Welcome to Hank’s Place —
Listen to this verse — 1 John 2:12, “I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.” Believe in Jesus? Then your sins have been forgiven — and the reason we are forgiven — is found in God.
Surely there must be qualifiers if we read that verse in context, right? Like “…if we confess our sins…” or something? Read the entire chapter; you’ll not find a condition we have to fulfill. The chapter begins saying if we should sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus, whose blood covers and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
As Psalm 103:12 prophetically states, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” — speaking of what would happen at the Cross.
So, do not let the devil torment you with questions like, “Am I really forgiven? What if I sin and don’t repent? What if I backslide?” God has forgiven us completely and for all time. That just sounds too good to be true, right? There must be a price to pay. Yes – and Jesus paid it.
Forgiveness is now a gift. It is something we receive, not something we earn by doing certain things.
But didn’t Jesus say in Matthew 6:15, “If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Yes. He was speaking BEFORE the Cross, when the Old Covenant was still in effect, when God’s forgiveness was linked to our own.
Jesus went to the Cross under the Law, taking all our sins to that Cross. And what did He say upon that Cross? “Father FORGIVE them for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34. Jesus said he came to fulfill the law and on the cross he did exactly that. He forgave those who had sinned against him. The very condition for forgiveness that Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount, he himself satisfied on the cross. In fulfilling the Law Christ has become the end of the law for all who trust in Him. Romans 10:4.
It is NO LONGER TRUE that God won’t forgive you if you are harboring unforgiveness in your heart because God’s forgiveness is no longer conditional upon our performance. God has already forgiven you, thanks to Jesus and Calvary.
If you ARE harboring unforgiveness, I suggest you walk by the Spirit; let the fruit of the Spirit grow within you. It’s a much better way to live.
OK. Before the cross we find conditional forgiveness. AFTER the cross we find we have been forgiven. I’ve put a few scripture references in the written description of this episode for you.
Read them and rejoice for it time to toss off that condemnation and COME ALIVE!
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