Dealing with Sin and the Grace of Forgiveness

See now what just cause I have to say that to know our need of forgiveness is the first thing in true religion. Sin is a burden, and must be taken off. Sin is a defilement, and must be cleansed away. Sin is a mighty debt, and must be paid. Sin is a mountain standing between us and heaven, and must be removed. The first step towards heaven is to see clearly that we deserve hell.
See too how little many persons know of the main design of Christianity. They have yet to learn that the leading mark of Christianity is the remedy it provides for sin. This is the glory and excellence of the gospel. It meets man as he really is. J.C. Ryle “The Forgiveness of Sins”
Dealing with Sin When examining the problem of sin from both an anthropological viewpoint: how sin impacts humanity; and how sin is a theological problem, we come to the very heart of what salvation is concerned about. Sin has infected the human race and the total person to such a degree that man is totally and radically polluted with its poison. We can do nothing to reconcile ourselves to God or to recover our original righteousness.
Salvation and Redemption from the viewpoint of the Reformers is always monergistic (one work, power) in that God has to be the source of our salvation and present the remedy for human sin.