There are many fruits of redemption, the first of which is the forgiveness of sins. It is sin that is the cause of unhappiness. Unredeemed men seek to run away from the misery which sin produces by distracting themselves. Psychologists attempt to assuage the misery of sin by redefining terms so that sin is no longer sin. Even the Redeemed, at times do not wish to deal with remaining sin, so they run from that which might remind them of their sin. None of this of course, actually deals with the guilt of sin. It is only the Gospel which provides the complete remedy for the misery that sin produces. In the Gospel we find forgiveness of all sins, past, present, and future, as well as a washing away of the guilt of sin and the cancellation of all of the debt which sin generates.
The Gospel, however does not start with happiness and deliverance. It begins with redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Therein is the stumbling block. Men seek that which will make them immediately happy; they want joy and power over sin, but before one may experience such blessings, he must be humbled to the dust. Unless one first realizes that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness, he or she cannot be a Christian.
Truth be told, is not sin a daily problem even for the Christian? Is there anyone who does not struggle against the flesh – the remnant of sin in the body of death? Do we not need a daily cleansing from sin? How does escaping conviction and running away from the reality of sin deal with the misery which sin still brings? It does not. For there is one remedy for sin – whether one is redeemed or unredeemed – and that remedy is the Gospel.
