By Dan Jenkins
For the past year, we have dealt with the onslaught of a powerful sickness which has infected the entire world. Every newscast has given us the number of new infections and the daily total of those who have died. The life of every Christian has been changed because of its presence.
However, we may have lost sight of another “disease” which has rapidly spread all over the world and threatens every person in every home on the earth. That “disease” is sin. It has killed far more every day than Covid-19 has in a year. Sin brings death to all who are infected by it, but we should be ever thankful that there is a Divine vaccine to deal with it.
That vaccine is a life built on faithful obedience and service to the Lord. Sin has captured billions of individuals on this earth, but a life of faith removes its power from our lives. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament we find this simple truth, “The just shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). Sin brings death but a life which is built around trusting God and doing His will “vaccinates” us against the power of sin and Satan.
Look at how the Divine vaccine empowers us and assures us that we will not become slaves to the bondage that sin always brings.
The life of faithful service removes from us the consequences of past sin. When Christians look at the mistakes of their past lives, they see it different. There is no need in the heart of His children for them to carry the heavy burden of the guilt of sin. While we can never remove the knowledge of our sinful past, we must always remember that day when God forgot about them. That person who is raised from the waters of baptism is a new creation. That sinful man with all of the horrendous, stupid mistakes has been crucified and has been buried in the waters of baptism (Rom. 6:3-6). When he walks out of the baptistry, he is a new sinless person! There is no need for guilt because God does not even remember our past!
The life of faithful service removes sin and its guilt from our lives after we are baptized. Do we do wrong? Yes, to deny this is to make God a liar, but hear these words about every wrong we have done after we became a Christian. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The blood that dealt with past sins deals with our daily sins for “…if we walk in the light…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Sin has taken up residence in the lives of all mankind, but it does not reside in His children. The blood of Jesus, the Divine vaccine, always protects us. Is there any wonder He said, “Be faithful until death and I will give you a crown of life”?