I write to you, little
children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. 1 John 2:12
People have asked me from
time to time, “Pastor Prince, why is an understanding of the complete
forgiveness of my sins so important for me to walk in God’s unmerited favor?”
This is a good question.
Friend, when you don’t have a clear sense of your complete forgiveness, you
will constantly be on an emotional seesaw. Sometimes, you feel that things
between you and God are all right, but at other times, you don’t think that it
is so. Sometimes, you feel confident that the Lord is with you to make you a
success, but at other times, you feel like you blew it and the Lord will not
help you until you confess your sin and make amends.
You will be in a constant
cycle of feeling insecure, where you are always hopping in and out of God’s
favor. All these feelings depend on how well you think you have performed, and
ignore the cross of Jesus altogether. My friend, God does not evaluate you
based on your behavior. He sees only Jesus’ perfect work. But because you do
not believe that Jesus has indeed forgiven you of all your sins (past, present & future), you end up
feeling like a total and complete hypocrite and failure.
I hope that you are
beginning to see that understanding the complete forgiveness of your sins is
not just for theologians. Thinking that your sins are not completely forgiven
will fundamentally affect your relationship with Jesus. While He is all ready
to bless you, give you favor and make you a success, unbelief in His finished
work robs you of the ability to receive His goodness, His blessings, His
unmerited favor, and His success in your life.
The cross of Jesus qualified you, but unbelief in the main clause of the new covenant disqualifies you. Meditate on what God says about your sins in the new covenant...see Hebrews 8: 10 - 12 and free yourself to receive from Him today. The new covenant is based entirely on His unmerited favor. There is nothing for you to do, nothing for you to perform, nothing for you to accomplish. Your part in the new covenant is just to have faith in Jesus and to believe that you are totally forgiven and free to enjoy the new covenant blessings through His finished work! (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).
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