Someone present there told Jesus about Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus’ response to the statement was noteworthy. He answered , "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” The terms “sin , sins , repentance and regret are often being confused of their correct usage . In Christian perspective they are different .
John the Baptist – the forerunner of Jesus said "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Some people who accepted John as a prophet gave a wrong interpretation of repentance . John specifically said to them “You brood of vipers! Who warned you…..? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Matt 3: 2,6,7& 8. Repentance involves more than a mere “ I am sorry attitude” . Repentance is more than being sorry for one’s wrong doing .
Let us make two terms very clear.
Sin and sins are not just two words . Often we may think sin is singular and its plural form is sins . In worldly view it is true , but in Christian perspective they are not same . Sin has got two distinct meanings .
· The action one does due to sinful nature is defined as sin .
· The sinful nature itself is termed as sin as it motivates one to commit the action.
Therefore both action and nature are termed as Sin.
What is Sin ?
Broadly speaking , sin is the nature of a person who has not yet given his Lordship to Jesus . So far sin persists , a man goes on sinning . It doesn’t matter how many sins he commit a day . By his nature he can do any amount of sins . The point could be illustrated this way . If one empties a natural water well, it could be dried up within hours depends on the strength of spring within . So far, spring is strong enough, water may well up again to the former level. In the same manner , if nature of sin is not dealt with ,one may go on sinning .
True conversion
In true conversion , mainly there are two things that has to take place . When conscience strikes a person in his heart, he repents by the influence of Holy Spirit . For God ,the blood of Christ is quite enough to deal with our sins . But the nature of sin ,God dealt in another way .The cross of Jesus is God’s way of dealing our sinfulnature. Therefore man’s dual problems[i] of sin and sins are dealt by God in the above manner . By repentance and faith one is able to shift from self-centeredness to God centeredness. “Repentance is saying to God, “ Lord you take over and run my life the way you want to run”[ii]
[i] Watchman nee – the normal Christian life
[ii] Hughes Selwyn -The Christian counsellor’s pocket guide
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