Jacob Robertson

A.W. Pink was once quoted as having said “It is not the absence of sin but the grieving over it which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors.” There is an idea floating around in Christianity today that one can believe in Jesus Christ as Savior but not as Lord. There is a distinction. To believe in Jesus Christ as Savior means you are confident of His work on the cross and it’s sufficiency to atone for man’s sins. But to make Jesus Christ Lord means to repent (to turn away) from the sins you know Jesus died for, and fully surrender to His will. I fear that, as A.W. Pink mentions, some Christians do not grieve over their sin because they are living out only 50 percent of the spiritual equation. Some believers are so far leaning in the Calvinistic direction that being the elect of God and the act of repentance are some how mutually inclusive. “Because I am one of the elect of God, I need not bother myself with worrying about sin. I am chosen…” This verbiage scares me. However rare this behavior may be, this philosophy of sin can easily creep in.

John Samuel Bewley Monsell was an Irish Anglican clergyman and poet during the 1800s. He is noted for writing many beautiful hymns numbering into the hundreds. One such hymn is titled My Sins, My Sins, My Savior. Verse Two goes like this:

My sins, my sins, my Savior!

How sad on Thee they fall;

Seen through Thy gentle patience,

I tenfold feel them all.

I know they are forgiven,

But still, their pain to me

Is all the grief and anguish

They laid, my Lord, on Thee.

Words by John Monsell (1811-75) and David Ward.

Do our sins grieve us? They grieve God. In fact, when we sin and choose not to repent, we are making a mockery of the death of Christ. We are saying to Him that His death wasn’t enough. It doesn’t matter. Yes, God is patient and full of mercy. However, He clearly commands us to repent, in a moment at salvation, but also daily (Proverbs 28:13).

For those that have never accepted the free gift of salvation, repentance is the first step in faith in Jesus Christ. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14–15). Repentance brings refreshment. New beginnings. Allow your sins to bring you to a moment of sorrow in order to push you to repentance – “Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation… (2 Corinthians 7:10).