Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

I was born with a sinful nature. You were born in sin. From Adam to this day all men are born in sin. Some fall into degradation…Some become prosperous and wealthy…Some lead what could be termed a normal life. Ironically, regardless of our status in life we are all sinners. It is our sin that separates us from God just as Adam and Eve were separated from God for their sin. Sin is our inherent nature. We do not consciously decide to sin…it just comes natural.

God created man to live forever and it is still His wish. As long as we are in sin He will not grant us eternal life, otherwise sin would live forever. I am truly amazed at the depth of the love of God. How He must have felt when Adam disobeyed and He had to expel Him from the garden. The same emotions that we feel when betrayed…He felt also…yet He couldn’t override His love. Instead of making a new set of rules for mankind to follow, His requirements were and forever will be the same…obey Him…believe in His sovereignty…love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Although we have life in our physical bodies, we are spiritually stillborn. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. We are alienated from God. We live in spiritual darkness. Many times over I tried to rectify my own sin and wrongdoing. I thought self-empowerment could solve it all. It’s just mind over matter…right? Wrong…very wrong! I could not have been more mistaken. All my efforts proved to be futile. Even though to some degree, I would have success in changing my habits and actions, I found it impossible to control the inner man. I could not gain complete control of the impulse to sin. Then I came into the knowledge…He is the Alpha and Omega…the first and the last…He decreed spiritual death and only He can regenerate life into our spirit. Our spirit belongs to God and is His and His alone.

What is sin? Sin is any action or thought contrary to what God is. We were made in the image of God and anything within us, that defiles His likeness is sin. Every commandment set forth by God for man to obey and follow is an expression of Godliness. His Word is true…His Word is Himself…they are one and the same. God is true to Himself. In order for us to be true to ourselves we must seek to set ourselves aright in God. It is in Him that we find our reason for being. We must become sinless. As God is perfect so should man strive towards the perfection that can only be found in God. At one point in my life I felt as if my transgressions against God were too great…that He would not accept me…again I was disillusioned. There is no big or small sin with God. He regards all iniquity the same. All men are equal in that regard. It is His commandment that all men everywhere must confess their sin…repent…and ask Him to forgive them. Repenting of sin is to turn away from it…to do an about face…to not continue in. Forgiveness is what God will grant us if we actually turn away from our sin. God and only God can forgive sin. Asking God for forgiveness is a great step. It is the beginning of a process that will allow man fellowship again with God. To ask for forgiveness is a humbling action…it builds character…so very different than the pride that defeated Adam and Eve and destroyed their relationship with God. Open your heart and talk to Him…confess to Him in spoken words…He is just and able to forgive and loves you with a love that will exceed all your ability to understand. God wants to save us from ourselves and cleanse us from the residual sin within us that will prevent us from obtaining eternal life. Just repenting and asking forgiveness will not save a man nor guarantee in itself eternal life but it is a necessary first step… it is God’s commandment…to disobey is to continue in the Adamic death.