I am regularly amazed when someone tells me that they cannot be used by God because of some sin in their past.  The amazing this is this is said by someone claiming to be a Christian.  I say “claiming” to be a Christian because of what Christians claim to be.

Christians do not claim to be without sin.  Not only is that preposterous, but no one would believe it anyway (nor should they).  I have not stopped sinning – I wish I could honestly say I have (my life would be a lot easier).  At best we might be able to say we sin less.  The problem is the more I understand that sin is falling short of God (the standard), and the more I learn about God, the more I question the idea of sinning less.  No we Christians do not claim to be sinless.

We claim that Jesus dealt with the sins in our lives by taking on our sins on Himself and receiving the punishment – death.  We claim our sins are gone – even before we committed one of them.  As far as God is concerned they never happened.  He does not think about our sin anymore.  To be clear, this only applies to Christians –real Christians.  Those who have confessed with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believed in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Ro 10:9).  If you have not done this, you have no more right to call yourself a Christian, as a person who calls themselves a car because they hang out in a garage.

If you are a Christian, you are completely forgiven by God for your failures – all of them.  There is nothing that is holding you back as far as God is concerned.  You are absolutely free to serve God in any way He establishes for you.  If the Son sets you free (and He has), you are free indeed.  Go and serve God with your head held high!