By Terry Bowman
I have attended church all my life. From the time that I was an infant, my mother made sure that I was in church. So, at a very early age, I became aware of the concept of God and the consequences of sin. Verses like Romans 3:23 (For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.) made me acutely aware that there was sin in my life. But the verse that really haunted me was Romans 6:23a (For the wages of sin is death.).
Being from a family that believed in discipline, I knew there were consequences for wrong actions. I realized from Romans 6:23a that a holy and just God would hold me accountable for my sins. As a result, I became burdened with the guilt of sin. By the age of ten, I had developed a strong desire to rid myself of this burden of guilt.
One day I had a life changing experience. I remember clearly that morning in Vacation Bible school when it all made sense. My pastor used a chemistry set to explain the gospel. He displayed a test tube filled with crystal-clear liquid and explained how God had created man without sin, clean and pure. He then added several drops of an unknown chemical to the test tube. An inky blackness rapidly dispersed through the clear liquid so that the entire test tube was filled with black fluid. My pastor indicated that this is what happens when sin enters your life. Though it may start small, it spreads until it completely fills your life. He described how our sin separates us from God because He is holy and cannot tolerate sin. He explained that if we die under the guilt of sin, it will condemn us to eternal separation from God in a place called Hell.
My pastor then added several drops of a second chemical to the test tube. Almost instantly the inky black liquid became crystal clear. He indicated that when Jesus comes into our lives, He cleanses us from our sin and, once again, makes us pure and blameless before a holy God. Using verses like Romans 5:8 (But God demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.) he explained how Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins. I realized at that moment that the only way to get rid of my burden of guilt was to give it to Jesus. But how could I do that?
My pastor pointed out verses like Romans 10:13 (For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.) and Romans 10:9 (That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.). That morning I met privately with my pastor and asked Jesus to come into my life. I placed my faith and trust in him alone and asked him to forgive my sins and to take away my burden of guilt.
From that moment forward, I was released from the heavy burden of guilt. I experienced peace from the knowledge that I would one day spend eternity with God in heaven. But the gift that I received that day extended far beyond eternal life. You see, I enjoy the benefit of daily fellowship with God and the satisfaction of knowing His purpose for my life. Jesus called it the abundant life in Romans 10:10 (I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.).
What about you? Is your life clouded with the inky blackness of sin? Do you carry the heavy burden of guilt and desire to crawl out from under its crushing weight? Will you invite Jesus to cleanse you from the ugliness of sin and take up residence in your life?