“... your sins are forgiven you.” 

                                                                                                                    Matthew 9:2 

Dearly beloved in Christ,

Greetings to you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today sin is thought to be a part of man’s life. It has become impossible for man to live without sinning. People think, “Who is righteous? Who is holy and undefiled?” Those who talk about holiness are thought to be jokers. Only at such a time, Jesus Christ came and lived a sinless life as a model. There are so many people living in tears and sorrow as families and as individuals without knowing that the consequence of sin is curse and suffering. The consequence of sin is evil. As a result of sin, man loses his healthy life and peace, and is in reproach. Sin destroys the good life of a person and his descendants live in agony. They mourn in their sufferings, diseases, troubles, losses, failures, and sorrows.

I) THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES OF SIN 

1. Relationship with the Lord Broken

“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:17

                     The man who knew this, listened to the voice of the serpent and transgressed the word of the Lord. As a result, curse came upon man and the earth. “Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you...” (Gen. 3:18). The man who had been created in the image of the Lord God lost his command. One who was to rule came under rule. He lost the robe of light. There came the life of darkness. He realized his nakedness. He lost his exalted state and was sent out of the Garden of Eden. He had been without thirst or sorrow. Now he lost those blessings. He had to labour hard for his living. Sin created a chasm between us and the loving God and destroyed the fullness of life and happiness. Today we have lost the relationship with the Lord God. There has come a life of bitterness and struggles with sufferings and sorrows. We seek someone to share our sorrows and miseries, seek someone who can do something to relieve us. As the relationship with the Lord is broken, fear, loneliness and emptiness that are sore and troublesome take over. 

2. Family Destroyed

“Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.” Joshua 7:24, 25

                              The Lord had cautioned: “And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.” (Joshua 6:18). After the battle of Jericho, the Israelites were defeated by the people of Ai. In the subsequent enquiry it was found that Achan had sinned disobeying the word of the Lord. He confessed: “Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.” (Joshua 7:20, 21). They took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. There they were stoned to death and set on fire. Sin destroys the entire family. 

3. Health Destroyed 

“There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin.” “For my loins are full of inflammation, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.”  Psalm 38:3, 7, 8 

                Dear Brother, sin would wholly destroy the health of a person. Sin is found to be one of the reasons of diseases. Once a family afflicted with AIDS came for prayer. They were educated. They were employed as lecturers in colleges. The disease tormented them. They were worried about the length of their lives. They were not bothered about their descendants. Your life of sin would make the life of your descendants bitter. Dear Brother/ Sister, if you give place for your sinful lusts, you are sure to be afflicted with terrible diseases and the end would be miserable. I know a strong young man. He was enslaved by the habit of drinking. He lost his strength. He became sick as said in Hosea 7:5, “In the day of our king Princes have made him sick, inflamed with wine...” His life came to an end in young age. When you become enslaved by a sinful habit, you cannot give it up. Many end their lives in bondage.

4. Grandeur Gone 

“Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.” Judges 16:21 

          Samson was the son of promise. An angel of the Lord had told Manoah and his wife: “Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:3, 4, 5). But Samson who ought to have been a Nazirite saw a harlot and went in to her (Jud. 16;1). Not only that, he loved Delilah in the Valley of Sorek. The Philistines used her to know the source of his strength. When he lay on her lap, they came and shaved off his hair. He was taken hostage and insulted. His sinful life made him lose his strength. His eyes were pulled out. He was taken prisoner to Gaza. He was chained and made to grind in the prison. Samson who sought sinful pleasures lost the presence of the Lord and also the strength given by the Lord. He lost his eye-sight. He was taken a prisoner and was made to serve his enemy. He was used to perform for them. They praised their deities. Thus sin would make you lose all your status and exaltation. 

5. Curse and Death Follows

“Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.” “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” 2 Samuel 12:10, 14. 

David found favour in the sight of God. The Lord bore witness about him: ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ (Acts 13: 22). But he gave room for the lust of his eyes. He saw a woman taking bath. She was beautiful. As he gave himself to lust, he called for her and fulfilled his fleshy desire. He killed by deceit his faithful soldier. He took his wife for himself. He forgot the truth about our Lord: “He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?” (Psalm 94:9). The Lord made him realize his sin and made the child die. The curse came upon him. If we start doing evil things thinking that we are all right with God, curse and death would visit your boundary. Dear Brother/ sister, if you live a life that does not please the Lord, put a full stop to it. Repent. Do not make curse and unexpected catastrophe to strike you. What you sow, you shall reap. If you cheat your parents, your children will do that to you. Do not betray them. You would have to undergo the miseries of a cursed life. Today let us commit to the Lord to live pleasing Him.

