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(1
John 1:7-10)
For
example: We all have sinned.
The penalty for sin is death - physical & spiritual death.
But Christ paid the price for our sin, and forgave us.
And when we believe on HIM, receive HIS gift, and “confess our sins, He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” (1 Jn 1:9)
We
have forgiveness, but that doesn’t remove the consequences of our sin.
We still will die physically. Our
bodies will go through various sicknesses, illness, diseases; it will decay and
eventually cease to exist on this earth. Christ
forgave us, and we no longer have to be separated from HIS presence, but that
doesn’t remove the effect of sin on our earthly body.
Yet, God does not hold over our heads the sin and taunt us everyday –
no, HE sees us through the blood of Christ as forgiven.
“As far as the
east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalm 103:12
Break
down the word “forgive”, and you’ll see two words:
FOR GIVE
When
we forgive someone, we must “GIVE” something.
We give up our pride, our self, our personal attitude(s), and we cast it
away. FOR (or FORE) means prior to,
or previously accomplished. If we
are to forgive someone, we must give before we give – that is, we must FOR
GIVE so that we can give. Through
godly forgiveness, we can then share in fellowship with others who have offended
us, and again give of our self to that individual.
How
is forgiveness granted to us?
1- WE MUST FIRST SEE THE NEED IN
OUR SELF.
:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
:10
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in
us.
Sin is anything
which is done wrong.
It is an offence and a violation of the divine law accomplished through
thought or actions. Sin is
not just an ”act” or action we commit, but sin is also involves thought.
Sin begins in the heart and mind.
If you hate someone, it’s the same as murder (1
John 3:15 “Whoever hates his
brother is a murderer . . .”), if you lust after a person, it’s as though
you committed the act of adultery (Matthew 5:28
“But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart.”)
Sin
is conceived in the heart and mind, and is born in the action and deed.
That’s why it is important to memorize and learn God’s Word....
Psalms
119:11 “Your
word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!”
Colossians
3:2 “Set
your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Romans
8:7 “Because the
carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is
not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be..”
Romans
12:2 “And do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Romans
15:6 “that you may with
one mind and one mouth glorify the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And
on goes the list..... doing a word study on the “mind”
looks like an interesting research!
Romans
3:23 points out that we are ALL sinners. There
is none righteous (Romans 3:10). Because
of sin, we have been forbidden to enter heaven, for God cannot look upon sin and
live with it. that is why He sent
His Son to be sin for us and to pay the penalty through His death (Romans 6:23).
If we cannot admit we are sinners, we deceive ourselves, we
make God a liar, because He has said in the Bible that we all have
sinned. The truth then is not in
us, and God’s Word is truth, so then HIS Word is not in us.
It
is so easy to see that all are born in sin.
My wife & I have four children.
Before each one could talk, walk, or even crawl, each one showed their
true nature. Their sin nature was
evident through their tempers and selfish desires.
We all were born with sin in our life (Behold, I was brought forth in
iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Ps 51:5), and we must be willing to
confess our sins.
2- WE MUST MAKE CONFESSION
:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus
Christ paid the penalty for our sins. He
came to earth as a baby, born in a human body (yet without sin), lived and
breathed a normal life here on earth. He
was crucified; he gave His blood, died, was buried and rose up from the grave
three days later. Through His
unselfish gift of death we can have our sins forgiven and wiped away.
But we must believe that Christ died for us. We need to Confess our sins and admit our wrong
before the LORD. “If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Confess means
to say the same thing in agreement with another, to
admit or declare one's self guilty of what one is accused of, to profess or
declare openly.
Through
confession, we openly and freely admit (declare) that we are sinners.
We have done wrong, and broken God’s laws.
Confession is the first step to reuniting our fellowship and relationship
with Him. And even after our conversion into HIS family as a child of
God, we still will commit sins. Before
or after salvation, sin is still wrong, and we are still at fault for committing
those sins. After receiving the
gift of salvation, to keep an open line of communication with our Heavenly
Father, we need to confess our sins, to keep short accounts with Him.
Through confessing them, He is faithful to forgive.....
but don’t stop there! Don’t
just be willing to confess.... but be willing to repent (turn away) from evil
and sin.
Romans
6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
We
must abide by God’s Word and let it shine through our life and actions.
When we stumble or fall, and being human it’s not hard to do, we need
to get back up, brush ourselves off through confession before the Lord, and
continue walking in HIS light and Word.
Without God and His
plan we would all be lost and doomed to an eternity in Hell.
God so graciously and lovingly made a way for us to be reunited with
Him.... and through that we are able to have fellowship and a personal
relationship with our Lord! Isn’t it wonderful to know that He loves us so much!
I am thankful that He has forgiven me of my sins, and I am grateful to
know that in my weakness He still loves me and allows me to come to Him through
His Son, Jesus Christ!
So… now what?
I’m forgiven, what’s next?
Christ paid our
penalty; God has forgiven us through Christ’s sacrificial gift.
We must walk and live in the light of God’s Word!
:7 But if we walk in the light as He
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
We need to have
fellowship… with God, and with
other believers. As Christ has
forgiven us, we must also be able to forgive others.
MATT 6:12-15 “And
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors… For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses.
MATT
18:21-22 “Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my
brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?
“Jesus said to
him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’” (unconditional
forgiveness)
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