Here are three observations about forgiveness:
1. The forgiveness of God is greatly misunderstood,
2. People like to argue about forgiveness,
3. People long to have forgiveness.
You can understand why forgiveness is such a hot topic. All of us sin. This reality raises numerous questions in our minds.
• What do I do when I sin?
• How can I know that God has forgiven my sin?
• If He has forgiven me, why do I keep doing the same sin over and over?
Here is the good news. All of these questions are answered by the three words Jesus uttered from the cross, “It is finished!”
Jesus paid the debt in full. Nothing more needs to be done, or can be done concerning forgiveness of sins.
I wished I had known this truth early in life.
With each sin I committed in those days, I felt I needed to do something to get it forgiven. I prayed. I promised. I studied the Bible. I made deals with God. But nothing changed.
I wanted His forgiveness so badly, but in spite of all my efforts, I never felt forgiven.
The glorious truth is that there was nothing I could do to gain God’s forgiveness. Jesus had already done the work. He forgave all of my sins. His shed blood took them away once and for all.
When His finished work finally hit my heart, the weight of guilt lifted from my shoulders. And something even better happened. The love of God broke through to my soul. It was the first time that I knew, I mean really knew, that He loved me.
This is what I wanted more than anything. I think we all want to truly know that God loves us.
Understanding this powerful three word phrase, It is finished!, connects the dots making God’s love real in our hearts.
Bob…is everyone in the whole entire world forgiven already of all their sins and all they have to do it place their faith in Christ death, burial and resurrection for life, and they then receive the gift of forgivness that is found in Christ.
The door to the prison cell was unlocked at the cross. All of humanity-past present and future was/is/will be sitting in the cell.There are now two choices.Stay in an unlocked cell with an opened door thinking it is locked.That is insanity.Or get up see the light and walk out and live.Neirher cost a cent.What is amazing is not that you would get up and walk out,but that you would sit there and refuse to walk out an opened door.
yes, we canbe like sheep but once one finds the shepard, we do walk out WOW!!!!
Hey James,
Frank’s reply below is spot on in relation to your question. Whenever I’m asked this question, I always point to Ephesians 1:7 which reads, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…” Forgiveness is in Christ. His death opened that “in Christ” door. When you enter in through faith, you receive forgiveness. If you don’t enter, you remain dead “in sin.”
2Cr 5:18 All this is from God, who RECONCILED us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
So it is clear from this verse that God reconciled, past tense us to himself. So what does it mean He reconciled us?
2Cr 5:19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
So God reconciled the entire world, no longer counting anyone’s sins against them. But that in and of itself does not save anyone. We are saved by his life.
Romans 5:10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we WERE RECONCILED to him by the death of his Son, how much more, having BEEN RECONCILED, shall we BE SAVED THROUGH HIS LIFE!
So again, the world, though we were God’s enemies, was reconciled to God,(not counting people’s sins against them), by the death of Jesus. But you are not saved until you receive His life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin IS death, but the gift of God IS eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This life comes when you believe in Jesus.
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:18 WHOEVER BELIEVES in Him is not condemned, but WHOEVER DOES NOT BELIEVE stands condemned already because they HAVE NOT BELIEVED in God’s one and only Son.
I’d like to know the answer to this
.
Maybe Bob will help us out with an answer?
Jesus said “It is finished”
The truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Putting Faith in something has to have an object, Faith in and of itself is dead. One could have faith in swallowing and be fed poison and die if they swallow. So what one has as their object of Faith either brings life or keeps one dead in their sins and transgressions.
Either Christ did or did not take away the sins of the world, there is no in between, it is either done or it is not. Now the Bible also has to have a witness and in John 1:29 it states behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Well obviously not in this worlds sight right? So then if Christ did take this all away the sin of the world and the world is still manifesting on it, and we know this statement of John the Baptist is true, then I would have to ask since not from this world’s viewpoint then from whose?
The only obvious answer I could find it had to be from Christ’s Father’s vantage point, I see no other vantage point do any of you all?
So let us look at the purpose of Christ’s Job in coming to earth.
