Reflect Upon the Sin He Forgave
Yesterday was Christmas Day. The day we remember and celebrate the reality that God became a man; and that he entered this world to make a way for our sins to be forgiven.
And now that Christmas Day is in the rearview mirror, it’s easy to move passed it and immediately begin to look toward 2022. We’re headed toward the New Year and this is the time of year when many people will begin to take inventory. This is the time of year we look back on the year, to assess and ask: “How did it go?”
As we think about 2021, many of us will look back on things we’ve accomplished, and milestones we hit. We’ll think about babies, and weddings, and funerals, and graduations, and vacations. We’ll think back on moments of happiness and moments of disappointment. And, as we head into 2022, many people will set new goals and New Years resolutions.
But, this morning, there’s one thing I want to encourage you not to forget when you are reflecting upon 2021, one very specific thing. My exhortation to you this morning, as you reflect upon 2021 is this: Think about your sin.
And I want you to do it with specificity. Block out time, maybe 30 minutes, or 45 minutes, or an hour or so, to sit and ponder and to think about specific sins you committed in 2021. Think about specific attitudes you’ve embraced that you know were wrong. Think about specific moments when your temper got the best of you.
Think about the times you neglected prayer. Think about the people you’ve hurt and the promises you’ve broken. Consider the bitterness that you’ve harbored in your heart. Think about the inappropriate things you’ve looked at… or laughed at. Think about the words of gossip that have come from your mouth, or that you welcomed into your ears.
Think about your sin.
But don’t stop there, because that’ll be discouraging. After thinking about 2021, go back further, like 2000 years into the past, and think about the cross. Think about your sins in the light of the cross. Think about your sins as already having been forgiven, because if you are in Christ, your sins are indeed forgiven! Remember that as you reflect on 2021!
But why? Why do I want you to think about your sin? Because remembering your sin will cause you to love Jesus more! In Luke 7, we read about a woman who loved Jesus. One of the amazing things we learn from this story is this: The persons that will love Jesus the most are the ones that realize that they have been forgiven of many sins.
So, the more you remember your sins and, more importantly, the more you remember that you’ve been forgiven of those sins, then the more you will love Jesus. As you think about your own sins and you realize that Jesus has forgiven you of those sins, you’ll sit there in awe and say:
“Wow! He forgave me of that sin! Wow! He forgave that disgusting thing I did and that terrible thing I said. He forgave even that… wow!”
Doing that will stir in your heart greater affection for Jesus, and it will cause you to hate your sin more. One byproduct of loving Jesus is hating the sin he died for. As you grow in your love for Jesus, you will grow in your hatred for sin, and when we hate sin, we ought to want to kill it.
In Romans 8, the apostle Paul said: “By the power of the Spirit [we must] put to death the deeds of the [flesh].” The great 17th century Puritan pastor John Owen said this:
[We believers are] assuredly free from the condemning power of sin, [therefore we ought to] make it [our] business, all [our] days, to mortify the indwelling power of sin… Be killing sin or it will be killing you.
Church, I challenge you, over the next week or two, spend some time remembering the sins of 2021 and intentionally (and humbly) think about the fact that you’ve been forgiven of those sins. As you do that, as you spend time humbly and prayerfully remembering your sin AND remembering his mercy toward you, your affection for Jesus will grow, and your hatred for sin will grow too! Church, that’s my prayer for us, that as we go into 2022, that we would all love Jesus more and by the power of his Spirit, that we would seek to kill our sin!
Prayer of Confession
Father in heaven, I ask that you would help us to love Jesus more and by the power of your Spirit, that you would help us to mortify our sin. There were so many moments in 2021 when we exhibited apathy and laziness, many moments when we were governed by greed or pride or envy or lust. O God, please forgive us! God, we recognize it is so easy for us to downplay the ramifications of our sin. Forgive us for the moments when we’ve thought our sin was no “big deal” or moments when we’ve acted like it was of little consequence. God, as we reflect upon 2021, would you help us to see the depth of our own depravity and folly. God, we pause in this service, we take this moment of silence to confess our individual sins to you now.
Prayer: Father in heaven, you are so good, you are kind to us, far beyond anything we deserve. You are merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Father, thank you for sending your son Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Thank you! God, in the coming weeks, as we spend time reflecting upon 2021, would you also help us to remember that we have been forgiven. O God, Would you please stir our hearts, would you cause us to love you more, I pray. And Father, I ask, would you strengthen us as we seek to mortify our sin. By the power of your Spirit, would help us put to death the deeds of the flesh. I pray all these things in the matchless name of Jesus, amen.