10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."
Later in the chapter, we find these words:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...
We are all sinners - that is clearly identified and established in Scripture - but, the story doesn't end there. Jesus came to set us free from the power of sin, which leads to death. And, He offers us forgiveness through the cleansing blood that He shed for us at the cross. Our sins can be covered and the capability to sin, while still present in the flesh, is removed in the Spirit. So, in order to accept the free gift of salvation, we recognize our need for a Savior and call upon the name of Jesus, who desires to save us and reconcile us to God.
It is helpful for us to recognize our state as sinners, so we can appreciate the presence and availability of a Savior who forgives us and gives power to overcome. John 16 provides some insight into
recognizing sin:
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Scott McConnell, Executive Director of LifeWay Research was on his way to a Nashville Predators game and, according to a Christianity Today article, saw a group of people "preaching at people on the street outside the hockey arena, calling them sinners." Some even regarded "the title with enthusiasm," the article says. McConnell began to wonder how many people think of themselves as sinners.
Well, there is a new survey inspired by that occurrence - and 67% of Americans responded that, yes, they are sinners - and only 5% are happy with it.
The LifeWay study found that there are three categories of viewpoints on sin: There are those who say they are sinners and are working on being less of a sinner - a third of Americans fit into that category. Just over one-fourth say they're sinners and depend on Jesus to help them overcome their sin. Then there are those that either say sin doesn't exist or they are not sinners...that's a total of just under one-in-five. 15% prefer not to say if they are sinners.
A couple of subsets in the survey:
But, the question someone must ask himself or herself deals with what a person is doing to change. One could rely on human effort to "do better," and one-third of people want to apparently do that. But, a smaller number declared that they are depending on Jesus. The answer to the question of sin and effective life change is related to a person's status with God through Jesus Christ.
You also have to ask what a person considers to be sin these days - there are the "big ones," where there are actually legal consequences for participation - you know, murder, stealing, lying, etc. But, there are so many areas of behavior that some may not consider sinful - one might think that an outright theft is sinful, but what about padding an expense account to take money that doesn't belong to you? What constitutes a lie these days might depend on situational ethics; in other words, a lie is in the eye of the beholder. In an age in which absolutes are tossed into the wind, people will come up with different definitions of right and wrong.
That's why we need an anchor, a compass for our behavior. And, that's what God's Word actually serves as. If we want to know what is right and wrong - we can play by God's rules and embrace His standards. And, not only that, if we want to reduce sin in our lives, His Word and His Spirit give us the power to do so - the Spirit of God has been sent to convict us of sin, i.e., to show us where we are missing the mark; and He gives us the tools to turn things around - if we confess and repent of our sins, receive forgiveness, and rely on the presence and principles of Christ. There is sin in the world; there is sin in our lives - we need the power of God!
+++++
It is helpful for us to recognize our state as sinners, so we can appreciate the presence and availability of a Savior who forgives us and gives power to overcome. John 16 provides some insight into
recognizing sin:
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Scott McConnell, Executive Director of LifeWay Research was on his way to a Nashville Predators game and, according to a Christianity Today article, saw a group of people "preaching at people on the street outside the hockey arena, calling them sinners." Some even regarded "the title with enthusiasm," the article says. McConnell began to wonder how many people think of themselves as sinners.
Well, there is a new survey inspired by that occurrence - and 67% of Americans responded that, yes, they are sinners - and only 5% are happy with it.
The LifeWay study found that there are three categories of viewpoints on sin: There are those who say they are sinners and are working on being less of a sinner - a third of Americans fit into that category. Just over one-fourth say they're sinners and depend on Jesus to help them overcome their sin. Then there are those that either say sin doesn't exist or they are not sinners...that's a total of just under one-in-five. 15% prefer not to say if they are sinners.
A couple of subsets in the survey:
- Americans with evangelical beliefs are more likely to say they rely on Jesus to overcome their sin (72%) than those without evangelical beliefs (19%).
The CT article also referred to a study last year from LifeWay Research. Some findings, according to this recent article:
- Nones—those with no religious preference—are more likely to say sin does not exist (32%). Ten percent of nones say they are fine with being sinners, while 27 percent say they work on overcoming their sin. Six percent say they depend on Jesus to overcome sin.
In that study, two-thirds (65%) agreed that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature. More than half (57%) said it would be fair for God to show His wrath against sin.You could say that an encouraging sign is that people do acknowledge the existence of sin. That is a necessary element in coming to salvation - to ADMIT that you are a sinner. To deny this truth makes it more difficult to see one's need for a Savior.
But, the question someone must ask himself or herself deals with what a person is doing to change. One could rely on human effort to "do better," and one-third of people want to apparently do that. But, a smaller number declared that they are depending on Jesus. The answer to the question of sin and effective life change is related to a person's status with God through Jesus Christ.
You also have to ask what a person considers to be sin these days - there are the "big ones," where there are actually legal consequences for participation - you know, murder, stealing, lying, etc. But, there are so many areas of behavior that some may not consider sinful - one might think that an outright theft is sinful, but what about padding an expense account to take money that doesn't belong to you? What constitutes a lie these days might depend on situational ethics; in other words, a lie is in the eye of the beholder. In an age in which absolutes are tossed into the wind, people will come up with different definitions of right and wrong.
That's why we need an anchor, a compass for our behavior. And, that's what God's Word actually serves as. If we want to know what is right and wrong - we can play by God's rules and embrace His standards. And, not only that, if we want to reduce sin in our lives, His Word and His Spirit give us the power to do so - the Spirit of God has been sent to convict us of sin, i.e., to show us where we are missing the mark; and He gives us the tools to turn things around - if we confess and repent of our sins, receive forgiveness, and rely on the presence and principles of Christ. There is sin in the world; there is sin in our lives - we need the power of God!
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