First he said it himself he came not to destroy the Law and Prophets rather to fulfill Matt. 5:17. Well after this there was a lot said and a lot done, he performed miracles and revealed man’s impossibility in man ever trying to be saved in and of themselves ever, even the disciples asked after seeing their own inability to be saved after watching the rich man walk away very sad. And Jesus said to them with man this is impossible, but with God it is possible. I wondered what was it that he was saying about was it him going to the cross that he was talking about, had to be! and then asked them to pray the Lord’s prayer of God’s will to be done here, then the disciples get further annihilated with wait just one minute you mean if I do not forgive my neighbor that God will not forgive me!!!!!!!! Wow I got a lot of work to do yes? But wait a minute Jesus you just said it is impossible with man to enter heaven by anything he does, as a matter of fact I got to gouge out my eyes, cut off my hands, and feet rip out my tongue and then I can go to heaven better for part of me to go to heaven than all of me to go to hell. Wow! it is impossible to go to heaven why Jesus, he said you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect, it can be no other way, one has to be perfect period and man has been trying to do this ever since the death, burial and resurrection still trying to be perfect and can’t it is impossible for man. So there has to be a way or did Jesus waste his time and effort? Jesus said it but with God it is possible to go to heaven and Christ also said you have to be perfect and we know we can’t be perfect, we don’t have the Love of God best described in 1 Cor. 13. as man it is impossible to be perfect
So then since I can’t make myself perfect by any good works I ever do and no amount of help from others can ever do this for me either, I only have left one thing that is hope, and in this hope doubt is attached so even though I say I believe and have not passed from hope and trying to have faith in God through Christ Jesus, doubt is and has been keeping me from seeing truth, because I have been taught from birth on to do good and I will be blessed, so I am in a straight betwixt because I learned how to be bad and fake being good fool the people and receive rewards what a crook yes that as man we all are? But this is what this world has done and is doing to the people of this world. We are good puppets and have been manipulated, deceived into doing good works and never measure up not perfectly, when in actuality there is only one good and that is God the Father period and that is why Christ pointed us all to Father and said he is the way, the truth and the life no one gets to the Father except through Christ.
So when Christ went to the cross and died over 2,000 years ago did he die for the sins of the whole world, is the whole world reconciled before God the Father by Christ?
Romans 5:10 says this is so. Okay so we see the death and what it did it paid for the sins of the whole world from Christ’s Father’s vantage point, All is forgiven right? Have we all settled this yet that we are 100% forgiven at and through the cross? This is important because if you do not believe this then there is more for you to do to inherit salvation and God is trying to tell us all that he by God’s Mercy has had Mercy on you believe and receive.
So let us look at what happened when he was about to die on the cross John 19:30 he yells out It Is Finished!!!!! And gives up the Ghost, so what was finished remember what he came to do was to fulfill the Law and Prophets. Well he yells out it is finished so I can conclude safely that he did do what he said he came to do right he fulfilled the Law and Prophets. So what gain is this for you and me? Jesus was absolutely perfect right 100% because he had no sin right? Now the whole world knows they have sin right? Why do we not see it taken away in Christ and try to do righteousness as Jesus already did when with man it is impossible to go to heaven on man’s efforts?
So now since Christ died taking away the sins of this world in his Father’s sight, not the world’s and or most Churches here in the world, but from Father’s vantage point, are we not still dead ourselves even though this event from God has taken place we are all forgiven, but still dead? Are we not in need of life?
Okay, first the death of Christ at the death brought in a new Covenant Hebrews 9:15-17 where we are set free from stress, worry, and having to try and obey law, because remember it is impossible with man and is possible with God. The cross is where it is all possible. First the death freed one from the Law the curse of it that whenever it flows through flesh being weak can’t perform it the law that is not perfectly and remember we have to be perfect just as our Heavenly Father is perfect no ands ifs or buts period.
So this would have to be the case then it is by the resurrection that one is saved no other way and if there was no resurrection then there is no salvation and Christ dieing on the cross would be made void. So the power is in the resurrection not the death, death was needed first to take away your sins and all the world’s but life is not found here. Life is in the resurrection nowhere else. So you now be reconciled to God and ask for the life in him here and now, being dead to sin (Romans 6:11) here and now and be as he is perfect by the resurrection of Christ. And now maybe one will understand John 3 about being born again and that it takes belief beyond hope and Faith, read Hebrews 5:10- 6:6 there is no more forgiveness to be executed from God you are forgiven and in need of life and all is yours from God the Father’s vantage point through the cross of Christ. Christ has made you perfect by him, and has given new life to all those that believe in his finished work therefore your work is finished as well once you finally believe it is then you receive and are set free WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He was the propitiation for the world, but a person has to place his or her faith in the finished work of Christ to “enter into the good of it.” He paid the price that only He could pay, but each individual has to believe that fact in order to be made righteous by His righteousness.
He had to offer forgiveness in order to bring about restoration. The same is true in our daily lives. Restoration cannot happen between people until forgiveness happens first. Think about that fellow Christians. In His love. Tim
Thanks Tim very insighful I agree 100%