He died for all your sins-those you have committed in the past, may be committing now and will commit in the future. Early in my life as a believer, I believed that if I believed in Christ, forgiveness of sins was only up until the moment I became saved. For each future sin, I would need to do the salvation prayer again for me to be saved. I lived in fear, that if I were to suddenly die, I would miss heaven and as a result of recent sin. As a result, my mind was never free from shame, guilt and all my attention was on me.
All that mattered was whether or not I was good enough, or worthy or deserving of God’s salvation. In the cross I saw love, but one with a condition that required me to live a life I seemed unable to live. I saw a saviour, a holy man of God in Christ, albeit one far from me and whom only made more clear the depth of my sins. In Christ, I saw exactly why I needed to be condemned and I honestly believed that was the way of the believer. I could not have been further from the truth however.
One critical truth I had missed, was that Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice. He was a once and for all time offering for sin (Hebrews 10.) that has forever paid the debt that we had in God’s eyes. My acceptance before God is not dependent on me, but on Him (Hebrews 4:16). I have been invited to have access to the Father, as a co-heir (Romans 8vs 17) with Christ-not because of anything I have done, but because of all that He has done for us. Ephesians 1 verse 6 refers to this as ‘accepted in the beloved.’
In the Old Testament, the Hebrews would slaughter a bull as a sin offering. And if that bull was without blemish, and accepted by God, then God would overlook their sins and be to them a blessing, a healer and a protector. If the offering was flawed, the High Priest would first die and then disaster would fall upon the land. However, it was only a temporary reprieve; not a permanent forgiveness. Yearly, as a reminder of their sin nature, a new bull, without blemish would have to die.
Of Jesus however, it says in the book of Hebrews that He died as an offering for sin once, and for all. When He was crucified for the sin of the world, it was for all of them; past, present and future. It was not just for those sins committed up until His death. hence in our lives also, when we receive what He has done, the slate of sin is wiped clean, and in its place He writes “Child of the Most High God!” That is now who you are when you receive Him. A child of God. A forgiven, favoured and loved child of God.
What if I sin afterward? What if I commit adultery and cheat on my spouse? What if I commit murder afterwards? What if I am a fraudster and cheat millions of pensioners out of their hard earned savings? They sound like reasonable questions, because doesn’t God hate sin? Did he not place a curse on Cain for the murder of Abel? Did he not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the great wickedness abounding in those cities?
They sound reasonable because in them, we have taken our eyes of Christ and onto our selves. Subtly, we have made the shift in our minds that to be accepted and forgiven by God, I have to do something in order to be deserving of it; we are now approaching God saying, “Lord, I have cleaned myself up now. I now deserve your forgiveness and love.”
When we however settle in our minds and hearts that no matter how cleanly we have lived or are living, our own view of purity is to God filthy (menstrual) rags, we first are shocked at how high God’s standard actually is. We realise we can never be our own saviour’s and we finally begin to accept that only perfect the work of Jesus on the cross is what saves us. And when we are finally aware of this truth, no winds of doctrine will shake us. We have stopped trying to build our lives on us as our own saviour, but we have begun to build on Jesus Christ, the immovable rock of our salvation and we will know peace.
Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice. He has paid the price for all your sins, past-present and future. It is this alone that is the price for your salvation. If you have believed and received Him, then know that indeed, you are saved. You are now a new creation, a child of the Living God.
Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice. He has paid the price for all your sins, past-present and future. It is this alone that is the price for your salvation. If you have believed and received Him, then know that indeed, you are saved. You are now a new creation, a child of the Living God. #saved #Jesus #fearnot
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Selah