Good News - You Can Be Forgiven! |
The Good News is: YOU CAN BE FORGIVEN!
God wants you to be able to look up into His eyes and see His smile.
The one, true living God is a God of mercy. He is rich in mercy. He is plenteous in mercy. His mercies are new every
morning. His mercy endures forever. His tender mercies are over all His works.
When we have sinned, we can cry out to God for mercy.
Sin is a terrible thing. Sin destroys lives. Sin causes deep hurt, extreme pain, unimaginable loss, and awful agony that
words cannot describe.
There is something worse than sin – not repenting of sin.
Call it pride. Call it stubbornness. It is what makes our sin stick to us and damn us. It is what prevents the mercy of God
from reaching us.
In getting rid of sin, God has a part, and we have a part.
The good news is that God has already done His part. He has put all our sin on Jesus. He has provided the supreme
cleansing agent that can blot out all our sin: the precious blood of Jesus. Jesus Christ died on the cross for us. He did not
die for Himself. His death was a miracle of mercy. His death was the triumph of grace.
Make no mistake: Jesus was not a victim. He was not a martyr. He was a Savior. He was taking our place as He died. He
took the wrath of God for our sin on Himself, so that God can justly give us mercy. His resurrection is proof that His
sacrifice was enough to satisfy the claims of justice as far as God is concerned. This is really good news!
What is our part? Is it to condemn ourselves? No. Is it to do penance? No. Is it to feel shameful for a while? No. If we do
these religious things, we will not be forgiven, and we will never break free from the cycle of sin, guilt, condemnation, and
more sin.
Our part is to turn away from our sin and confess our sin to God. Our part is to make a decisive break from sin – to
divorce sin, if you will. Our part is to forsake our sin, to be done with it, to repudiate what before we embraced. Our part
is to come to God with a broken heart, telling Him exactly what we did. Without any blaming, justifying, or evading.
The Holy Spirit had the Apostle John write this tremendous promise: “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to
forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
When we do our part, God will take away all our guilt.
Notice this: God is faithful to do it – this means that you can absolutely count on God to forgive you every time!
Notice also: God is just to do it – this means that He always, always sees the sacrifice of Jesus in your behalf. Were God to
refuse to forgive you, it would be equivalent to Him spitting on the blood of His beloved Son. God forgives you because He
honors the blood of His Son!
The blood of Jesus has a voice in heaven!
The blood of Jesus cries out: MERCY! MERCY! MERCY!
God the Father listens to the blood of Jesus.
If He ignored that tender voice, He would be unjust.
You have a right to be forgiven – not because of anything you do, but because of what Jesus has done for you!
Let’s focus again on your part.
To sin is human.
To repent is godly.
There is nothing degrading about a broken and contrite heart.
There is nothing humiliating about a sincere apology void of any excuses.
Our sin produces distance between us and God. Our sin destroys the intimacy that God desires. Our sin makes us operate
out of fear. Our sin makes us think that God will strike us dead.
God wants a relationship with you based on love, not fear.
He wants a personal relationship with you, but it has to be based on truth, not lies.
He wants you to “come clean” so He can make you clean.
This is why you must take responsibility for what you have done. You must stop blaming others, justifying your action, or
minimizing your guilt.
David was a man who had sinned a lot. He had committed adultery, and then was responsible for murder. And that was
just the tip of the iceberg of his sin.
For almost a year, David deceived himself into thinking that everything was alright. He tried to cover up the evil he had
done. But God saw it. We can never hide from God.
Finally, David was confronted with the wickedness of his actions. He came to his senses, and did the only thing he could
do: cry for mercy.
That’s all you can do.
Man-made religion says: you have to do penance to atone for your sin.
Jesus says: I paid it all.
Man-made religion pictures God with a frown.
Jesus reveals God with a smile.
David prayed, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your
tender mercies.” Psalm 51:1
David had a multitude of sin, but he knew of something greater: the multitude of God’s tender mercies.
David received forgiveness and sang for joy: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities.” Psalm 103:1-3
God pardons all our sin, not just the small ones, but everyone single sin!
The good news gets even better.
When we repent, not only does God cancel our debt and wipe the slate clean, then, His mercy dominates His memory. He
forgets our sin. Yes, God forgives and forgets. He acts toward us as if we had never sinned. He does not use His memory
as a weapon against us!
The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write these blessed words: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” [Hebrews 8:12]
Do you need forgiveness today?
Pray to God from a sincere heart: “Dear heavenly Father, I repent of all my sin. I turn from it. I ask You for mercy, in
the name of Jesus.”
If you mean that, you are now forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift. You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. You can only receive it.
Now, go and sin no more. Today, you can begin again, relying on the Holy Spirit to help you live right. With His help, your
life will be different!
Finally, go and make things right with the people you have wronged. First, ask for forgiveness from those you hurt.
Second, make restitution. Third, be willing to act right long term to earn their trust. Do not confuse forgiveness with
trust. Trust is earned. People may forgive you, but that does not mean they will automatically trust you. You earn
people’s trust by consistent righteous behavior – [and you can live holy – read Good News: You Can Live Holy!].