THE END OF SIN
by Kevin
Rutherford
A few weeks back we spoke of the
beginning of sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis
3). The good news is that even then
God had a plan to help man to be free from sin (Genesis 3:15). In fact,
His plan for the salvation of mankind from sin has been an eternal plan (Ephesians 3:8-13). In God eternal plan He has made it possible
for there to be an end to sin.
The idea of an end to sin is
appealing. It is appealing because sin
causes so much pain, sorrow, and grief in this life. In fact, most pain can be traced back to a
sin, or sins. The sin of hatred often
leads to the sin of murder. The sin of
lust sometimes leads to the sin of sexual assault. The sin of paganism leads to all manner of
wickedness and fornication in which people get hurt over and over again.
It is possible for there to be an
end of sin in our lives. That sin which
so easily ensnares can be laid aside so that we can run with patience the
Christian race that is set before us (Hebrews
12:1). We lay sin aside when we
become Christians. We become Christians
by obeying the truth because it is the truth that makes us free from sin (John 8:31-36). When we follow the
truth we repent and are baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). The “remission of sins” means those sins are
taken away. We become free of sin. Repentance is equivalent to putting to death
the man of sin, before burying that man of sin in the waters of baptism (Romans 6:4). After the burial we rise to walk in newness
of life. It is a new life because the
sin has been removed. The active agent
that removes the sin upon repentance and baptism is the blood of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:14; Revelation 1:5).
Once our sins have been removed
through repentance and baptism, Christians make every effort to remain free of
sin. God will give us the ability to
resist sin and endure temptation (1
Corinthians 10:13; Philippians
4:13;
Romans 8:31). With trust in Him we will no longer be slaves
of sin, but rather we will be slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:17-23). We will live our lives in such a way that it
will be our habit to resist the temptations of the devil (1 John 3:4-9).
We recognize, of course, that while
working hard to resist sin, sometimes Christians grow weak and give in to
temptation (1 John 1:8-10). When Christians give in to temptation they
must repent and ask God to forgive them of that sin (Acts 8:22). When we
do so we can have the confidence that God will forgive us (Hebrews 4:16). Having
repented of our sins and confessed them to God, we can know that we are saved (1 John 5:13).
Ultimately there will be a complete
end to sin. There is coming a day in
which the tempter is going to be cast into hell (Revelation 20:10). On that
day there will be a resurrection and a judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). After the judgment the righteous will go into
heaven. There are many wonderful things
said about heaven, one of which is the fact that there will be no sin in heaven
(Revelation 21:27). We will be forever in the presence of God who
cannot fellowship darkness (1 John 1:5). Let each of us rejoice in the knowledge that
someday we can live in eternity in a place in which there is no more sin, and
consequently no more suffering from sin.