Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Psalm 32:1-2 He was a cold-blooded killer. He did not just fly off in rage and kill. Instead he carefully planned his attacks, even travelling great distances to reach his victims. And he made a special point of targeting those who were followers of Christ. He was Saul of Tarsus, better known to us as the Apostle Paul. Later in his life he would write, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:12-13). If Paul had allowed himself to carry continual guilt for what he had done before his salvation, he would have been unable to serve God in the effective way that he did. He was not bound by the chains of the past because he was confident in the forgiveness of Christ. Many people live in bondage to sins that they have confessed to the Lord and that He has already forgiven. The devil torments them with reminders of how they failed God. Yet God does not treat us that way. Sins that are forgiven are completely removed from the record. Paul wrote one of the most powerful statements of this truth: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). If you are feeling condemned for a repented sin, that condemnation is not of God and you have no reason for guilt. Today’s Renewal Principle: Once your sin has been confessed and forsaken, leave it where it belongs—in the past.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 16:15:35 +0000
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