Romans 3:23 (NLT) For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
James 4:17 (NLT) Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
1 John 1:8 (NLT) If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.
Romans 14:23b (NLT) But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat [do] something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.
These are not obscure passages. Most of us know them, yet somehow, we tuck them away in the back of our minds. They are uncomfortable passages. These verses remind us that sin is not just doing wrong things, but it is also failing to do right things. Most of us are familiar with the classic definition of sin (Gk. and Heb. hamartia or hātā) ‘missing the mark’. We have trained ourselves to understand that when we sin it is because we somehow ‘missed the mark’ of God’s Will and Way for our lives.
All sin is inexcusable. Why? Because all sin separates us from our relationship with God. It is this depth to sin that we seldom explore. It’s not just doing wrong things, or not doing right things. The devastation of sin – all sin – any sin – is that it hinders our relationship with God.
Isaiah 59:2 (NLT) It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.
Psalm 66:18 (NLT) If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Praise be to our loving, merciful, and gracious God for he does not leave us in our sinful state without any hope or possibility of remediation. Our sin is inexcusable – but not unforgivable!
Psalm 66:19-20 (NLT) 19But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. 20Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
Proverbs 15:29 (NLT) The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.
Romans 5:8 (NLT) But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
1 John 1:9 (NLT) But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Isaiah 43:25 (NLT) I – yes, I alone – will blot our your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.
Psalm 130:3-4 (NLT) 3LORD, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? 4But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.
Lord God Almighty, our Father;
Thank you, that in love you prepared a way for our Salvation. Thank you for the gift of Christ’s death on the cross and his glorious resurrection that paves the way for our forgiveness of sins. We acknowledge that our sins, all sins, separate us from you and place a wedge in our relationship with you. But with humble and contrite hearts we thank you for the gracious act of forgiveness you offer to any who call upon your Name.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
The devotional Inexcusable – But not Unforgivable appeared first on Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com
Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Special courtesy thank you to Dr. Joe Barnett for providing the idea for today's title.
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