The Weight of our Sin

We have a problem, and it’s not a tiny problem. It’s not a minor issue or a little fork in the road. The problem we have is eternally weighty. Our problem is our sin. And the weight of sin—or the wages of sin, I should say—is death. That means not only physical death, but spiritual as well. Hell. Everlasting punishment. Eternal judgment.

I get it. A paragraph into this devotional and I’m already talking about sin. How encouraging and uplifting, you might sarcastically say. Well, that’s just it, friend. In order for us to be truly encouragement, to be genuinely edified, we must recognize and admit the problem first.

Even as Christians, we may from time to time live under the crushing weight of our sin. We continue to sin and feel subsequent shame, guilt, and embarrassment. Why am I still struggling with this so much? we might ask. But we should not remain in that shame or guilt or embarrassment.

We should feel cleansed—because we are cleansed. We should feel free—because we are free. We should feel guilt-free—because we are guilt-free! Friend, the more we look at our sin and then see that Jesus took our sin, the more we will be encouraged. Sin is damning, and of course it’s a bummer talk about. It’s a bummer, to put it lightly, that we still sin. But our Christ is greater than our sin.

Let me leave you with this amazing quote from Mitchell Chase in his new book Short of Glory (review coming soon):

As the light of God’s word reveals our transgressions and we sense greater depths of our shame, we may feel overwhelmed. But your sin does not overwhelm Christ. If you say to him, “I am afraid, for I cannot bear my sin,” he will say to you, “Fear not, for I already bore your sin” Don’t walk-flee-to the refuge of his mercy tree. The very reasons you think he should depart are the very reasons he tells you to come.