Oops! I did it again

“Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 ESV)

Ever wake up and decide that you will try to have a “Mary Poppins” kind of day? A day in which you whistle on your way to work? A day in which you don’t complain about the weather, traffic, spouse, kids, or boss? You greet everyone with a big, affectionate smile, and if your sunny disposition is not welcomed or reciprocated, it doesn’t affect you in the least; you keep on smiling without a negative bone in your entire body. You’re determined to have a day of intentional, sinless bliss.

How’d that work out for you? I wasn’t there with you, but I know without a doubt that your well-thought-out intentions didn’t last very long. How can I say this with such assurance? The Word of God clearly tells us how short we fall when it comes to being righteous. Scripture tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. That includes your heart as well, my Friend. We are born with a sinful nature, meaning we naturally commit sin in thought, word, and deed. You may consider yourself a good person, but that’s based on your definition of good, not God’s. Just listen to what the apostle Paul tells us in the Book of Romans when it comes to wanting to do the right thing:

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Romans 7:18-20 ESV)

As much as you may try, you cannot be holy apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you accept Christ as your Savior, He forgives your sins, you are no longer an enemy of God, and He declares you to be righteous based on faith in the finished work of His Son. You’ll also gain victory over the nature of sin. No, you cannot and will not be perfect in this lifetime; your perfection is reserved for heaven. Even as a child of God, you will stumble. However, you will no longer be a slave to sin, and the Lord will give you grace in your time of need. Faith will make you holy; you can only find perfection in Jesus, in heaven.

Earnestly seek His face while you still can.

Peace and blessings.