“So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls” James 1.21. “[T]he putting away is something we must do for ourselves, since God will not, and others cannot, do it for us.” —Guy N. Woods, James, 81.
Emptiness cannot be filled with more #emptiness. A person does not save himself through continued acts of self-destruction. More of the same madness does not bring sanity.
He who causes God’s people to sin falls under the severest divine judgment. Baasha “encouraged my people Israel to sin; their sins have made me angry” 1 Kgs 16.2.
A person is blind to his own bitterness and judgmental attitude, while attacking others for the same. Thus is the deceptive nature of sin.
“Sin bred enmity; the cross has brought peace. Sin created a gulf between man and God; the cross has bridged it.” —J.R.W. Stott, Basic Christianity
The Way is not for people without sin, but for people who feel the need for forgiveness, 1 Kgs 8.46; Jas 3.2; 1 Jn 2.1.