In Need of Forgiveness from a Holy God

It may sound negative but we are all sinners. We are not all born guaranteed to do what is right. We are infected with the penchant for indulging in our flesh. The good that comes in our lives comes from the remnant of God's glory in which He created us. The good that we become grows in us because of His grace upon us. The evil we don't become is also because of His grace.

That isn't what most of the world would like to tell you. They want to say that the whole world is good. They believe that bad environments alone make people bad. They have eliminated the need for God's grace. To them, people are good unless affected by something evil. People, therefore, can blame their parents, siblings, neighborhoods, education system and economic status for their evil. They never think of where the original evil comes from. No one wants to think of those who have horrible parents, demeaning siblings, poor neighborhoods, the same education system and abject poverty yet become God-fearing, productive citizens who live admirable lives. They also don't want to consider those who had none of the hardships yet live horrible lives. These destroy the universal concept of everyone being good.

So, sin gets eliminated. Responsibility is placed on others. God no longer makes a positive difference  And the world is getting to be a much better place. Right?

No, positive reforms have resulted when people have realized their sinfulness, asked for forgiveness and sought God to bring them to good. They have realized that the good inside themselves would not prevail without God's help. They have realized that their relationship with Him was the only way to restore the good that He created them in. They have fallen on their knees or fallen prostrate before Him and cried out in the realization that they are responsible for the evil they have done.

And peace only comes when we have made peace with our Creator. Purpose only comes when we have realized that we, His creation, were created with a divine purpose. Order comes when our lives obey what He leads us to be. Joy fills us when we have become more than we would have been without Him. Praise erupts from within us as we see His face.

But of course, it must begin with realizing we are sinners in need of forgiveness from a Holy God.

Psalm 51:1-4 (ESV)
¹ Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! ³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. ⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

Psalm 51:10-13 (ESV)
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. ¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.