Why Worry About Trying to Avoid Sin?

Q: I am a confused Christian. If God forgives us when we sin, no matter what we do, then why bother trying to be good? All we need to do is ask for forgiveness, and He’ll grant it, right? So why worry about trying to avoid sin? — L.S.

A: When we truly love someone, we want to please them. When we disappoint loved ones, it grieves them, and eventually ourselves. When we receive God’s Son as our Savior, His Spirit comes in and changes us. We begin to love the things that please God.

The Bible says, “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:5-6).

Those who love God have no desire to make a mockery of God’s forgiveness and grace, or the cross upon which Jesus died for the sins of mankind. God’s Word also tells us that sin should not be our master (Romans 6:14). When we keep on sinning without ever attempting to turn from it or restrain it, it is because we are still sin’s slaves.

We must never forget that sin is God’s enemy and Satan’s friend. Sin is so serious that it caused Jesus Christ to leave Heaven’s glory and come into the world to die as the final and complete sacrifice for sin. We must not take sin lightly, but repent of it when it rears its ugly head, and with God’s help cast it out. This is done through the reading and studying of God’s word and praying that He will empower us to live for Him.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

(c)2019 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.