Peter, in Acts 3:17, told those who were responsible for the death of Christ that they acted in ignorance. And yet, in 3:19, he said, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” The magnitude of our need. Because our hearts are blind and hard, our need is great. We’re sinners in need of forgiveness. It’s not just those who were involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. In a very real sense, we were all there when He was executed. Most of us have no problem castigating others for their sins while excusing our own behavior. This sneaks in on the national level as well when we refer to people in other countries as “evil” while deceiving ourselves with our own national self-righteousness. While I understand what President Bush meant when he referred to Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as the “Axis of Evil,” the truth of the matter is that the real axis of evil is me, myself, and I. Sin isn’t just out there; it’s in here. Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” During the Second World War, an old cathedral was bombed in England. In the 1960s a new cathedral was built alongside the ruins of the old one. On the altar there is a cross that was constructed out of nails that were taken from the collapsed roof of the old church. On the cross are the words, “Father, forgive.” Many visitors were bothered by this because they wanted it to say, “Father, forgive them,” meaning, “Father, forgive the Germans for bombing this beautiful place of worship.” The reason it reads like it does is because even where the issues seemed so clear-cut, Britain had some sins to confess as well. Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We’re all guilty and need to repent in order for our sins to be wiped out.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 04:47:31 +0000
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