Sin points me toward a relationship with God.

Apart from God, I am a slave to sin.  I am powerless against it.

But with Christ, I am free from the chains of it.  I can resist it.  I don’t have to do it – whatever it is.  I am able to say no.

So, why do I still sin even though Christ’s death set me free from it?

My sin nature is what shows me my need for God.

When I speech doesn’t glorify God, I am reminded of my need for Him.

When I have impure thoughts, I am turned back toward a relationship with Him.

When I fuss and complain about people or situations, I see why I need a relationship with God.

When I have to fight off Satan’s attempts to distract and discourage me, I am pointed toward God.

When I lose my temper with my children, I realize I need God in my life.

When I sin, the Holy Spirit within me convicts me, and that conviction calls me to repent and turn back to God.

So, the purpose of sin is to point me back to Him, to remind me why I need Him.

Let me stop and say that I am not advocating for sin here.  I am not rationalizing that it is acceptable to sin because the sin will make me turn to Him.

I cannot ignore the pain and suffering Jesus endured on the cross and say it is ok to freely sin and go without repenting.

What I am saying is this is why sin exists – to remind the Christian that we can’t do it on our own.

Our sin shows us that we need God…an intimate, personal, relationship with Him.

We need to spend time reading the Bible so we’ll know who God is.  We need to spend time in prayer so we can know His heart.  We need to spend time listening to Him so we will know His voice.

His voice will convict us.

His voice will lead us down the righteous path.