Traffic Stops and Sinful Lives

​1 Peter 1:16 “for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
Romans 5:6 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
 
I was driving through a small town, deep in thought. The speed limit clearly indicated 25 mph. But, as I said, I was deep in thought.
 
The thoughts quickly left me when I saw the blue and red flashing lights behind me. I had been speeding, but I could not tell you how fast I was going. I had not been paying attention.
 
This incident describes so much of life. We live carefree until suddenly we wake up and finds ourselves deep in sin.
 
This sin might not be “major.” Perhaps it is pride, hypocrisy, a white lie, a sideways glance at a pretty person, a little too much to drink, a few words of gossip, etc. We might look at whatever it is and say, “Oh, that’s not that bad.” Unfortunately, if we let it go, because we are focused on other things, soon we will be in more significant trouble than that one little act is worth.
 
Sure, what we are doing might be “small” in our eyes, but in the eyes of God, every sin is the same. Every sin needs punishment. Every sin separates us from God. 
 
We will be living our lives, not caring about our actions, and suddenly we will be standing before the judgment seat of God, having to answer for those little things that we did not care enough about to change.
 
I am grateful for Jesus. Because of his sacrifice, I do not have to be worried about my destiny. Those who trust in his sacrifice can live forever with God in perfection. But, we will still have to answer for what we have done.
 
When we do, we will have the same gratefulness that I had with the kind officer. He handed me back my documents, told me to keep it slow and let me continue on my way. My actions were not held against me.
 
In Christ, thankfully, our actions are not held against us. We do not have to live in guilt. We do not have to earn our forgiveness. We do not have to pay for our actions. Christ did everything. We just have to “go and sin no more.”