Whatever Became Of Sin?

Why did Jesus come to earth?  Why was He born?  Matthew answers these questions in Matthew 1:21:  "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Sins?  Whatever became of sin?  Jesus came to save us from our sins.  That is the heart of the Gospel.  Sin is the great problem of the human race.  Jesus came to free us from our sins.  That's what His name is about.  The name of Jesus is derived from the word Joshua and can be translated, "He shall save."  The word save translated from Greek means to both save spiritually and to heal physically.  You might say that there is a transformation process that takes place.  

No human being is perfect.  We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.  God cannot tolerate sin.  That is why we need a Savior.  The cross only makes sense if humanity is hopelessly lost. It only makes sense if we can do something to save ourselves.  Only then does the cross make sense, otherwise Jesus suffered for no apparent reason.

We accept Jesus into our heart by proclaiming that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God and believing that God raised Him from the dead.  However, we must do more that that.  Just saying that Jesus is the Christ is not enough because even the demons know that, and with trembling.  We also must repent of our sins.  

Jesus begins His ministry by saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand."  The Greek word for repent is metanoia, which means a complete change of mind and lifestyle.  It means much more than just remorse, which is a temporary emotion.  It means a complete change, which is a permanent condition.  Jesus wants us to be transformed from sinner to devoted Christian.  The Bible tells us, "Abandon your sin and submit to the Lord by faith in the blood of the Lamb."  Faith is a gift from God and it produces grace.

The story of John Newton is amazing.  He was a notorious sinner, although he was reared by a Christian mother who died when he was only seven.  By the age of eleven he was working at sea with his father.  He was totally abused at sea and became hardened to the point of hating everyone.  As he grew up he took over his own ships and became a slave trader.  Then one day John Newton gave up his sins and cried to the Lord in true repentance - transformation - not cheap grace.  He sat down and wrote these words:  "Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see."  This became one of the great hymns of the church - Amazing Grace.