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Knowing and believing that all of
our sins (past, present, and future) have been completely
forgiven through the blood of the Lamb is the doorway through
which every child of God must walk before he can begin to truly
understand the amazing grace of God. (God wills to save you -
Knucklehead. God is God and if He wants, wishes, hopes, desires
or wills, quit trying to stop Him for you can not.)*
Trying to teach a Christian that he has a new identity in
Christ, that the Holy Spirit now actually lives in him, and that
his Heavenly Father loves and accepts him unconditionally will
make little sense without him first believing that the sin issue
between himself and God is over.
Perhaps no other aspect of our salvation in Christ has
been so confusing, paralyzing, and even divisive within the body of
Christ as the forgiveness of our sins. How tragic that one of the most
glorious and foundational truths of the gospel has deteriorated into a
perplexing doctrine that many Christians would prefer to argue was an
incomplete work of our Savior rather than one that is actually
"finished" (John 19:30).
Why the confusion on something so
elementary and crucial to our salvation? Your enemy, the father of lies,
does not want you to know and believe that you have been forgiven,
once-and-for-all. Since he cannot alter your eternal destiny if you are
in Christ, then he will do all he can to deceive you into thinking that
your behavior is to be the primary
focus of your life.
Some Christians seem to think that the key to
experiencing the "abundant life" that Jesus promised is to "keep short
accounts with God." Let’s wake-up, Church! The last thing that Satan
wants is for you experience the freedom you now have in Christ (Gal.
5:1) through setting "your mind on the things above" where "your life is
hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:2-3).
You see, the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10) knows
that if you believe the truth that your sins have actually been
"removed" by God, "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12),
you will begin to shift your attention off of yourself and onto your
blessed Redeemer! The result? The supernatural, miraculous life of
Christ will be expressed through you, bringing glory to God and
producing the righteous behavior your new heart longs to display.
Many teachers today tell their listeners that the sinner
can come to God just as they are and receive forgiveness of sins
(salvation is much more than just getting forgiven). But just as quickly
as the sinner responds to Christ by faith and is saved, they are told to
make sure they keep all their sins confessed so they will stay forgiven!
Huh?
Let’s see, Mr. Banker. I’m 10 years
behind on my mortgage and still have 20 years of payments to go. But you
are telling me that you will pay my entire past, present, and future
debt as a gift if I will just receive it? Well, thank you! I accept!
Gosh, I’m so excited I don’t know what to do next?! What’s that you say?
I need to make sure I get all my future payments in on time or you will
throw me in jail?!! But, I thought you said…
It’s no wonder that the
anxious questions from many of today’s Christians seem to have no end:
"As a child of God, have I been completely forgiven through the shed
blood of my Savior or not? Did He only forgive me for my past sins and
now it’s up to me to keep myself forgiven? Don’t I need to continue to
ask Him to forgive me? Isn’t it my ongoing, continual confession of my
specific sins that makes me right with God? If I die today before
asking, begging, pleading, confessing a certain sin to Him, am I on my
way to hell? Didn’t Jesus himself teach that ‘if you do not forgive men,
then your Father will not forgive your transgressions’ (Matt. 6:15)?
Aren’t we all just ‘positionally’ forgiven? What if I miss a sin?
Please, somebody tell me, am I forgiven or not?!!!!!!!"
There is only One "somebody" who can answer
these questions. He is The Bible Answer Man…He is the Holy Spirit (John
16:13)! The Holy Spirit is the One who reveals truth to us through the
written Word. We are dependent upon Him alone to show us from the Word
"the things freely given to us by God" (1 Cor. 2:12). So let’s examine
just a few of the precious gems in Scripture that speak to the topic of
our forgiveness through Christ, relying upon the Spirit to show us what
is true…
Have you placed your faith (depended upon)
in the person of Christ as your only hope for salvation? If so, you can
know that "everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins"
(Acts 10:43). What have you received by trusting in Him? Forgiveness of
sins! Is this reason to praise His name? You bet it is, but there is
more…
If He has saved you, then
"by His doing you are in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 1:30). Why is that
important to know? Because, "in Him we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses" (Eph. 1:7). Is our having
forgiveness based upon our confessing, asking, pleading with God? No, we
have forgiveness (now and forever!) "according to the riches of His
grace" (Eph. 1:7). His grace really is amazing!
But didn’t Jesus teach that
we would only be forgiven if we made sure we forgave others (Matt.
6:14-15)? He sure did. At the perfect time in all of history, with the
old covenant still in effect, "God sent forth His Son, born of a woman,
born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under
the Law" (Gal. 4:4-5). How was God going to redeem those who were under
the Law? By coming down to earth Himself to show man and teach man that
"by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight" (Rom.
