Sin stands in the way of God's great plan and purpose for human life—directly in opposition to our eternal salvation as potential sons and daughters in the everlasting Kingdom of God.

Jesus Christ will do for us what we simply cannot perform for ourselves. But there remains something we can and must do in intimate partnership with God and Christ: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). 

The apostle Paul said that we die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31), continuing to repent of our old habits and sins that crop back up at times, and are renewed daily, striving to follow Jesus' sinless example (2 Corinthians 4:16).

God promises to forgive those who repent, confess their sins, turn from those sins and turn toward a life of obedience.

Everlasting life in the family of God is available to only those who repent of their sins. No exceptions are possible, because “all have sinned and fall[en] short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Although God “desires all men to be saved,” He doesn’t force anyone to repent (1 Timothy 2:4). His kindness and goodness lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4), but He doesn’t make the choice for us. The decision is still ours.

Repentance is not an ethereal concept that no one can fully grasp. In its most basic sense, it means to change. We are to change our minds, change our way of thinking, change our behavior, change our priorities, change our lives.

Those who choose to genuinely repent soon realize that God is active in their daily lives—working within them to instill a deep desire to change in whatever way is necessary to please Him. They want to learn God’s will—to know what He expects of them.

A life of spiritual growth commences

“Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission [forgiveness] of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'” (Acts 2:38). 

Baptism symbolizes our acknowledgment of the need for our old sinful way of life to be “put to death” and be buried forever (Colossians 3:5; Colossians 2:12). And our rising from the water symbolizes our beginning to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-6). Of course our spiritual character isn't immediately transformed in those few seconds. Baptism is a sign of our lifelong dedication and commitment to that goal. 

God’s forgiveness does not remove our human nature—the negative tendency within all people to commit sin. Because we still live in this present evil world, and still have human nature, we will sin again. Our human nature is a product of sins that we committed in the past and the effect on our lives of the sins committed by others as a result of the influence of Satan over the entire world. The apostle Paul candidly spoke of his ongoing struggle against human nature in Romans 7:14-25.

But now with God’s Holy Spirit, we are now able to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Daily, we must come to our merciful Father through our merciful High Priest for forgiveness in a bold search to find the answers in overcoming our sinful nature.

In this search, we are to examine and evaluate our own life (1 Peter 4:17; 1 Corinthians 11:31-32), viewing ourselves in the mirror of God's law of liberty and Jesus' sinless and perfect life (James 1:21-25).

We strive daily to become more and more spiritually mature or perfect (Matthew 5:48), living by and applying God's law, which is spiritual and holy (Romans 7:12).

Where do you stand on this matter?

The necessity to fight this battle against sin should not discourage us, for, as Paul brings out, we can count on victory through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57). Jesus was born not only to make possible forgiveness of the past, but to help us conquer the strongholds of sin, the entrenched habits that are so difficult to dislodge from our lives. 

This gives us every reason for encouragement in our daily struggle against sin. After all, Christ has experienced the same temptations and fully understands our plight. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15, NRSV).

Jesus is ever ready to help us gain the victory over sin! 

God promises to forgive those who repent, confess their sins, turn from those sins and turn toward a life of obedience. Daily, we have to stop doing what’s wrong and put forth effort again to do what is right. The process of conversion and living the Christian life requires work.

For those of us alive today whose minds God is opening to His biblical truths, there is no better time than right now to repent of our past ways of life and start following His ways. Everyday we must repent and call on Him through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior!