"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

being justified freely by His grace through 

the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

(Romans 3:23-24)

There is only one way to erase our sin!

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I was raised Greek Orthodox. In the Orthodox Church, I learned the first lessons of the Christian faith. Because the church taught about salvation more by works than by grace and because I was baptized as an infant, I thought I was a good Christian. I never realized that I was a sinner because I was a good moral person. I thought a sinner was only someone who had committed a big sin such killing somebody or robbing a bank.

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I had this mentality until a man of God sat down and plainly talked to me about God's love and the price that Jesus Christ paid for me on the cross. He described God's simple plan and told me that Christ died for my sins and offered me eternal life. With all his boldness, he told me that I was a sinner because the Bible said, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23).  As he unfolded God's plan of free salvation, my spiritual eyes were opened. For the first time, I realized that I was a sinful man, and I needed a Savior. On March 17, 1970, I repented and by faith accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. He forgave me and gave me eternal life, and at the same time filled all the emptiness I had in my heart. From that day on, my life has never been the same!

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Sin is anything opposed to the law or the will of God.  Sin is rebellion against God which separates us from Him. Sin always destroys, separates, and leaves us without hope. It drives us away from the one who loves us with an eternal love and makes us slaves spiritually, emotionally, and physically. It damages our relationship with God and other believers. Also, sin unmasks the lost man to the wrath of God. It always is expensive and keeps us paying and paying. Sin began with Lucifer's fall from heaven because of his pride and rebellion against God. (Isaiah 14:13)  If Satan got kicked out of heaven for sin, what makes us think we will make it to heaven with sin? The Bible tells us, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us...we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8, 10). "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

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The apostle Luke tells us what happened when Jesus called his disciples to follow Him. Peter was out fishing all night, and he did not catch any fish. Jesus told him to throw out the net one more time, and immediately, there were more fish in the net than he could pull. Peter realized that he was in the presence of the Lord, and he said to Jesus, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:8). Christ did not go away. Instead, he said to him, "Follow me." Christ came near to Peter because he wanted to give him a new life. If you feel an awareness of your own sin, do not be afraid. This will be a good sign that He is working in your life, and be thankful for that. When that happens, it will be the turning point in your life as it was in mine. Pastor and Author, Colin Smith, said, "You are never closer to Christ than when you are most aware of your own sin."

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The Bible clearly teaches that all of us have sinned, and it is impossible for us to remove it. It is a permanent, irremovable stain, but He provided a way to erase our sin. PRAISE GOD! Only God can remove our sin through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for us. He rose again and offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who put their trust in Him.

• "All have sinned..." (Romans 3:23), 

• "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6), 

• "Unto him [Jesus] that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Revelation 1:5), 

• "Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

• "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out..." (Acts 3:19).

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Always, remember that God hates sin, but He loves the sinner. We always have to teach and preach this.

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•   Once, a young preacher, out of fear, preached what his people wanted to hear to not offend them. The only problem was that he had never experienced God's blessings in his 

life, his people, and his ministry. He came to the point of giving up from his disappointment. Around that time, an older preacher and saint of God gave him some advice that turned everything around. He told him, "God called you to serve and please Him and not to worry about the people being offended or not. Go back and preach about sin and tell them that the Lord died for sinners and loves them." The young preacher obeyed and put the new challenge into practice. In a few months, he was surprised when showers of blessings came from the Lord upon his life, his people, and his ministry.

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•   Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman told of a distinguished minister, Dr. Howard, from Australia, who preached very strongly on the subject of sin. After the service, one of the church officers came to counsel him in the study. "Dr. Howard," he said, "we don't want you to talk as openly as you do about man's guilt and corruption because if our boys and girls hear you discussing that subject, they will more easily become sinners. Call it a mistake if you will, but do not speak so plainly about sin."

The minister took down a small bottle and, showing it to the visitor, said, "You see that label? It says strychnine—and underneath in bold, red letters the word 'Poison!' Do you know, man, what you are asking me to do? You are suggesting that I change the label. Suppose I do and paste over it the words, 'Essence of Peppermint;' don't you see what might happen? Someone would use it, not knowing the danger involved, and would certainly die. So it is, too, with the matter of sin. The milder you make your label, the more dangerous you make your poison!" — Source unknown

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•   The same thing happened to me many years ago. A small church in the Chicago area had voted me to be their pastor until they could find a full-time pastor. Even though I had a full-time job for several months, I served them without pay. One day two decons told me not to continue to preach about a biblical topic that bothered them. Their comments made me resign because I didn't want to compromise the Word of God. After I left, they hired two or three pastors, but none stayed for long. Finally, this church did not exist anymore, and many of those people ruined their lives and their families by not being faithful to the Holy scriptures.

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•   One of the earliest stories I ever heard about D. L. Moody, that great evangelist of the nineteenth century, took place when he was temporarily called away to another city and left a young English preacher named Henry Moorhouse to speak during his absence. Upon returning from his trip, he asked his wife, "Well, what about the young preacher?"

"Oh," she said, "he is a better preacher than you are. He is telling sinners that God loves them."

"He is wrong!" said Moody, 'God doesn't love sinners."

"Well," she said, "you go and hear him."

"Is he still preaching?" asked Mr. Moody.

"Yes, he has been preaching all week and has only taken up one verse, John 3:16" was her reply.

When Mr. Moody went to the meeting, Moorhouse got up, and said, "I have been hunting and hunting all through the Bible, looking for a text, and I think we will just talk about John 3:16 once more." Mr. Moody always testified that it was on that night that he first got hold of a clear understanding of the gospel and the love of God. Think what it meant in Moody’s life, and in the lives of tens of thousands who were reached through his ministry, to know that God loves sinners! — Adapted-mwtb.org

The question is: Do you realize that you are a sinner too, and you need a Savior? I am not saying that, but the Bible says:

• "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

• If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).

• For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

• For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).

• "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..." (1 Timothy 1:15).

• "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32).

• "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

• "When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mark 2:17).

Dear Friend, the only medication which can cure our sin is the grace of God. "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one [Adam] many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” (Romans 5:15). 

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If you are not a redeemed sinner yet, it is time for you to come to the Lord with empty hands but you need to admit that you are a sinner, repent, believe, and receive Jesus Christ as your personal savior to experience His forgiveness of your sins and the free gift of eternal life. Only God's grace saves us from sin and eternal death. "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9)  You do not have to go to a Greek Orthodox, Catholic, or another priest to forgive your sins. They are men like you with sins and cannot solve their own sins. How can they solve yours? Only God has the power to forgive sins. "who can forgive sins but God only?" (Mark 2:7). God as a merciful and loving father forgives and erases your sins not to remember anymore.

• "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:12;Jeremiah 31:34)

• "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19)

• "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." (Isaiah 43:25)

• "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12)

• "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

ONLY Jesus made payment for your sins - past, present, and future and equipped you with the same power He had to conquered sin and death. (John 16:33) to overcome sin and live a victorious life. "Behold, I have given you...over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you" (Luke 10:19). ONLY Jesus can erase your sins with His blood, and not anyone else in heaven or on earth can. For this purpose, He became " the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29). He is our atoning sacrifice.  He died on the cross to pay our sins so that we will be able to spend eternity in heaven with Him. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). From the moment we come into the personal, saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are no more under the condemnation of sin because Christ has destroyed the power of sin.

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• "Without shedding of blood is no remission [of sins]." (Hebrews 9:22)

• "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" (Ephesians 1:7). 

•  "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Revelation 1:5), (Hebrews 9:22).

• "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed ...But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19).
   

Numerous theologians and Christian authors do not even talk about the blood or the power of "Jesus' blood" for man's redemption. Instead, they use other words that do not exist in the original text of the New Testament. Blood is very important and necessary to the doctrine of Christ's atonement and is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible. It is at the heart of the gospel, and it is through "the blood of his cross" that Jesus reconciled us to God (Colossians 1:20-23). In some Christian churches, they do not even sing hymns like "Saved By The Blood" and "Power In the Blood," because of their humanistic beliefs. They keep the real teachings of the Bible at a distance and do not allow the power of the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, and they miss God's power and blessings. We are redeemed and "justified by his blood" (Romans 5:8,9). Never forget, only Christ and His sacrifice on the cross can redeem your soul. Do not be deceived by the fake "yellow gospel" of works that is powerless to save your soul.

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We have to make sure that all of us who have been redeemed, stay off the road of sin in our race to glory. Sin breaks our hearts because it hurts the heart of God. We have to focus on Jesus as the goal of our lives and put everything else aside.

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If we fall into sin, we must immediately ask for forgiveness to restore our good relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

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by Ted Matamis, copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.