3:20). Jesus’ teachings took the Law to a whole new level…impossibly
unachievable! He took the Law past the realm of external performance to
the realm of the heart to reveal the wickedness and hopelessness of all
men. Why? So that they would come to Him for life (John 6:33; 8:24;
14:6)! Do you ever struggle with unforgiveness toward others? Then just
like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, friend, you need the Savior!
Through His once-and-for-all sacrifice on
the Cross almost 2,000 years ago, we have been forgiven (Col. 3:13).
Unlike the old covenant sacrifices, Jesus’ blood did not atone or cover
our sins…He took them away (John 1:29; Heb. 9:26). There will not be a
future payment (Heb. 10:12). He will not, and does not, get up on the
Cross again and again to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world
(Heb. 10:10, 18; 1 John 2:2). When He said, "It is finished," He meant
it!
Consider the following. Like
the Apostle John writing to a gathering of people in Ephesus toward the
end of the first century, I am writing this brief teaching to not only
the people on our mailing list, but anyone else who may read it here at
the end of the 20th century. Do I know for certain that every
person on our mailing list and all those who will read this teaching are
saved? No, I don’t. Can you say for certain that everyone who gathers in
your church building on Sunday mornings is saved? Was John 100%
convinced and assured that all those who assembled in Ephesus were
born-again? It is only God who knows the heart.
So let me ask all of
you who read this teaching a couple of questions: "If we," any of us
including myself, were to "say that we have no sin," and "that we have
not (never) sinned," wouldn’t we be "deceiving ourselves," calling "Him
a liar," and "the truth (John 14:6a)" and "His word is not in us" (1
John 1:8,10). After all, a prerequisite to salvation is admitting you
are a sinner in need of the Savior! On the contrary, "if we," any of us
including myself, "confess" (agree with God, acknowledge, say the same
thing that God says about; see Rom. 3:23, John 8:24) "our sins,
He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness."
Has there ever been a moment in time when
you realized your sinfulness and your need of Jesus Christ to save you?
If so, having placed your faith in Christ and Him alone, you can be sure
that He not only forgave you, cleansed you of all unrighteousness, and
did away with the old you (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:6), but you can be just as
certain that He has raised you up as an entirely new creation (2 Cor.
5:17) and "has given (you) eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He
who has the Son (that’s you!) has the life; he who does not have the Son
of God does not have the life" (1 John 5:11-12).
So, are you forgiven or not?
Saints, either He did it all or we’re up the creek. Look at the weight
of Scripture and meditate upon the Word in light of the finished work of
the Cross. Have you forgotten that the new covenant promise from our
faithful Lord is that our "sins and (our) lawless deeds I will remember
no more" (Heb. 10:17)? If He has chosen to remember them no more, why do
we insist upon parading them before Him day after day? That may make you
feel
better, but are you walking by faith?
Have you ever considered the fact that
since "whatever is not from faith (a.k.a. unbelief) is sin" (Rom.
14:23), that each time you ask God to forgive you or do anything to gain
further forgiveness from Him, you are saying that you do not believe
(a.k.a. sin) that His death on the Cross was sufficient? And what about
all the moments in your past that you chose not to walk by faith (a.k.a.
sin)? Have you enumerated each and every one of those acts of sin to the
Lord? Are you getting a little overwhelmed? Do you see why Jesus had to
do it a-l-l? Are you beginning to see that He "will not give (His) glory
to another" (Is. 42:8)?
It’s time for the body of
Christ to humbly, yet boldly, declare the truth of the complete
forgiveness that is available through Jesus Christ. Choose to believe,
no matter how you may feel, that you have been forever forgiven! Share
the good news with others! Forgive others just as the Lord forgave
you (Col. 3:13)!
Make a choice to rest in the finality of the cross of Christ. Let us "give
thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the
peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted. Praise the Lord in
song, for He has done excellent things" (Is. 12:4-5).
"I write to you, dear
children,
because your sins
have been forgiven
on account of His name" (1 John 2:12)
NOTE:
God’s forgiveness of us does not stand alone as a
separate element of our salvation. In fact, it is an essential
prerequisite to our having also been reconciled, redeemed, justified,
and made righteous. Each time the word of God declares those who are in
Christ have been reconciled, redeemed, justified, and made righteous, it
is also declaring the believer to have been forgiven (Please note Rom.
3:24,28; 4:5,11,13,25; 5:1,9,10,11,16-19; 8:10,30,33; 9:30; 10:4,10; 1
Cor. 1:30; 6:11; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Gal. 2:21; 3:6,13; Phil. 3:9; Col.
1:20,22; 1 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:7; Heb. 9:12,15)
John Moneypenny, "Used by permission,
Grace Walk Ministries, Atlanta, GA"
*(insert) by Elvis Stone
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