The Bottom Line, Ministries Christian News, Articles, & Poetry 
When we surrender to Christ we turn away from our sins. This doesn’t mean a Christian will never sin, it means he will grow to hate his sin. The sin nature we inherited from our first father Adam says that we will all sin. Not only will we sin but we have an inclination to sin.
Genesis 6:5: And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
This is a hard truth to grasp for some. Many think people are generally good. But that’s not what the Bible says. Close to the beginning of the Bible we find the verse above. We see Mark reiterate the point of the sinfulness of man and only goodness comes from God .
Mark 10:18: And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Our hardened hearts can only be softened by Jesus Christ. With an inclination towards sin Jesus is the only way we are able to grow as Christians and gradually hate our sins.
If we don’t hate our sin there’s no reason to change anything.
The process of sanctification is what is happening when we grow to hate our sin.
It is only by God’s grace we are saved and sanctified. The sanctification process is complete when we are glorified in heaven.
Acts 26:18 : To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
When I quit drinking it was miraculous. I’m not saying that lightly and I’m not saying that there’s anything miraculous to do with me. It took a while but I prayed and prayed and prayed for God to deliver me from that sin and he did. I went from drinking most everyday after work to now not wanting any alcohol at all.
I saw families destroyed and lives lost because of excessive drinking and I grew to hate it. It’s a sin that the devil uses to kill and destroy and sadly it is one that is promoted all over the media and glorified in the movies. I’m eternally grateful God delivered me from that sin and changed my life forever.
Every sin is a crime against a thrice Holy God and death is the sentence. But our Savior Jesus Christ took the penalty for our sins on that tree. He paid the price that no other man could. Fulfilling hundreds of prophecies and redeeming the repentant sinner. A glorious stay in eternity with Christ is our future.
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Matthew,
Excellent message of truth!
Thank you,
God Bless~
Thank you and God bless you
Amen to your message.
I know of someone who smoked since he was young. The family smoked in fact so it was a common occurrence and back then they didn’t put a warning label on cigarette packages. It would have been a deterrent most likely. In those days this product was commercialized on television and common in movies and on talk shows.
When this man was saved, the Lord instantly took that habit away from him. He said he couldn’t even stand the smell of tobacco.
Years later when my husband had to have a pacemaker, he went to an exercise program for individuals who were dealing with their recovery. After three months of therapy, the staff had a four hour session in an auditorium to complete the program.
I was with my husband through all the classes and for the session. We were given a print out of the presentation and the first issue that was spoken about was cigarette smoking. One main thing that was a surprise to hear about a cigarette is that it has 33 poisons in it including TNT and second hand inhalers are the greater victim because the cigarette contains a charcoal filter to supposedly protect the one doing the smoking but the exhaled smoke being breathed in gives the people around them the full concentration of the tobacco. Either way the burning of this substance harms everyone.
This is an example of how wrong bad choices in one’s life hurts them and effects others. That is what sin does. It’s purpose is to destroy each person and brings death in the end. We are slaves to sin but the shackles fall off when Christ comes along for He alone holds the key.
Many years ago, my parents purchased a record of a man named Don Loney who was a Christian comedian who went to high schools and spoke to teenagers in the auditorium. He was one of those gifted men whom the Lord used greatly and he had a way of talking to this age group with funny remark and stories that got their attention. Back then you could talk to students about biblical truths.
We listened to this record many times and shared it with other kids our age. Anyway, Don Loney spoke at an assembly of teens and he was talking about smoking. After the meeting was over a girl came up to him with a giggly attitude and was questioning Don regarding his remarks about smoking. She stated that she smokes and he said “no” and she said “yes” while laughing about it. They repeated the same words once again and she asked him finally why he was saying that. He said, “Because it is the cigarette that does the smoking, you are the sucker”.
I have remembered that story all these years. That is just one example of what sin does to us now matter the habit it is that gets ahold of us. We are foolish (suckers) to fall for the devil’s lies because his intention is to destroy our lives.
Praise be to our Lord that He has come to take us out of the mire of sins and sets us on the Rock of salvation (Jesus the Christ), Amen!
Amen. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Matthew for sharing your convictions with us. I love reading your messages!
Thank you for your kind words!
absolutely love your messages. maaybe i can ask permission to get some of them translated into chinese