If you have your list ready, thank you for completing it.
Question 1 – I’m quite certain your answer was yes. How many did you remember? It doesn’t matter how many you’ve told or how serious they were. What matters is that you have lied. Now here’s the tough question. Considering you have lied, what does that make you? When a person lies, they are a liar.
Question 2 – Most, if not all people have done this. The third commandment given to Israel was, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”. If you have misused God’s or Jesus’ name, you are guilty of breaking this commandment.
Question 3 – Again, this is a very common sin. How many examples did you write down? A person who steals is called a thief. Stealing is not only taking something that belongs to someone else, it’s keeping something that belongs to someone else. It doesn’t matter that it was a long time ago. If you did it once, you get the name.
Question 4 – You may have answered no to this one. If so, you may have to change that answer.
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:27-28
Have you ever looked at someone of the opposite sex and lusted after them? It doesn’t matter if it was on the street, in a Sears catalog or on the Internet. If you have simply looked and lusted (expressed desire, imagined yourself alone with that person) you have committed adultery. If you’re not married, you are not off-the-hook. Unmarried people who commit or think about a sexual act with someone else have the distinction of being called a fornicator. Here’s what the Bible says about that.
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
–1st Corinthians 6:9-10
Question 5 – This is covetousness. Look at the previous verse. Yep, it’s in that list. It’s also the last of the Ten Commandments.
Question 6 – You might be saying, “Come on, there is no way you’re going to convince me that I’ve murdered someone.” I’ll give you one verse.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
–1st John 3:15
Anyone who holds hatred in their heart toward another has murder’s embryo growing inside. It may not be the actual act, but it’s the thought that counts.
So here’s my last question.
Let’s imagine you died in the next 30 minutes. You are standing before God. He will judge your life according to His commandments. Will you be guilty or innocent when He reads the verdict?
If you have clarity about sin, excellent! My book, For Love of The Book, has a section in it on salvation. If you have that book, read that chapter and finish that prayer! If you don’t have my book, here’s a pdf copy. Start at page 36.
Another very good resource to help you make a choice for Christ is the Tetelestai Project. — Use the password tetelestai
If you still don’t believe you are a sinner, you need to pray to God, and ask that He help you understand. When you do, you’ll know it. There is a book that helped me understand the awfulness of sin. Ray Comfort is the author, and the title is, “Out Of The Comfort Zone”.
It might help to watch this 15 minute video. However, the video ends abruptly and does not provide adequate information about how to pray. When you are ready, please refer back to my book, pages 36 – 41.