Forgiveness

I forgive you. There is so much power in those three simple words. Yesterday at church during the meditation time prior to being served communion our pastor made a simple declaration. When he said it he spoke with the authority of scripture. Though the words came from his mouth and in his voice in reality it was the voice of God who spoke. He said, “I just want you to know this morning that you are forgiven.” He was explaining a simple fact that if you call Jesus Lord and by faith you believe that He died on the cross for your sins, then you are forgiven.   But the truth is so many of us Christians do not really accept that simple truth. We walk around in despair carrying the chains of guilt. For some of us its past decisions and lifestyles that we hang on to which take away our joy. Failed marriages, hurtful things we did to someone who maybe has since passed away and can no longer be corrected, or maybe a past abortion. For others of us it’s the struggle against our sins that weigh us down. Our addictions just won’t go away no matter how hard we try and no matter how many programs we complete. For some of us it is our own lack of forgiveness to others that have imprisoned us into the cell of bitterness.   But the simple truth is that if you are a Christian then you are forgiven. To not accept that fact can mean only two things. Maybe your confession of faith isn’t real. If that is the case then get on your knees right this very moment and confess that to God and ask Jesus to come into your heart. Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit and then begin a life dedicated to Bible reading and prayer. Go to church and seek counsel and friendship of the body. Get baptized if you did not ever take that step of obedience. The day of salvation is today and the Bible is clear.   Romans 10:8-13 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."   But what about those of us who have made the commitment to Christ and we still just cannot accept forgiveness? Far too often I have heard people say “I just cannot forgive myself” or “My sins are far too bad to be forgiven?”   If you are truly Christ’s then you need to confess and repent because to say those things is to call Christ a liar. To call Christ a liar is to reject the truth and authority of scripture. Romans 3:4 disputes this saying, “By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."   It’s not about you and it’s not about what you can do. God through His mercy and grace has chosen to forgive you. But that forgiveness came with a price. The price was that God loved you so much He sent His Son to come down from the glory of the heavens and to forgo His own glory to be shamed, beaten, and then crucified. God took our punishment and allowed it to be inflicted upon His Son, Jesus Christ, so that God’s justice will be satisfied once and for all.   John 19:28-30 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.   Friends it is finished. You are forgiven. So the question today is this, what will you do now? You can continue on buying the lie of Satan and live out life in despair. Or you can rise up out of the water and live a new life having been born again. You can take the gift God has for you and go out and share it with others or you can hide it away in a closet like an unused dress. It’s up to you. But I can assure you no matter how vile you are that if you ask Jesus to be your savior, then you, my friend, are forgiven.