‘I – yes, I alone – will blot out your sins for my own sake…” Isaiah 43:25 NLT
In Old Testament days when a man ‘blew it,’ he brought a lamb to the altar as payment for his sins. But notice this: the priest didn’t examine the man, he only examined the lamb. If the lamb met God’s requirements the man was instantly forgiven. That is still how it works! When you fail, you need only approach God and say, ‘Father, I come in the name of Jesus asking for forgiveness.’ In that moment the Father’s focus moves from you to Christ, and you are automatically forgiven. Woah! What an arrangement!
But you need to forgive yourself too. If you don’t, you’re saying God’s forgiveness isn’t good enough. That’s wrong! If a perfect God says he will forgive you, on what grounds do you, an imperfect person, refuse to forgive someone else – or yourself?
‘You get nothing for nothing,’ you say. Nothing? Are you serious? God’s forgiveness is the most expensive thing in the world. It may have cost you nothing, but it cost God everything. Its pride that makes us think that somehow we’ve got to pay, at least in part, for what we’ve done. Yes, there are consequences and correction that build your character – but don’t think that’s what deals with your sin!
So what now? When Jesus cried, ‘It is finished,’ and died, God wrote, ‘paid in full’ across every sin debt you’d ever owe. And you must accept that by faith. Why? Because no more will ever be required, and no less will ever be accepted! Forgive – others and yourself. Be. Set. Free!
Life FM – Word For You Today (2017, January 31) Forgiveness Is Freedom. Retrieved February 3, 2017, from http://www.lifefm.co.nz/more/word-for-you-today/item/3130-forgiveness-is-freedom
