Read: Jeremiah 13:12-27
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil. (v. 23)
In Albania, we have a proverb that goes like this: “A wolf changes its fur, but it does not forget its habits.” This saying shows the same truth that we learn from the Bible. Just as a leopard cannot change its spots, neither can any person change their skin color. In other words, we can’t change who we are, our basic characteristics.
It’s the essence of the problem that we all have, which has to do with our sin: you who are accustomed to do evil, can you do good?
Can an unrighteous person become righteous? Can a sinner become a saint? Only through God’s transforming work! When we say that no one is perfect, when we accept that everyone has sinned, we must also accept the reality that, as sinners, we’re unable to change our position before a holy God. It’s foolish to think that good works balance out our sin.
This is why Jesus came: to give us a new nature. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17).
The wicked and the sinner can never become holy on their own. This is a gift made possible only through faith in the work of Christ, who died and rose again for us!
As you pray, ask God to open your eyes to see how much you need him.
Gentian Dogani is a pastor of two small churches in two different small towns in the southern part of Albania. He is married to Nikoleta, and they live in the town of Memaliaj. Since his conversion, Gentian’s desire has been to reach people and preach the good news of the gospel, “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).
