God Saves Sinners
The Promise of Salvation
Scripture
1) “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2) Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 6) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 9) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” Romans 5:1-2, 6, 9
Substance
Do you know how Orthodox prayer candles are made? Aside from the icons and incense, prayer candles are definitely one of my favorite aspects of the Orthodox Church. The candles are made by carefully dipping strings into a large vat of melted beeswax, over and over again. It takes time and patience, which is why they’re generally made by monks and nuns. First, you heat a large pot of beeswax, which can take hours to render down. You then tie one end of a string to a washer as a weight and the other end to a long rod with multiple strings hanging from it about a half-inch apart. You then dip the strings into the wax every few minutes, allowing each layer to harden before the next dip, perhaps while humming prayers to the sound of chanting monks on a very cheap speaker. The dipping process continues until a solid, quarter-inch thick candle stick forms. You trim the washer off and cut the sticks from the rod, and you’re done.
To me, this process reflects how sin builds up over time. It all starts with a single act, perhaps a small lie or something you stole. As you continue to commit sins, each act becomes buried beneath layer after layer. Eventually, who you were before sin is now unrecognizable, and much like wax, sin feels impossible to remove. We all have been there before, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
But here’s what Jesus does: He lights the wick and makes the entire candle disappear, as if the sin was never there to begin with. He makes us pure and sin no longer takes hold, along with all the guilt and shame that likes to stick to us. It's as simple as placing your faith and hope in Christ alone, as the scriptures teach us. Who or what else can do that? Only Jesus.
“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