Forgiveness

by Jackie Ricks

“I can’t come to church yet. I’ve got to clean up my life first. Then I’ll be there.” Have you ever heard a similar comment? Maybe you’ve even said it yourself. Why do we think that God will forgive us our sin if we are “living right” rather than living like the world? God forgives ALL sin: past, present and future. He doesn’t say that we must be “sinless” (Is there such a thing?) at the moment that He forgives. Let’s look at forgiveness and exactly what God does for us.

Everyone needs forgiveness and God is the only One who can forgive everything that we’ve done or will ever do (Matthew 9:6 & Romans 3:9 & 23). God is not selfish with His forgiveness; He offers it as a free gift for all who believe (John 3:16 & Romans 6:23). We don’t have to work for God’s forgiveness. Christ paid the cost for us on the cross. We just accept what He did (Ephesians 2:8-10). In that way, we know that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves or lose what He did for us. Once we have believed, we don’t have to worry about our future. God secures us in our belief (Ephesians 1:13).

Does that mean we no longer sin? No. In fact, Satan works overtime trying to get us to mess up so that he can accuse us of being hypocrites and keep unbelievers from ever accepting Christ as their Savior. It also doesn’t mean that we lose our salvation. First John 1:9 explains that all we have to do is ask God’s forgiveness and He forgives us.

Sometimes the biggest problem with forgiveness is that we refuse to forgive ourselves. I think that’s why sometimes unbelievers think they must clean up their lives first. They  can’t forgive themselves and can’t imagine why God would ever forgive them. But He does when they ask—whether it’s the first time or the hundredth or an infinite amount.

A couple of songs say it well, I think. The Cathedrals sang “He Saw What I Could Be.” It reminds us that God knows before He saves us what we will be later in life. We can’t see the future, but He can. There’s no way a person can “clean up” her life enough. But God can and does when we let Him. The other song is “When He Saved Me” sung by the Booth Brothers. That one reminds us that God not only knew who we could be, but He knew even before we were saved what later sins we would commit. So, if you have been struggling with forgiving yourself (as we all do sometimes), remember that God already knew about that situation before He saved you. If we’ve repented and asked Him for forgiveness, He’s given it. (Psalm 103:9-13) So who are we to think we can’t forgive ourselves if He can?

RESPONSE: If you’re not a believer, repent and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin now. If you are a believer with unforgiven sin, then ask Him to forgive you and then forgive yourself and forget it. He does.

PRAYER: “Thank You, Lord, for saving me and for forgiving me of every sin since. Help me to continue to ask for forgiveness and to forgive myself. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”