Forgiveness

Verse of the Week: 

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1

Forgiveness

I spent a long time in guilt over something I had done.  It wasn't anything major according to the world's standards, but every time I thought of it, guilt would consume my emotions.  I desperately wanted to ask that person for forgiveness, but the opportunity never came.  The chances of seeing that person again was slim.  For over a year, sometimes something someone said or something I saw would trigger what I had done, and once again, I would swim in a sea of guilt over what I had done.  I would CONSTANTLY be asking God to forgive me for what I did. Sound familiar?  Can anyone relate?

About a year later, I started studying something  amazing, God's forgiveness and grace. I love grace.  Simply believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that through Him we now can go to heaven to be with God.  That part is simple and true and is amazing, but over the years people have made grace more complicated;  people would say that in order to receive God's blessings and approval, that you need to make sure that no sin is hindering your relationship with Him.  You need to keep asking Him for forgiveness to make sure you are right with Him. People would say that God loves you so much, but when you do wrong, he is displeased with you.  Now, when we sin, we will have to face the earthly consequences,  but does it change the way God views us?  When we sin, God may seem far off, because our focus is not on Him but on the things of the flesh, but has God turned his back on us? Has sin created a wall between believers and God?  Is God really ready to pounce on us and condemn us when we mess up?  Is he displeased with us when we sin? 

Lets see what the Bible says:  Isaiah 59:2 says, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."  When you read this verse, it sounds like God does turn his back on us when we sin. Here is the problem; this verse is part of the Old Testament and the OLD COVENANT.  For those of you that are not familiar with the old covenant, here is a brief background on it.  Through Moses, God made a covenant with the Israelites.   If you follow my laws, I will bless you; however, if you don't follow my laws, then I will punish you and turn my back on you.  That was the old covenant, and, as we know, God is faithful in all that he says and does. Psalm 33:4 says, "For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does."  Therefore, whatever God says He is going to do, He will do.  So in the old covenant, even though God desires to bless the Israelites, He also is going to be true to his word and punish them if they do not follow his laws. God will not be unfaithful in His part of the agreement with the Israelites.   Unfortunately, the Israelites failed over and over to follow God's laws; as a result, we see a God in the Old Testament who seems unloving and full of condemnation.  

We tend to think then that in the New Covenant of Grace, that God is still going to be upset with us if we mess up; after all, He was that way in the old covenant.  We think we are still under the written code of the law and are punished or blessed when we follow or fail to follow the law, but we find the opposite. Colossians 2:14 (NLV) says,  ^"We had broken the Law many ways. Those sins were held against us by the Law. That Law had writings which said we were sinners. But now He has destroyed that writing by nailing it to the cross." 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  Once we confess our sins, God has forgiven us once and for all.  We are no longer condemned by the law; the cross is finished, and Jesus is alive!  The debt has been paid in full.  When you are forgiven, you are forgiven!  "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1) God is not going to condemn you if you mess up!  

So when we mess up, there is no wall between a believer and God; the Law of the old covenant is what put a wall between us and God.  But in the new covanent, the law is out, and is replaced with God's grace and forgiveness through Christ Jesus. God is not displeased and ready to condemn us; He loves us!  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) We are forgiven!

Back to my story above.  A year later, I once again was asking God to forgive me for what I had done so long ago.  Then it hit me.  I am already forgiven, I didn't need to keep asking Him for forgiveness over and over. Jesus paid for all my sins in full, so why am I asking God to do something he already did for me?  Jesus forgave me on the cross.  According to the law, I should be punished, but according to Jesus, I am forgiven. The devil loves to make us feel guilty and filled with condemnation when we mess up, but God isn't full of condemnation; he is full of forgiveness. I began to thank God for his grace and forgiveness. When I thanked him for the fact that I am already forgiven, the guilt began to disappear.  Even though I have to face the consequences for my sins, I have realized that I do not have to keep begging Him for forgiveness, that is what you do when you are under the law of the old covenant. Instead, I am going to THANK Him that I am already forgiven.  A long time ago I confessed my sins to Jesus, and I became a Child of God; I only have to do that once, not over and over.  I am His, and no future mess ups will ever separate me from Him.  Thank you Lord for forgiveness!  I am in AWE of it all!