Radical Surgery is Required

FRESH Official Podcast

Most of us have a pretty good sense of the difference between right and wrong. And so we set about trying to do more right than wrong. Just a little bit more right. Just a little bit less wrong. Hopefully, that’ll do it.

Imagine for a moment that you have to have a cancerous growth removed. So, would you like the surgeon to remove part of it or all of it? That answer’s pretty obvious, right? The whole lot, thanks! In fact, the surgeon will normally cut out a bit of the good tissue around the cancer to make sure they’ve removed it all.

Which brings us back to your approach to right and wrong. And whilst sin, like a cancer, is going to have short terms symptoms and ramifications for your wellbeing here and now … ultimately, it’s going to kill you just like that cancer.

And obviously the approach of doing just a bit more right to cover up the bit less wrong that remains, hoping that no one (God included) will notice, ultimately isn’t going to save you, anymore than removing part of a cancer will.

Proverbs 28:13 Whoever hides their sins will not be successful, but whoever confesses their sins and stops doing wrong will receive mercy.

That verse talks literally about renouncing your sin completely. There’s another word for that: repentance. It’s a deeply personal process of recognising and admitting your sin, experiencing sincere remorse and regret for your actions, seeking God’s forgiveness and making a commitment to change your behaviour going forward.

To be clear, cutting back on your sin is not repentance. Abandoning your sin is.

Whoever confesses their sins and stops doing wrong will receive mercy.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.