Author: Bob Christopher

The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 13
The Greek word for forgiveness is aphiemi. Would it surprise you to know that in 1 Corinthians 7:11-13, the word is translated “divorce”? In that context, Paul is telling husbands not to send or put (divorce) their wives away.
But that is exactly what God did with your sins. He sent them away.
That is the primary meaning of forgiveness. The Complete Word Study Dictionary defines forgiveness as, “to send forth or away, to let go from oneself.”
You were connected to our sins, married to them if you will. All that changed, however.
In one instant, Jesus “divorced” you from your sins and put them away. As a result, you are no longer tied to them, or are under sin’s control.
Jesus’ death freed you from sin once and for all.
God has sent your sins away. Where are they? According to the Word of God, “As far as the east is from the west.”
Forgiveness Challenge 13 – Make a decision to accept the truth – your sins have been divorced from you. This is what God has done with your sins. He removed them. He sent them away. He remembers them no more. This is forgiveness. This is grace.
“…Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 12
Debt is a big problem in America. I know. It has plagued me most of my adult life.
For many, the struggle gets overwhelming. No matter what they do, the debt never goes away. Every month, the mountain of bills reminds them of the financial mess they are in.
As to financial debt, there is a way out. There is something you can and should do. Cut up your credit cards. Develop a budget. Slash your lifestyle. Use every dime you can squeeze out of your budget to pay off what you owe. Commit to the plan, and in time the debt is gone. Financial freedom is yours.
It’s a totally different story when it comes to sin. There is nothing you can do to get out from under this heavy burden. Hard work, discipline and tough decisions will not remove this debt. There is not enough money in the world or enough good deeds to pay it off. Our efforts don’t even put a dent in what we owe. The sins and the guilt and the shame keep piling up.
Our only hope of release is the mercy of God. That mercy is delivered to us through forgiveness.
Forgiveness Challenge #12 – Truthfully, answer this question. When you say that your sins have been forgiven, what does that mean to you? Begin this challenge by looking at this beautiful picture of the transfer of our sins to Jesus Christ.
“God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5;21).

The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 11
God always shows us favor, even when we sin. He never withdraws that favor or grace. Christians live in His favor twenty-four/seven.  His grace produces in us God’s desired effect.
One thing we naturally do in response to God’s grace is confess the sin. But what God really desires for us is that we trust and rest in the shed blood of Jesus. Just as salvation is by grace through faith, experiencing the forgiveness of God is by grace, through faith, as well.
By grace, Jesus took your sins upon himself. By grace, he suffered the punishment you justly deserved. By grace, he offered his blood to the Father on your behalf. By grace, he forgave your sins. Now, through faith, thank Jesus for what he has done and rest confidently in the forgiveness that is yours in him.
If you are still wrestling with what to do when you sin, let faith in the finished work of Christ settle the issue. He has taken away your sins once and for all.
Forgiveness Challenge #11 – Begin to deal with sins by trusting in the completed work of Christ at the cross, resting in the fact that you are forgiven, and then ask the Lord to begin to work in you to be able to say “no” to sin.
“God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4 ESV).

The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 10
The day I fully believed that all my sins were forgiven was the day the love of God broke through to my heart. On that day I knew that I knew that I knew God truly and genuinely loved me. His love started driving out the fear in my heart just as he promised.
I want this for you.
Fear makes us ask “Is there something we need to do when we sin?” Love has a better question. “What does God do when we sin?”
Understanding these actions will radically change how you see sin.

• He reminds you of Christ’s death on the cross and the forgiveness you have in Him. (1 John 2:12)
• He assures you that you are a child of God. (Romans 8:15-16)
• He shows you the consequences of our sin and then works in you the desire to be reconciled to those you’ve hurt. (Romans 13:10)
• He teaches you to say “no” to sin. (Titus 2:11)
• He encourages you to put off the old, and put on the new. (Ephesians 4:22-24 & Colossians 3:5-14).
• He works all things together for your good. (Romans 8:28)
• He continues to complete the work he began in us. (Philippians 1:6)

Forgiveness Challenge #10 – Study these seven actions God takes on your behalf. Let the truth of these verses cement the actions God continually takes on your behalf. Then let this verse put it all together:
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 9
Being controlled by fear is devastating. It is the natural consequence of sin. We first see this in the Garden. After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they hid from God. When God called out to Adam, Adam responded, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:10). When sin entered Adam and Eve, fear took control of their lives. As a result, it became a part of our spiritual DNA.
Paul analyzes the problem this way: “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” (Colossians 1:21). This is a vivid description of the lost condition. Evil behavior, what the Bible calls sin, alienates us from God and causes us to think of him as our enemy.  Sin is unbelief. Sins originate with unbelief and are defined as evil behavior.
Thing started making sense to me when I realized I was letting sin and fear and wrong thinking dictate how I approached God. When you think he is your enemy, you tread lightly.
Here is the good news. God is not, nor was he ever, your enemy. If you need to be convinced, consider what John wrote: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10 ESV).
God loves you, and the grace he lavished on you to provide redemption, the forgiveness of sins is the proof.
Forgiveness challenge #9 – Instead of approaching God out of fear, doing everything you can to avoid punishment, approach God with an attitude of thankfulness. Jesus gladly paid the penalty for your sins.
Walk in the truth of this verse: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 8
I received Christ when I was twelve. For the next eight years, my thoughts about God and Christianity and faith in Jesus were all directed toward finding answers to two questions:

1. How do I stop sinning?
2. What am I supposed to do when I sin?

Since I couldn’t stop sinning, the second question concerned me the most. I believed I was supposed to confess, repent, and then ask God to forgive me. And, IF I really meant it, God would forgive my sin. But I was never sure that He had. My formula for forgiveness didn’t work.
A pattern developed in my life. The patterns always started with a sin. The sin caused guilt and an intense fear of punishment. Out of this fear of punishment, I pleaded with God for forgiveness and promised him I would do better. And then the next sin came. I would go through the same process all over again, but I never felt forgiven. My formula for forgiveness didn’t ease the guilt or cast away the fear.
Soon I wondered if I was even saved. So I added to the formula. Confess, repent, ask God for forgiveness, and ask him to come back into my life. It was like my heart was a revolving door.
I was desperate to know God’s forgiveness. But with all my begging, pleading and promising, I never felt forgiven. Back in those days, I was desperately trying to earn something that had already been given to me by grace. I had already received the gift of forgiveness the day I believed on Jesus’ name.
The same is true of you.
Forgiveness Challenge #8 – Have you ever thought that God would one day unleash all his anger on you? Have you ever looked deep inside and recognized fear as the driving force in your life? Consider this: fear turns grace into a reward. Ask God to reveal the truth of Hebrews 10: 17, 18 into your heart.
“Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”

The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 7
Barbara was not happy with what she was hearing on the radio broadcast. As a matter of fact, she was downright mad!
The subject for the day was the New Covenant, and specifically, the fourth promise of the New Covenant: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary” (Hebrews 10:17, 18).
Jesus’ accomplishment, or as one writer put it, his achievement, means your sins are no longer an issue to God. They’ve been forgiven. Nothing more needs to be done.
From a human perspective, this doesn’t sound right. It seems that there must be something we need to do when we sin. This was Barbara’s issue. “When we sin,” she argued, “we are supposed to say we are sorry and ask God to forgive us.” That’s how we think. The problem is that grace doesn’t conform to our way of thinking.
There is nothing wrong in saying to God you are sorry for your sin. You can ask God to forgive each and every sin as well. However, the sorry in your heart and the confession on your lips does not bring about God’s forgiveness. If they did, forgiveness would cease to be an act of grace on God’s part.
Forgiveness of sins has already been given to every believer. Jesus already dealt with your sin. He took the punishment and forgave it once and for all. In Christ, you are a forgiven person.
Forgiveness Challenge #7 – Instead of focusing on your sin, begin to train yourself to focus on Christ’s finished work on the cross, the forgiveness of sins. When you sin, remind yourself of this verse:
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us” (Ephesians 1:7, 8a).

The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 5
Jesus was crucified at a place we call Calvary. It was nine in the morning when soldiers nailed his hands and feet to the cross and then suspended him between heaven and earth.
At noon the sky darkened. It was the darkest moment in human history. God was making Jesus, the one who had no sin, to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).
At three in the afternoon, Jesus said in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And then….
In victory, he cried out, “It is finished!” With that cry, he gave up his spirit.
This was no ordinary death suffered by no ordinary person. This was Jesus, the Lord and creator of all, offering himself as the perfect Lamb of God. His achievement removed the barrier that stood between God and man. It shook the foundation of the world and it raised people to life. This was God saying to mankind to take note, to stop and consider the implications.
Christ Jesus, as the Lamb of God, took away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
Forgiveness Challenge #5: Do you believe that Jesus’ death at Calvary was sufficient to take away your sin? Are you willing to rest in His finished work and trust that your sins have been forgiven once and for all? According to Acts 10:43, what did you receive the moment you believed in Jesus?
“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

The 28 Day Forgiveness Challenge — Day 4
Why did Jesus have to die? He is the Son of God. He has all authority on earth and in heaven. Yet, he died a cruel and excruciating death? Why?
The answer is found in Hebrews 9:22.
“Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.”
This verse answers the why of the cross. If Christ had not shed His blood, there would be no forgiveness of sins.
But Jesus did die. He did shed his blood. In his blood is the forgiveness of sins. And, in Christ, you already have it. The death of Jesus Christ is the way of forgiveness.
What can we take from this? First, God desires to forgive. He doesn’t want you to face the judgment and the penalty your sins deserve. Second, Christ was willing to carry out the desire of his Father. Consider these words, “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book'” (Hebrews 10:7).
Jesus died to do the will of his Father. He shed His blood to forgive your sins. There was no other way.
Forgiveness Challenge #4 – When you struggle, remember that Christ shed his blood for you. This means your sins are forgiven. The cross of Christ is the way of forgiveness. Commit Hebrews 9:22 to memory, note it in your Bible, and open your heart to the truth in this powerful verse:
“Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.”