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Blogs by Laura Davis
Are You Forgiven? 6/7/2008 6:12:50 PM
What does it mean to be forgiven by God? How do we know that we are forgiven? Are there only some sins that God forgives? Does He forgive everybody, no matter how bad they are? Is there any sin that God won't forgive?
These are questions I've been asked from time to time and I thought over the next couple of days I would try to finally get across to those of you who still doubt God's forgiveness, what it really means to be forgiven and to know that you are right with God.
First of all (this is extremely important, because if you can't do what I'm about to say, you will NEVER feel forgiven), FORGIVE YOURSELF!!
Do you know how hard it is for someone to accept God's forgiveness when they can't forgive themselves? It's like trying to lose weight by only eating chocolate bars everyday - it's impossible! I don't care what you've done, who you've hurt, maimed, etc. - if you can't learn to forgive yourself you will not be able to feel God's loving Spirit pour over your soul with that sweet cleansing forgiveness you long for. So FORGEDDA ABOUT IT! Your sin, that you have kept close to you like a precious little secret needs to be tossed in a locked trunk, that is thrown in the deepest part of the ocean and then gobbled up by Shamu never to be heard from again! It's gone. In fact, that is how God views your sin. Listen to this verse on forgiveness:
From Psalm 103:8-12
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Did you see how much God loves you? Look at verse twelve. What does that tell you? God forgets your sins. He removes them from you. But how does He do that? More importantly why?
Here's a well known verse to remind you how and why:
John 3:16-17
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Now, let's rephrase this to get a clearer picture of God's love. I'll use my name as an example and then you put your name where mine has been.
"For God so loved Laura that He gave His one and only Son, so that if Laura believes in Him she will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son to Laura to condemn Laura, but to save Laura through Him."
Wow! Imagine a love like that! God LOVES YOU! He does not want to condemn you. If He did, Jesus would not have died a horrible death for you. So when you don't accept God's forgiveness, it's like slapping Him in the face and saying, "Thanks, but no thanks. I realize you went out of your way and everything to make sure I don't burn in hell forever, but hey - I just can't believe I'm really forgiven because I really did some bad stuff." So, try to come to terms with what you've done, God has and He's waiting for you to let Him love you.
Next time, I'll discuss the second thing that is important to forgiveness. Until then remember this and repeat it to yourself often - "Jesus Died For My Sins." Now ask yourself this - what does His death require from me?
