By nature every sinner's understanding is perverted from the knowledge of God, from a true sense of sin, from a realization of divine justice, from a right estimate of salvation. Man's understanding, which is the eye of the soul, is darkened by his sin and blinded by Satan. But when the Blessed Savior comes, He removes the scales of your sinful blindness, and in the light of God at the Cross, you shall see the Savior. The sinner is then humbled, for he perceives his guilt, his danger, his inability, and the divine justice of God. Moreover, the sinner is filled with alarm, for he sees the bleeding Savior bearing JEHOVAH'S wrath for him, and realizes that every one of his sins must receive a recompense of divine wrath; for if sin laid on Christ was punished so, how much more must personal sin still on our own soul at death involve destruction and banishment from the presence of the God. The sinner is then made to see that the only way in which sin can be removed from his soul is through the bloody sufferings and death of a Sinless Substitute. The Holy Spirit leads the sinner to see that the Atonement is for him if he will simply trust in JESUS. Trust in what Jesus has done and finished, not in what you can do.
The Holy Spirit leads the sinner to understand what true believing really is. The sinner believes; he trusts, and then in trusting the sinner is made to see the completeness of divine pardon, and the perfect justification which comes to him by simple faith in Jesus Christ. No man truly understands the Gospel unless it is given to him from heaven. The Holy Spirit Himself must explain the Gospel to the sinner. The Holy Spirit alone must reveal your sinfulness and what it was to believe in Jesus. The Holy Ghost must cause you to clearly see yourself lost, and Christ the Lamb of God suffering instead of you; you must believe in HIM, and then your sins disappear, and you are freely accepted in the Beloved. The Holy Ghost must show every sinner the simplicity of the Gospel. One touch from Christ's merciful hand will make you wise unto salvation. The whole secret of the gospel lies in these few words, “Believe IN Christ Himself and your soul shall live.” The secret master-key is hearty, penitent, unfeigned faith in Jesus' shed blood alone.
The bondage under which a sinner lies to his sins is great. Habits of sin, like iron nets, surround the sinner, and he cannot escape their meshes. The man sins, and imagines that he cannot help sinning. He cannot renounce the world, he cannot break off his sins, and he cannot believe in Jesus in his own strength. The Savior came to earth on purpose to remove every bond of sin from the captive sinner, and to set him free from every chain of his evil. All sinners privately strive against their habits of sins - unchaste passions, impure thoughts, a haughty spirit, lustful imaginations, and an angry temper. They strive unsuccessfully in their own strength, they have been filled with bondage and bitterness of sin. Some sins die the moment a sinner believes in Jesus, and trouble him no more; but other sins hang on to him, and die by slow degrees, but they are eventually overcome and by Christ's power and they don't continue to get the mastery over him. The only possible freedom from your sin is in Christ. If you ever plan to shake off your evil habits or any other mental bondage, the only remedy is this, to commit yourself wholly to Christ the Savior.
Love Christ, and you shall hate your sins. Trust Him, and you shall no longer trust yourself. Submit yourself to the rule and sway of the living Incarnate God, and He will break the chains of sin within your mind and heart. Nothing else and no one else can do it. Christ must have the glory in your victory over SELF. Only He can set you free from sin’s iron yoke. He's never failed a sinner yet, and He never shall. Christ must break off your secret sins, or you will perish in them. Christ is the divine remedy for all human sin, He gives sinners His holy liberty freely. Simple Faith in the Lord Jesus is the end of sin's bondage and the dawn of grace and freedom.
God's mercy is most glorified by Him passing by our greatest offenses. God's grace is most glorified when He conquers and subdues our most vile and wicked passions. Time is flying by; days are rushing past; years are hastening away; decades are clicking off. Christ Jesus is still mighty to save. The Gospel Message is still this - “He that believeth on Christ is not condemned. Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Trust Jesus, and be free from your sins. Jesus Christ does all things well; His word clears your understanding; His blood cleanses your heart; His love breaks the power of your sinful habits; His mercy removes your awful load of despondency; He does it all. Christ Jesus, God in human flesh, God over all, blessed forever; He who died on Calvary's Cross; His most precious blood is the divine remedy for all human sin. Christ Jesus it is, and He only, who is the Savior of our fallen sinful race. Go to the Savior by faith now, view Him suffering on your behalf, behold the completion of your reconciliation to God, fall back upon the free mercy of God in Christ, and see the eternal security of your soul through the finished work of the glorious Substitute. Love Christ, and you shall hate your sins.
