turn into a heavy
sense of condemnation. We can become so enslaved to the things that we are now
condemned about that we find ourselves in a very vicious cycle of sinning,
followed by great condemnation.
Other times, we may
enjoy the things that we know are wrong. That was the case for me when I use to
use drugs. I knew it was wrong. I was often convicted about the way I was
living, but I wanted to still live that way. I still found pleasure in my sin.
It was very easy for me to find temporary relief from the guilt. I just
looked for somebody who was worse than me & convince myself that I was ok
because I wasn’t as bad as them.
What I found to be
true in my life was that I could find temporary relief from shame this way, but
it always came back. I always ended up feeling very ashamed of my life. I found
myself so trapped & depressed. It was all I knew so I just kept on sinning
& trying not to be as bad a sinner as some others. This was such a
miserable way to live.
This is what many of
the people did during the time of Christ. They thought that because they
observed a few of the religious laws that it made up for the areas that they
were missing it in. They convinced themselves that they weren’t as bad as
others. The problem being is that at the end of the day they still went to bed
with the same shame & condemnation that they woke up with.
No matter how hard
they tried to be good, or to be better than others in an attempted to lighten the
shame, it NEVER TOKE AWAY THE GUILT & CONDEMNATION. It stilled
remained & they were still in bondage.
Jesus came this day
& spoke the greatest truth on this matter. He said that repentance was the
answer. This was a new concept that would lead into a new way of doing things.
Instead of dealing with external stuff; the sin, Jesus was making the way to
deal with the real issue; the heart.
Repentance is a
change of mind that leads to a change of action. It is truly a work of the Holy
Spirit. He brings us to a place where we see the option of repentance. When we surrender
& repent, we are saved. Then the most remarkable thing happens. God’s Spirit
comes into us & brings with Him all the grace of heaven so that we can live
free from the sin that once held us captive.
We live free from sin
by staying in a state of repentance. What I mean by that is this: once you turn
from sin to God; NEVER LOOK BACK AT THE SIN!!! This is the part of repentance
that is not taught. We tell people to turn but that is it. People need to know
that once they have turned, don’t turn back.
1. Don’t look back to the sin.
2. Keep your eyes of Jesus.
3. The way to stay free from the sin is to stay focused on Jesus.
A lot of time we want
to talk about our sin. We want to talk about our struggle against it. There is
never a struggle when our eyes are on Jesus. When we are facing Him we are free
from the struggle. The struggle comes when we start to look back at the sin. We
start to turn back the other direction. Now we are torn. The sin begins to pull
at us. The same is true if we stay turned toward God; He will continue to pull
at us. This is the path to victory.
I want to remind you
what Jesus said:
John 8:36
36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
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