It is possible to not sin! In fact, repentance means “I won’t do that again!”
Luke 24 ~
“46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
1. Jesus said the proclamation of repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name.
To proclaim means to publicly cry out with urgency and with an urgency for those hearing to accept what is proclaimed or face the consequences of rejecting it. This word carries the authority of Jesus to proclaim, warn, and reveal the consequences. That is why it is “in His name”. He gave His disciples power of attorney to re-present Him.
In order for repentance for forgiveness of sins to be proclaimed there has to be the proclamation that there are sinners and there is sin.
In our modern, or post-modern or whatever we are calling our world right now it is not in vogue to confront a person in sin and their sinning lifestyle.
Jesus said proclaim repentance which means to stop it, drop it, and turn to God and start living like Christ.
It IS possible to not sin!
John said this in 1 John 2:1,2 – “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
A. John writes to “little children”. This word is teknon and is the 3rd level of spiritual maturity for the believer in the childhood [first] stage of growth. He states to these little children –
1. “You MAY not sin”
a. Means permission is not granted to sin
2. “And IF anyone sins” not “And WHEN anyone sins”
a. John reiterates sin is not permissible nor normal behavior. Sin should be a rare exception not the norm.
b. “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
1. Our Advocate is more than someone who stands next to us in front of the Father. He is the One who lives on the inside of us and want to live His life through us. In fact, Christianity is not believers living for God. Christianity is God living through believers.
2. This Advocate paid the price that paid for our sin but that price includes His power to live free of sin.
2. Jesus said “Christ must suffer and rise again from the dead the third day.”
This separates Christianity from all the religions of the world. Christ is alive and is inviting everyone to come to Him and to get to know Him – personally.
3. This proclamation would begin “from Jerusalem.”
Jerusalem was the launching pad! Jesus said “from” not “in” Jerusalem. The world is the focus not Jerusalem! “God so loved the world . . . .”, not God so loved Jerusalem! The church would be well served to understand this major point! [I have a teaching series and future book titled – JESUS AND JERUSALEM. You can find the series on YouTube].
4. This proclamation was to go into “all the nations.”
Every ethnic group and every person in every national boundary is to hear this eternally exciting message.
I say eternal because John said this about the gospel – “6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” [Revelation 14]
The eternal gospel includes the true worship of the One true God, who is the Creator!
And that is why I said exciting. It doesn’t get any more exciting than meeting, getting to know, growing in the knowledge of Him, and getting to spend eternity with the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
Do you know Him?
Keep HIS Faith! Keep HIS Passion! Keep HIS Purposes!
Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A Hisstorymaker
Revolution Movement 