God's forgiveness is not a feeling, it's a fact
Chapter 4
by Gini Crawford, MSW
Assured forgiveness in Jesus
Outside the city of Jerusalem on a rocky hill, Roman soldiers crucified Jesus. As the pain of crucifixion consumed every part of His body, what was Jesus thinking of? Our forgiveness. As the soldiers drove nails into His hands, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." God the Son took the righteous and just anger of God the Father against our sin as He hung on the cross. At death Jesus cried out "It is finished, ...as He gave up His Spirit (to death)." The work of love on the cross was finished. God’s wrath against our sin was totally satisfied bringing eternal forgiveness. (Luke 23:34; John 19:30; Romans 5:8-9).
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace / ...For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. / This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 8: 12; 1 John 4:10 NIV®
A teenager at a Christian camp shared that her family lacked forgiveness. She said, "If someone would do something wrong, and who doesn't - mercy, compassion and most definitely forgiveness would not be given, even if the person was sorry. I felt guilt throughout my childhood. Now when I sin, I know I am forgiven because of Jesus." Can you relate?
The fact of forgiveness
Sometimes my feelings say I am too awful to be forgiven by God. Do you have these feelings? We need to remember they are just feelings. Women, and even men, are driven by their feelings. Feelings can be deceiving so remember, some feelings are true in your circumstance, but some are just not reality. No matter what your feelings are telling you, you need to remember the fact you are forgiven by God.
To battle your wrong feelings, you need to trust in what God says, even though your feelings are telling you otherwise. You need to also keep in mind that God doesn't lie like we do. (Numbers 23:19). So when He says, "your sins are forgiven," you can trust in His statement. When you allow God's Word to rule your mind, when your emotions say, "God won’t forgive me," then your mind can say, "Oh yes, look at what God's Word says, I am forgiven in Jesus!"
Here's an instance when I was young: The neighborhood kids were breaking a church's big side windows. My excuse for doing it too was, "he did it first so I followed him." I finally agreed with my father that it was wrong and lost my meager allowance to pay for the windows. But my father really paid the price for the windows. God will forgive any sin you have done because Jesus paid the price for your sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Humbling isn't it?
When Christians sin
Should we care about sin (unrighteousness) in our lives, since Jesus took our punishment for our sins? Of course! We might think as Christians, sin is just slip-ups or missteps. But God views sin as a serious problem, so serious He had to die to forgive it. Don't be afraid to face your sins, as a Christian. It's actually quite freeing to confess your sins, knowing that God will forgive you. You might be wondering what confession means? Confession is agreeing with God you have sinned.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 NIV®
Because of Jesus' payment for our sins, we live in God's forgiveness throughout our lives. When we sin as Christians, it affects our relationship with God, but never our eternity. I went to take a step in the early spring and slipped in the wet grass falling into a puddle full of duck poop. Yes, I was dirty! When we sin as Christians, we dirty our lives up with God. Confessing or agreeing with God about your sin is the easiest way God could give you to quickly be close to Him again and to cleanse you from sin.
Life Application
Agreeing with God
King David in the Old Testament was Israel's most prominent king. David's life was one of loving God. However, he did some dreadful sins such as adultery and murder. He also denied his wrongdoing for months during his time of awful sinning. It took God’s words through a prophet to finally convict David. David finally saw his sin and agreed with God about it. God forgive David, but David dealt with the repercussions of this time of sinning for years. (2 Samual 11:1-12:14).
David wrote many Psalms telling us about God. He wrote Psalm thirty-two and fifty-one after his period of awful sinning. These Psalms explain that all sin is ultimately against God, even sins against others. They also teach that denying sin wears on us and even makes us sick, but that God forgives if we ask for forgiveness. Read Psalms 32 and 51:1-4.
How long does it take you, to agree with God about your sin? Do you find it hard or easy to ask for forgiveness from God? Be honest.
Prayer: God wants to forgive you. He died to forgive you. He wants to be close to you so don’t let sin dirty up your relationship with God. In prayer confess your sins to Him.