Divine Forgiveness, 2of2

~ God Will Never Remember Your Sin—If You Are His Child ~

Would you like great insight into the mind of God with respect to the sins of Christians? If so, consider Hebrews 10.  

God’s Part  ~  God has put the Christian’s sin out of His mind. The consequences of Christians’ sin has been eradicated because of the blood of Jesus Christ. It is now just as if they had never sinned. “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (v. 17). This is so contrary to the Law, “in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year” (v. 3). God will never again hold the Christian’s sin against him.

Christ’s Part  ~  Christ’s death on the Cross was the only payment needed for the sins of Christians. By the sacrificial death of Christ “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (v. 10). This is also in direct contrast to the Law, “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect” (v. 1). For the Christian there is no more offering for sin required.

Christian’s Part  ~  When a person has been forgiven, he is free from the guilt of his past sins. There is no more dwelling on sin and the associated guilt. “For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins” (v.2). Again we see a very different picture than life under the Law. “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (vs. 3-4). The Christian can live in freedom and confidence knowing that Jesus Christ has paid the entire penalty of his sin.    

comment:  Why not take a moment and read Hebrews 10 right now?

practical application:  In view of the above, “As the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:12-17). 

closing comment:  If you would like to read more on this subject, there are two related past ALN posts on this topic: “Does God Change His Mind” and “Forgive & Forget.”

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

If you found this post personally interesting or helpful, you are welcome to add a link to it on your own blog or website. 

If you would prefer to copy this post, please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/).

Divine Forgiveness, 1of2

~ Are You Free of Guilt? ~

The Divine Author  ~  “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:30-32). God is the author of forgiveness. 

The Procuring Cause  ~  “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him” (Ephesians 1:7-10). The blood of Jesus Christ is the only way of obtaining forgiveness for sin. 

The Obtaining Means  ~  “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:36-39). “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). The only path to salvation is through faith (trust) in Jesus Christ.

The Source of Assurance  ~  “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Colossians 2:13). “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed” (Luke 1:1-4). “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:9-13). These and many other passages in God’s Word confirm the reality of divine forgiveness. 

The Sure Result  ~  “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed [happy] are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin’” (Romans 4:5-8). When sins are forgiven, the result is a deep inner joy and contentment. 

final thought:  Can you identify with all aspects of divine forgiveness? If not, why not trust the Savior?

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

If you found this post personally interesting or helpful, you are welcome to add a link to it on your own blog or website. 

If you would prefer to copy this post, please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight (http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/).

Forgive & Forget?

~ Have You Been Told It’s Not Enough to Forgive? ~

God expects us to use good judgment. Robert E. Lee is reported to have said, “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.” There is a lot of truth in that statement. We should learn from our mistakes. A wag has commented, “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.”

A Troublesome Phrase  ~  One thing that irks me a lot is the phrase, “You haven’t really forgiven someone if you haven’t forgotten the issue.” Excuse me, I don’t think so! God gave us memories and He intends for us to use them. If anyone can find a valid Biblical basis for that concept, I would love to hear from you.

It is my belief that we should be able to forgive someone’s actions but that it takes time to regain trust and confidence in the offending party. In other words, often there are consequences to negative actions against one another. Since we are all sinners, we all provide others with opportunities to forgive us.

The Source  ~  If we assume good intentions when people use the phrase “forgive and forget,” we might ask where does the notion come from? The answer is simple, Christians are to become like Christ and there is a well-meaning, though somewhat misguided, part of our Christian doctrine which emphasizes Christ’s “forgetfulness.” 

Much of our past and current doctrine comes from the hymns and songs we sing. Consider this great old 1800s hymn by Sydney Smith:

I’ll give you a piece of good news today,

    My sins are remembered no more;

For Jesus has taken them all away,

    My sins are remembered no more.

They’re forgiven, forgotten and buried and gone,

    My sins are remembered no more;

They’re atoned for and covered by God’s dear Son,

    My sins are remembered no more.                        

While this hymn presents a great truth (when properly understood), it can easily be misunderstood. Certainly the words are in keeping with Scripture. For example,

“Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).  

The Paradox  ~  All Scripture needs to be interpreted through the lens of all other Scripture. Concerning the nature of God we know from many portions of Scripture that He is omniscient (all-knowing). (That is a given and we will not take time today to explain or defend that position.) If God were to forget, in our human sense, then He would suddenly not know something and therefore would no longer know everything!

The Reality  ~  The solution is really quite straightforward. Verses such as Hebrews 10:17 would communicate better to us in our language if they were worded such as “Their sins and iniquities I will hold against them no more” or “The consequences of their sins and iniquities will be eradicated because of the blood of My Son—Jesus Christ.”

Correct Actions  ~  After sincere repentance by the offender, should we forgive the offender? Absolutely. Should we feel guilty because we remember an offense against us? We should not continue to hold bitterness or anger towards the offending party and we should try to regain the full relationship as it was before the offense was committed.  Will we ever truly forget the offense? In many cases we will, while in other situations with deep wounds it may take years (or never) to completely forget. Meanwhile we are to love as we are loved, to seek to forgive as we have been forgiven, and to let go of bitterness, resentment, and revenge. 

Complications  ~  What if the offending party has never sought forgiveness with a truly repentant attitude? This is much more difficult, but the right path for the Christian is the same.

The Bottom Line  ~  Since God sent His only Son to the Cross in order that you might be forgiven of all your sins, how can you not forgive a sinful act done to you by a fellow sinner? 

additional comment:  On November 16, 2010, Abundant Life Now posted a somewhat related topic “Does God Change His Mind – The Answer Might Surprise You.”

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW