During Christmastime this year, my attention was drawn to the angels' announcement to the shepherds recorded in Luke 2:14: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." A simple principle is found in the angels' declaration, but it is one that is being rejected by many in the modern church. The truth is that our sin makes us all the enemies of God.
It is fashionable, though, to dismiss our sin rather than to acknowledge it. Some even celebrate sin, declaring "God made me this way!" In John 3:19 Jesus told Nicodemus that "This is the judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil." It is unpleasant to acknowledge our faults, our accountability to, and our need for someone else. The knowledge of the truth changes everything, and we have to make up our minds to either align ourselves to the truth or to deny the truth.
The good news is that God loves us and made a way for us to be reconciled to Him. We were at war with God, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).
We cannot be saved from our sin if we will not acknowledge it. We can close our eyes, raise our hands, and sing as loudly as we want to, but without repentance, we cannot become children of God. We have to agree with God and call sin what it is. "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).