If you are a Christian, you have experienced this wonderful feeling of being forgiven. I remember vividly getting up from an altar after I had asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and be my Lord and Savior. It felt so freeing that, in my mind, I was floating down the aisle back to my seat. The joy deep within made me feel like I would burst if I didn’t let it out. I was forgiven by the God of the Universe, and the Holy Spirit now dwelled within me. Jesus had interceded for me and took my petition to the Father. All three had been involved in my transformation, yet Jesus was the one who made it possible because He paid the debt I owed for my sins. We can be forgiven because Jesus died on the cross in my place.
Colossians 2:13-14 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
There is no one that can escape the need to be forgiven. In Romans 3:23 the Bible teaches us “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We are all guilty before a holy God. Romans 6:23 teaches us that the wages, what we deserve for our sin, is death. This is death in Hell for all eternity. The thought of dying and going to hell can lend itself to desperation and despair, and without Jesus paying our debt we would be hopeless.
Some may feel that they have done too much to be forgiven, but that is a lie from the devil. He wants you to feel defeated. Yet, the call for forgiveness is offered to all. No matter what you have done it is not too big for God to forgive. In God’s eyes, sin is sin. Yes, there are greater consequences here for different sins, even those forgiven may still suffer some of the consequences of their past. For instance, a drunk may have forgiveness for his sin of being a drunkard but may still suffer from a disease caused by alcohol. However, because of God’s holiness, no sin can enter Heaven. There is no scale in Heaven to determine if our “good” outweighs our “bad.” There will be many “good” people who go to hell because they have not been forgiven for their sins. Without the forgiveness provided by Jesus’ death, it only takes one sin to go to Hell.
While Jesus paid the debt we owed to be forgiven, forgiveness is not appropriated automatically. His forgiveness is only to those who will meet the conditions He has set out in scripture. In Romans 10:9 we must confess, and agree with God, that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that He died and gave proof of who He is by raising from the dead. In Luke 13:3 Jesus said we must all repent or perish. In Acts 3:19 we are taught that repentance is necessary for conversion. To repent means to turn away from. We are to turn from our sins to Jesus. Jesus will forgive and we can live a victorious life in Him.
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Luke 13:3 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Act 3:19 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord”
I am so thankful for the provision made for me to be forgiven. I can only imagine what it will be like when I see Jesus for the very first time. When I see the face of the one who made it possible to gain Heaven as my eternal home!
