Gods Forgiveness: What Does He Require From You? Our loving Creator promises complete forgiveness of our sins once we sincerely turn from and forsake them. How do genuine repentance and Gods compassionate forgiveness work together to assure our salvation? The Bible describes sin as the deadly enemy of all mankind. The chaotic and confused condition of our world proves this basic biblical truth. Yet most of humankind remains solidly in denial. Our human nature has a powerful compulsion to sin. But to receive Gods gift of eternal life, we must completely forsake sin in our attitudes and intents. Transgressing His great spiritual law is like playing with fire, and we trifle with it at our peril. The Bible clearly states that the wages of sin is death (Romans:6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.). God leads us to true repentance. True repentance is the fundamental first step on our way out of sin—putting us firmly on the road to eternal life. Our puny human efforts are, however, far from enough. Without Gods help and support, we simply cannot accomplish this difficult task—freely admitting with shame and regret that we have been totally wrong in our defiance of His great spiritual law and that we seriously intend to mend our ways. The apostle Paul challenged Christians in Rome with this crucial question: Do you despise the riches of His [Gods] goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans:2:4: Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?, emphasis added throughout). Indeed, God must grant us repentance (see Acts:11:18. When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.; 2 Timothy:2:25. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;). Like the patriarch Job, prior to his heart-rending repentance, too many of us stubbornly hold onto our own righteousness before God. But the Bible compares it to filthy rags (Isaiah:64:6. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.). Another key biblical passage. Written two millennia ago, Acts:2:38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. is one of the most crucial passages in the Bible. The apostle Peter cut to the core of what God expects from us in his inspired sermon on the Day of Pentecost. He told his convicted listeners: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit This critical passage shows two key truths: that our repentance and Gods merciful forgiveness are both necessary, complementary parts of the overall salvation process. Since repentance has to occur before forgiveness, lets look at repentance first. Repentance in action. The book of Acts covers about 30 years of early Church history, reaching from Jerusalem to Rome. In one sense it is also a record of the repentance of Gods people during the first century. Paul, like Peter, continually preached the importance of repentance. He testified to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts:20:21. Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.). He emphasized that promises to turn away from sin had to be reflected in obvious good works. He stated that men and women should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds (Acts:26:20. But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.) Earlier John the Baptist had demanded fruits worthy of repentance from his listeners (Luke:3:8. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.). Paul and Barnabas urged the people of Lystra to turn from these worthless things to the living God (Acts:14:15. And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein). Those who are truly being called by God have normally felt a strong sense of urgency to move forward—taking the biblical steps our Creator requires. Procrastination—putting off Gods clear command to repent and be baptized—gets us nowhere! We have to act on the truth God has already revealed to us. Then He will bless us by revealing more truth and helping us to follow Him. Continuing in sin has a way of leading us into a box canyon with no way out. Most people do not realize that God holds us accountable for our thoughts and actions that defy His righteous way of life. We take sin all too lightly! God views sin seriously. God does not view sin lightly! He is deadly serious about it—hating the transgression of His law in any form. When King David broke two of the Ten Commandments, the Creator asked him through Nathan the prophet: Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? (2 Samuel:12:9. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon). The shaken king responded, I have sinned against the Lord. But notice Nathans reply: The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die (verse 13). Davids sincere, heartfelt repentance is detailed for us in Psalm 51. Every Good News subscriber should read it from time to time to recognize the kind of heart and attitude God wants to see in us. Davids sin was against God, but it seriously affected the lives of others. Our Creator hates what sin does to human beings—the harm it automatically and inevitably produces for anyone caught in its clutches. Gods spiritual law is self-enforcing. No human being has to catch you in a transgression. If you break Gods law, it will eventually break you. But God has mercifully provided us a way out of sin—at great cost to Himself. Once we really grasp the greatness of God—and really begin to see ourselves in comparison to our Creator like Job did—we are well on our way to genuine, heartfelt repentance. Notice what this ancient patriarch said in reply to Gods personal revelation to him: I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted . . . My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes (Job:42:2I. know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee., 5-6). Gods merciful and compassionate forgiveness King David expressed Gods gracious nature in Psalm 103: Praise the Lord, O my soul, . . . and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases . . . The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love . . . He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust (verses 1-14). Once you have truly repented of your sins, Gods forgiveness is absolute, total and complete. He applies the sacrificial blood of His Son Jesus Christ to you personally. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John:3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.). God blots out our transgressions of His law through the sacrifice of Christ, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians:1:14. In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:). Clearing our guilty consciences Without fully realizing it, the whole world is on a massive guilt trip. Most of us have pangs and twinges of conscience from time to time. Things we have done in the past bother us, especially when inevitable circumstances remind us of occurrences we would rather forget. Yet God has provided a way to clear our troubled consciences and put us squarely on the path of getting rid of troublesome guilt. The animal sacrifices mandated for Israel in the Old Testament were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper (Hebrews:9:9Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience). But Christs atoning sacrifice can and will: How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God (verse 14). Our new status with God Repentance, water baptism and receiving Gods Holy Spirit (Acts:2:38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.) begins a completely changed life for the true Christian. Once this bridge has been crossed, our salvation is sure—provided we keep to the path of Gods law, mirrored by obedience to the Ten Commandments. As the psalmist wrote, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm:119:105) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.). Jesus Christ said, I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him [the Father] who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he [or she] has crossed over from death to life (John:5:24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life). The apostle John repeated this encouraging truth in 1 John:5:11-12 [11] And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. [12] He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. : 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. After His resurrection, Jesus, speaking of Himself in the third person, told the apostles that repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem as a key component of the mission He gave His true followers (Luke:24:47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem). Now we can see how genuine repentance, followed by Gods merciful and compassionate forgiveness, converge to impart true conversion—putting us firmly on the road to eternal life!
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 10:28:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015