Luke 13:1-5 “There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
What kind of a person are you? Are you someone who readily admits when they make a mistake? Or are you the opposite, the person who “can do no wrong” and believes that they never make a mistake?
How about all of the people who currently reside in a prison or correctional facility, do you feel like you are better than they are? Well you know, the truth is that you really are just the same as them in the sight of God. Whether or not it is considered illegal or a sin in the eyes of the world, sins are all the same according to the Bible. They may differ in their variety, but they are all still sins just the same, and it is this simple fact that makes each person a sinner and no better than someone else.
When a person sins, imagine it is as though they are taking a heavy chain and wrapping it around themselves and locking it into place with a lock, and then jumping off of a boat into the sea. As we all know, you have to get that chain off of yourself so that you are able to swim back up to the surface, and the only way to do that is to unlock the lock.
Pride is the thing that prevents a person from unlocking the lock of sin and swimming back to the surface, and it is pride that will actually blind a person from recognizing that they are just as much of a sinner as everyone else. Meanwhile, the opposite of pride is humility. Humility means to be humble, and that means to not be proud or arrogant, but to be modest and meek.
Probably one of the most used passages that we use to show the difference between pride and humility is the passage in Luke 18, with the parable that Jesus told about two men. One a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luke 18:9-14 “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’
The ability to confess and admit your sins is a must in the life of a Christian, because it is the simple and obvious truth that we all are sinners. We need to be able to admit that we have made errors and that we have sinned before the sight of God. It is this admission of guilt that is the unlocking of the door to God’s forgiveness.
Psalms 32:5 “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”
Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
1 John 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
If you want to be saved from the punishment for your sins, then you must do something first. You must recognize that you are a sinner and that you are no different or special from anyone else. God will treat everyone the same way, and reward each according to the choice that they make. There are only two options, eternal life and eternal damnation, and the option that you receive will be determined on whether or not you are filled with pride, or with humility. Have you confessed your sins, and turned away from them? Or have you become blind to your sins, and remain in a state of unforgiveness? We cannot change the fact that we are all sinners, but we can have a choice in what our outcome will be.
Have you confessed your sins yet?
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 