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I have been praying a lot lately about what God wants me not only to do as a pastor during the next year, but for my whole period as a pastor. One big question I had for God was, how do I deal with the subject of sin. I am definitely not the type of preacher who goes all fire and brimstone on people, so how was I to deal with that subject.

The answer to that question from God came as a pleasant surprise. The answer is, I don’t deal with individual sins. I am to deal with sin as a general topic and allow God to be the one who convicts. My job is primarily to direct a person to the one who is righteous (Christ) and he will do the convicting. My job is to demonstrate that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life”.

That’s not to say that I will let someone else off the hook concerning their sins however. Romans 3:23 Says “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Jesus said, “No man comes to the Father but by me.” You cannot justify (claim innocence) just because you were “born this way” or “this is just the way I am”. Sin is sin and we have all done it. We are all guilty, and deserve the curse. We cannot think that by following a specific set of laws that we can be declared innocent either. it says in Galatians 3:11.  “No man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident for, the just shall live by faith”.

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Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church in Brandsville, Missouri.  As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and most recently, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her book, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .


John the Baptist

If we read our Bible in order, Matthew 3 is the first place that we meet John the Baptist, and here we see him preaching a warning at the Pharisees and Sadducees. In Luke1:5-25, however we learn about the unique circumstances of John the Baptist’s conception.

A priest named Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth (who was also of the priestly line because she was an descendant of Aaron’s line) were old and had no children. One day while Zacharias was fulfilling his duties as a priest by burning incense when he went into the temple, an angel of the Lord (Gabriel) appeared to him.

The angel told Zacharias that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son and name him John. John would not drink alcohol and would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born. Because of John, many of the children of Israel would turn to the Lord their God. Because Zacharias did not believe what Gabriel had told him, he could not speak.  Elizabeth conceived.

Mary (with child with the son of God) went to visit Elizabeth when Mary was newly pregnant and Elizabeth was five months pregnant and when Mary announced her arrival, both Elizabeth and the unborn John were both filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary, then, prophesied concerning John (Luke 1:39-56) . John is born and the family wants to name him after his father, but Elizabeth said that his name was John.

When the family asked Zacharias, (because he had the final say), because he was still mute wrote on a tablet that his name was John. Immediately, Zacharias could again speak and the first words out of his mouth was to prophecy. (Luke1:57-79. John grew up strong physically and spiritually and lived in the desert until he began his ministry.

John’s ministry was as a priest and a prophet. He was the one to make way for the coming of the Lord.  John’s ministry was all about repentance. His represented the best of what man could offer before the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The best that man could bring himself to under the law was to learn that he full of sin and that sin was detestable. John’s ministry pointed at the only one who could save us.  That’s where Jesus steps in. He takes us beyond ourselves and into something truly amazing, but first we have to be willing to accept John’s baptism of repentance. We must recognize that we are not able to save ourselves. There is something far more complete–the immersion into the name (authority) of Jesus Christ.


No one ever uses the word “sin” any more. What is sin anyway? The term is definitely not politically correct. Our society discourages anything that has negative connotations, and the idea of sin definitely has negative connotations. When we are willing to acknowledge the existence of sin, we think about it as terrible things that “evil people” do  like murder, child abuse, or armed robbery. We are quick to say that whatever we did was “not that bad” or God knows my heart and even he knows I am really a good person.

However, God does not see sin that way. He sees sin is anything that we do that takes the place of him in our lives. He admits that he does not want us giving what he considered his place to something or someone else, even if just temporary.

We are not responsible for the existence of our sins.  We are all born sinners. In Genesis chapter 3 we learn that Adam and Eve made the decision to disobey God. They listened to the serpent when he encouraged Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil (not an apple). They caused a death sentence for their physical bodies.

In the New Testament, in Romans 5:12-17 Paul explains what happened spiritually to Adam. In this passage, Paul explained that through Adam all humankind have a sin nature (sinning comes naturally to them) because sin ruled over Adam down to his DNA causing each person living to have sin in their DNA. The law of “wages of sin was death” was put into effect from that time forward.  We cannot simply just do what we think is right in our own eyes and get a pass. We are doomed to death.

However . . .There’s good news. . .

The verse talking about “the wages of sin” does not end with death. The verse finished with “BUT the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”.

Because Christ allowed himself to become our sacrifice, we are able to receive the gift (free for the asking)  of Grace through his sacrifice. Our part is that we accept his sacrifice as being enough for us to receive eternal life.  His grace gives us the ability not to sin.

We can receive this gift if we believe on the authority by Jesus Christ to forgive sins. Acts 4:12 says that there is no way for man to get eternal life except through Jesus Christ. You cannot earn it, you will never be able to do anything that will be good enough. You must accept his provision.”

This does not mean that the law that “the wages of sin is death” no longer exists. It does. If you do not accept his provision, you will die in your sins. You must accept his provision if you want eternal life. Think of it this way. We have the law of gravity. Gravity results from the magnetism of the earth. You jump; you come down. However, we have another law. It is called the law of lift. When we go up in an airplane, the law of lift takes effect. This law of lift supersedes the law of gravity and as a result, the heavy metal plane with you in it can rise above the clouds. In the same way, the Law of Grace supersedes the law of sin and death.  But there is one way that the law of grace is different. Under the Law of Grace, you do not ever have to come down. Once given, God will not take it back.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” (Act 16:31) Jesus did not come into this world to condemn us. He said that he came to the world to save the whole world (John 3:16+17,               I Timothy 4:10). The truth is, he said that he did not want anyone to die in his or her sins. He has done all that he can do to rid you of your sin. The ball is in your court. The choice is yours. As Joshua said (Joshua 24:15), “Chose you this day whom you will serve. . .” Will you choose to serve God or serve your sin? Will you chose continue on your road to death, or will you choose life?

If you want to know more about the Law of Grace, I would like to help you. Send an email to me at cygnetbrown@gmail.com and I will get back to you. Also, I would like  to help you connect with someone locally to help you along your spiritual journey. Also, I ask that you continue reading my blog posts. I pray that the posts I share will be timely and informative.  I will be posting a new blog post every Tuesday morning. If you have any questions, please either put them in the comments below (others may have the same questions). Also, feel free make comments below.

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