Sinless or Sin Less?

Today is Easter Sunday, a day Christians across the land celebrate Jesus Christ’s victory over death by rising from the grave. Many who attend a service today are called Creestors because this is one of only two times per year you’ll find them in a pew; the first to celebrate His birth, the second His death and resurrection.

What better way for us to focus on our lives of a finite nature than remembering Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection? I’d like to start by posing three questions, the answers to which define our eternal destination. Can we all agree that someday each of us will die? I know some who read this don’t believe in the afterlife. To you I offer this challenge. If I’m wrong about the afterlife, I will still have lived a more peaceful life, not free of problems, but with the assurance that an eternal Being is in charge. If you’re wrong, well, there are consequences you won’t like.

Here are the questions.

With each one, ask yourself, “What difference does it make?” Is it “sinless” or “sin less”? Is it good behavior or forgiveness? Is it my way or God’s way?

For the sake of space, I’ll answer them as a group. Those who study the Bible among us, are familiar with Jesus’ comparison of the wide and narrow ways and gates in Matthew 7. Both are marked “This Way to Heaven.” But one is a lie. The one that is a lie is wide. It’s filled with unbelievers who have rejected Christ’s Easter message. It leads to hell.

The other one is narrow,

and, according to Jesus, “there are few that find it” (Matt. 7:14). Why? Are the entry requirements so stiff that only a select few qualify? No. It’s available to anyone who plays by God’s rules. Those on the wide way have bought Satan’s lie that we can be good enough. Just a little more in the collection plate. Another time around the rosary. One more church committee to join. The Bible is clear, “…all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isa. 64:6).

Many think that by being good and striving to sin less, that they are earning God’s approval. Another lie from the father of lies. Again, the answer is in the Bible. Ephesians 2:8,9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast.” There has only been one sinless person…EVER. And that is Jesus Christ the Righteous (1 Jn. 2:1). We can never attain the righteous level required for entrance through the narrow gate on our own. It is only by putting our trust in the One who has always been and always will be inherently righteous, Jesus Christ. Jesus assures us that, “…the one who come to Me I will certainly not cast out” (Jn. 6:37).

Hopefully, now you can answer the question

“What difference does it make?” Your understanding and acceptance of the answer to the three questions will make the difference in where you spend eternity; in heaven with the God who created all things, or in the default alternative because you didn’t believe in His son Jesus. The good news is that when we believe in Jesus, we are credited with His righteousness so when God looks at us, He sees His Son in us and we are accepted into the family of God as a fully forgiven son or daughter.

So, is it “sinless” or “sin less”? Is it good behavior or forgiveness? Is it my way or God’s way? In Christ, we are sinless. In Him, we are forgiven. In Him, we are alive in God’s way. If all this seems like a foreign language to you, perhaps the appendix Steps To Salvation  will make it crystal clear to you. Thanks for reading.