“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” - Hebrews 3:12-13
In 1856 the German philosopher Heinrich Heine lay dying. When he was asked whether he had no fear to face God after the sinful life he had lived, he sneered, “Of course God will forgive me; that’s His job.”
Sin springs from unbelief. We sin when we don’t believe that God means it when He tells us that He takes sin seriously and will punish those who reject His Law. Sin deceives us as we fall more and more under its spell, because we have to convince ourselves that God’s Word must not be true. As a result, our hearts become more and more hardened against God’s loving call to repentance.
That cynical attitude is very different from a repentant heart that finds relief in knowing that because Jesus has died for me, my sins are all forgiven and I have the assurance of a loving Father in Heaven. This kind of faith begets confidence and a sincere desire to become what God has called me to be.
Lord Jesus, guard me from ever allowing my heart to become hardened to Your Word and Your Holy Spirit’s call. Give me a heart that responds to Your Law with sincere obedience, and that responds to Your promise of forgiveness with a sincere faith. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles