“For all have sinned , and come short of the glory of God;”–Rom. 3:23
No one is saved until they first realize they are lost, but they can’t do that until they first realize they are a sinner in need of salvation. Although that ought to be easy, many folks have a difficult time admitting it is true. If you are one of those people, what would it take to convince you that you are indeed a sinner? Here’s a suggestion.
Let’s suppose that God gave you a special revelation wherein He asked you what it would take for you to become a follower of Christ. Suppose He offered you perfect health for the rest of your life. Or suppose He added to that a promise that you would live until you are 120 years old. Still not interested? Suppose He offered you one million dollars a year for the rest of your life. Or suppose He said, “Just fill in the blank,_______ and I’ll give you whatever you want.
I suspect at some point a good number of people would take the offer and make “Christianity” their religion of choice. Of course this would never happen, because a person with that attitude could never be saved, but don’t miss the point. Would this not reveal the sinfulness of man? Think about how selfish such a person would be to do that. To know that God loved us enough to give His Son, who loved us so much that He gave His life for us, and then reject Him until He gave us what we wanted would be as sinful as anything could be. That would be an awful insult to God. Would that not prove that you are a sinner? And is it not true that for most people religion is all about what they get from it? Can you imagine how many would adopt Christianity as their religion if in doing so they could get whatever they wanted? This is what makes Romans 7:7 so important–“…. I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said , Thou shalt not covet.” Covetousness condemns us and who deny their guilt in this?
Now let’s look at this in another way. Rather than seeing yourself as sinful, picture yourself as perfect. Where there is sin there there must be some standard, a means to determine right for wrong, or a law that has been violated. So, put yourself in God’s place— pretend that you are holy and just. Now suppose someone did to you what was done to Jesus. Would that not be an offense? Would you not call that person a wrong-doer, a sinner? Would you not demand justice? Of course you would. It’s easy to see the guilt of others when the offense is against you—but you claim you don’t see it when you are the offending party. Really? To claim that you can’t see yourself as a sinner is dishonest. It goes beyond the pale of ignorance. It is sinful stubborn pride that causes you to deny your sinfulness, pretend you don’t need forgiveness, and reject the sacrifice of Christ.
Admit it or not, you are a sinner. You have broken God’s righteous law and, because God is just, your sin must be paid for. The good news is that Christ suffered and died to pay for your sins. Through Him you can be forgiven and delivered from the wrath of God, but you must receive Him as your Lord and Savior. To do that you must first recognize that you are indeed a sinner in the sight of God. That ought to be easy.
