Sin

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.
“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, `I repent,’ forgive him.”
(Luke 17:1-4 (NIV))

Everyone knows and understands that God wants us to live a sin-free life. It is because we, in our frail humanity, cannot live sin-free that Jesus came to redeem us from our sin.

Equally important are two other aspects of sin. We must not cause others to sin through our actions or words and we must forgive those who sin against us just as God has forgiven our sins.

If we cause others to sin, then we have actually sinned ourselves. Does a good deed cause anger? With this same reasoning, what could cause others to sin?

If someone sins against us we should forgive them. What makes us not want to forgive someone? Pride! We are too proud and we think that we are better than the person who sinned against us. Isn’t pride a sin?

God not only longs for us to live a sin-free life, He also does not want sin to enter into our lives in other ways.

Have you caused someone to sin? Have you forgiven everyone who has sinned against you?

Copyright 1998 – 2010 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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