We’ve All Sinned, But. . . .
By Allan E. McNabb

There are some major differences between people who are saved and lost.  In this article, we explore two of these differences.

Everyone Has Sinned
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).  We have all sinned in the past.  And we’ll probably sin in the future, if God permits us to live.  Although we strive for perfection, we occasionally fall short and sin.

Sin is “missing of the mark” and denotes “an act of disobedience to Divine law” (Vine’s Dictionary).  We sin by transgressing, or failing to accomplish, God’s will.

The Saved Don’t Deceive Themselves
People who are lost fail to recognize their sin, and deceive themselves into thinking they’re okay with God.

But John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8).

As Christians, we humbly remind ourselves that we’ve sinned in the past, just as Paul occasionally reminded brethren of their past sins (1 Cor. 6:9-11). 

Remembering our past failures and God’s grace to forgive us, helps us remain humble.  Because of a humble and contrite heart toward God, we gladly submit ourselves to Him.  And because we humbly submit to God, we avoid the pervasive hypocrisy that destroys so many human relationships, both in and out of the Lord’s church.

The Saved Confess Their Sin
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9).

Although we openly confess our sins to God when we ask His forgiveness, we’re ashamed of our sins and shortcomings.  We don’t like to think about them, much less tell others about them.

But there are times when we need to tell others that we’ve sinned.  Perhaps we made a mistake in a public manner that should come before the church, or we sinned in a private manner and we need to tell the elders so they can help us.  And certainly, we confess to everyone that we’ve sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, even when we don’t get into the details of specific sins (Rom. 3:23).

As Christians, we have the courage to confess our sins to God.  And when it’s helpful, we courageously confess our sins to others.  On the other hand, people who are lost will suffer eternal damnation because of pride — they’re too proud to humble themselves before God and confess their sins (Ja. 4:6).

Are You Confessing Your Sins?
It takes courageous humility to confess your sins.  Test yourself to see if you’re a doer of the word, and not merely a hearer who deludes himself (Ja. 1:22).

Are you confessing your sins?

• Do you confess your sins to God — the things you’ve done to transgress His will, in addition to the things you’ve neglected to do?
• Do you tell others you’ve sinned in the past — that you’d be lost for eternity without God’s forgiveness?
• Do you confess your sins to others?  Do you confess them to people you’ve sinned against, to people who know about your public sin, and to people who can help you overcome sin?

What do your answers tell you about yourself?