Word for Youth

Always a sinner?

Every one of us has something we struggle with, some weakness or behaviour that we find difficult to put aside. It might be a tendency to gossip, or unwillingness to forgive, or a struggle with alcohol…the list could go on. While we might be able to overcome a hundred other sins, there’s probably at least one that seems to have a powerful hold on us. And we can start excusing it by saying something like ‘it’s just the way I am’ or ‘I was born like that’. And to a certain extent, it’s true – we all inherited Adam’s fallen nature (take a look at Romans 5:12). David said, ‘I was born guilty. I was a sinner when my mother conceived me’ (Psalm 51:5 GWT). Ecclesiastes 7:20 tells us: ‘Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins’ (NLT). The problem is, it’s easy to treat this as a get-out clause. We can’t change the way we’re made, and we’ve done so well overcoming loads of other sins – surely, we can let ourselves off this one thing, right? Well, no, we can’t. As Christians, our hearts should be desiring to do whatever pleases God. And in those times when it’s incredibly hard work, we need to make a conscious effort to bring our behaviour closer into alignment with Jesus’ nature. Paul recognised how difficult it is (have a read of Romans 7:18), but he also gives us the answer: ‘Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord’ (Romans 7:24-25 NLT). When we were born, we received Adam’s corrupt nature, but through our new birth as Christians, we receive Christ’s sin-conquering, life-changing, righteous nature.

What now?
Honestly think about the one sin that seems to have a hold on you. Whenever you feel tempted to engage in that behaviour, write it on a bit of paper. Then immediately cross it out and write ‘Jesus’ in big letters over the top. And if you need help to overcome that sin, talk to your pastor or church leader to get prayer and support.