The Misery of Sin

There’s a difference between sinning, knowing it, and being sorry for it and intentionally, habitually sinning again and again. If you’re a child of God, then you won’t habitually sin. You won’t be sinless, but you will sin less.

If you really have accepted God’s gift of salvation, then you will be unhappy and miserable when you’ve sinned. The Bible tells us in 1 John 3:9, “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God” (NLT).

This verse doesn’t say that if you’re a child of God, you won’t sin because everyone sins all the time. But if you’re a child of God, then you won’t be happy after you sin, and you’ll want to get right with God.

There are sins of commission and sins of omission. A sin of commission is when you do what you should not do, while a sin of omission is not doing what you should do. The Bible says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NKJV).

If you want to be unhappy, then have unconfessed sin in your life. Happiness does not come from sinning. Misery, guilt, and repercussions come from sinning. That is why the Bible says, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!” (Psalm 32:1 NLT).

After David sinned against the Lord, he wrote, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (Psalm 51:12 NLT).

Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NLT). It isn’t hard to be a Christian—it’s impossible . . . without the help and power of the Holy Spirit.