II) SINS OF OMISSION 

1. Not Doing Good is Sin 

“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17 

Sometime we commit this sin. We fail to share what we have. We do not think of others and their needs. Selfishness rules over us. Once a person narrated an incident that happened while travelling in a compartment with three other passengers. An elderly woman boarded the train with a bag and a basket. As the destination arrived, everyone started making suggestions as to how to get down. One asked her to get down and then to collect the bag and basket. Another suggested her to let the things down and then to get down. But the third who remained silent helped her in getting those items down. This is how we should be. When a person asks us about a place, what do we do? We can do them the help they need in such circumstances. 

2.  Not Praying is Sin 

 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.” 1 Samuel 12:23 

We usually pray for our families, children, our business, and job. But the Prophet Samuel tells us that not praying for the people of God is sin. Let us also pray for others so that we may not sin. This life of prayer is a blessed one. Paul the Apostle counsels us: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” (Timo. 2:2). If we do that, the Lord would grant us such a life of peace. People prayed together for Peter in a house. The Lord brought him out of prison. When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord delivered him from his troubles. As we pray for others, for the nation, for their redemption, the Lord would do glorious things. One night I was led to pray for a person by the Lord. I was shown his face. After a few days, the Lord enabled me to meet that person. I told the family how the Lord led me to pray for their father who was writhing in heart pain for three hours one night. Their eldest son who was a doctor said that at no time did his father tell him so. But when they enquired the father about it, he admitted the fact and shed tears. Then they opened the door for ministry with their children. Let us know that it is sin if we do not pray for others. 

3. Delaying to Pay a Vow is Sin 

“When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you.” Deut. 23:21 

It is usual to make vows at times of tribulation. We rejoice in the Lord when our prayers are answered and carry out our vows for some time. As days pass by, we tend to decrease in our fervour and finally forget about it altogether. This is sin. Sometimes we might even be affected by it. We might incur loss. If we make a vow, we should fulfil it.

III) HOW TO LEAD A LIFE WITHOUT SIN?

1. Confess and Forsake 

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 

We know the sins we commit. From birth we are in sin. When David was convicted of his sin by Prophet Nathan, he confessed his guilt with a contrite heart. We read about it in Psalm 51. He confessed that even at birth he was a sinner. To give up this sinful nature, we should confess the fact. Then we should not yield to sin.  If we confess our sins as said in 1 John 1:9, He would forgive us and give us a new life. 

2. Repent

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” Acts 17:30

When we did not know the true God, we did several things out of ignorance. The Lord did not punish us. But when we understand our mistakes, we should repent. Repentance is at heart. Then we should begin to reform us according to the new light of understanding. It is a new way of life with a changed attitude. Christ is the model and we devote to live a new life in the light of His teachings. All the things of the past should end and a new beginning should be made. 

3. Believing the Blood of Jesus Christ and Being Cleansed

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

Hebrews 9:22 says: “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Jesus Christ shed His blameless blood for us. The blood from the crown of thorns, from His nailed hands and from His wounds made by whipping was for washing our sins. I thought how the blood shed 2000 years ago could cleanse my sins. I saw a drop of His blood falling on the scroll where my sins were written wiping them all and the scroll immediately becoming white. Then I cried realizing how His blood was shed for my sins and committed my life to Him. When that time of prayer ended, I had the joy of redemption as my sins were forgiven. This joy remains with us throughout our lives to lead us in paths of righteousness. That blood sharpens our blunt conscience and makes us worthy to serve Him. 

4. Forgiving the Mistakes of Others 

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 

Today we blame others thinking that we are doing the right thing. By this we want to demonstrate that we are great and feel proud of us. If our sins and transgressions are forgiven, we should also forgive the mistakes of others. Then our sins will be forgiven by our heavenly Father. Jesus Christ pleaded for us on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins to the Father. He has thus given us the model. When we follow this in our lives, there would be peace in our borders. Let us forgive the sins of one another and fulfil the statute of Christ. Then a good sinless life would bloom. 

5. Being Filled with the Love of Christ 

“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 

Today we should reflect the love of Christ to live a life bereft of sin. Love covers a multitude of sins. For inheriting this love we should think of the sufferings of Jesus Christ on the Calvary. In the fulfilment of this love, those who were led astray in sinful paths are redeemed and all their past sins are covered and blessed. Psalm 32 says: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Dear Brother/ Sister, Jesus Christ never forsakes any sinner who comes to Him. He wants to forgive all your transgressions and heal your diseases, and thereby bless you. Only for this, He bore all our sicknesses on the cross. We are healed by His stripes. Are you ready to accept this counsel and walk accordingly? Are you ready to believe the blood shed on the cross? Accept it and you will be blessed. You will be healed and strengthened in your spirit, soul and body. 

                                 May the Lord bless us!

                            In the service of Christ Jesus,

                                  Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.