Forgiveness the lesson from the cross

Everyone makes mistakes. It is part of our imperfection. But the beautiful part about being a believer is that God forgave us of these mistakes. In Christ Alone (the hymn which the Presbyterian Church recently dropped) a line from the second verse states “Till on that cross as Jesus died / the wrath of God was satisfied.” I happen to love this line, because I know that if it weren’t for Jesus’ willing sacrifice on the cross I would still one day stand before the Father and listen to all the sins I have ever committed against Him, knowing that my only eternal home would be in the fiery depths of hell, where unrepentant sinners are doomed to an eternity of damnable torture. Yet I have faith in the Lord Jesus and in his willingness to take on my sin and all the sin of the world so that I could rejoice with Him and the Father in heaven, rather than suffer in hell.
 Because of this faith, I understand that God’s wrath against me is satisfied. It is important to understand that at the end of times it is not Jesus’ love that will save us if we are unrepentant and do not understand the implications of Christ’s crucifixion. God’s wrath still burns against us if we are double minded, if we do not ask for wisdom, or if we ask without faith James 1:2-8. At the time of judgment, the Bible clearly states that the Lord will not remember Jeremiah 31:34. There is nothing Christ’s love can do if we do not accept God’s commandment…Which brings me to the point of forgiveness.
Christians understand that the Lord died a horrid death to forgive our sins against the Father. If we accept this forgiveness in faith, we are saved. And if we do not accept this we are damned. Throughout the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Jesus warned us of this. The Apostles in Acts, and their letters to first century churches warned us of the folly of not having faith in the Lord.  I want you to take a moment to ponder Christ’s death...

Now I have a couple of questions.

 Do you believe that He died so that you might live eternally in heaven? If the answer is Yes, move on to the next question. If you don’t, then keep thinking on Christ’s death and its implications.

“Do you desire to honor Christ? [If the answer is Yes] then you are saved, because you have been made willing by God”(John MacArthur, August 25th, Grace Community Church 10:30 am service.)

Short side track here, Pastor John was preaching out of John 5. He applied the second question to us out of the example of the Jew’s who had spent their entire lives (centuries of practicing Jews) looking for the Messiah. And because He did not come in the way they had expected him to, they rejected him. They accepted John the Baptist as a prophet, and they denied Christ because He was not the princely ruler on earth they had been expecting despite his miracles which they had accepted. 

I can apply this question to my blog, because honoring Christ is as simple as obeying his commandments. If we desire to obey his commandments then we desire to honor Christ. Forgiving and having forgiveness is one of Christ’s commandments. Matthew 18:21-22. When Jesus said seventy-seven times seven He did not mean that when you reach the 539th time of forgiving your brother you can quit. He meant that you must forgive the one who sins against you infinitely. You can never quit forgiving.

 Which segues me back to my introductory sentence: everyone makes mistakes. No one is without sin; in fact we reek of sin in our actions, attitudes, and thoughts. We do things against our families, friends, employees, employers, and even strangers and most of the time without the slightest qualm. And yet when someone does something that hurts our feelings, or wrongs us in some way (great or small), we are quick to withhold forgiveness…for years even.

We say what they did was so wrong; it offended me so much that I can never forgive them. And we hold anger in our hearts, not love, not kindness, not mercy, not forgiveness and those are all things CHRIST had for us when he died on the cross. Christ did not die angry. He died with love and forgiveness for us. In fact He asked God to forgive the men who crucified Him. CHRIST WAS MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD AND HE STILL FORGAVE(IVES), HE STILL LOVED(S), HE STILL HAD(S) MERCY AND COMPASSION. Christ died willingly for the salvation of many; he suffered the most for our transgressions on the cross. And that is not looking at the trials he faced while he walked on earth. We have an intercessor in Christ, because He faced the exact same temptation we do and He overcame. In James 1: 13-19 we see that God does not tempt, because He cannot be tempted. And then we ask if Jesus was fully God how then was he tempted? And the answer is because He was also fully man and man can be tempted.

Jesus knows our struggles he has seen the failure of others and known the heartache. He stands up for us when Satan makes claims against us when we are repentant and upright. Jesus knows our fight and only through Him can the war be won. He does this because the Father forgave us through Him and we accepted the free gift of love through our faith.

What I want you to understand, beloved, is this. If we do not forgive and we hold the lust of hatred in our hearts we do not accept Christ, we do not accept His free gift of salvation, and we do not accept our place in the Fathers home. I beseech you, my friends, to think twice about the forgiveness you have been offered and how you will act next time your fellow sinner sins against you. If you have accepted Christ and desire to honor Him and if you wish to be led by the Holy Spirit do not close your hearts to his word. If you find that forgiveness is going to be hard for you to achieve remember to ask the Lord to help you come to a place where grace can be offered. But do not forsake forgiveness, because its healing power is greater and more wonderful than you can ever imagine. Remember that every just and good thing comes from the Lord.


As Paul said Grace and Peace to you my friends from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm, Proverb and New Testament Verse of the day

I have decided that in order to give ya'll something to read whilst I am in between posts, I would provide you with a Psalm, Proverb and Verse of the Day. Granted it is inevitable that I will fall short of this goal of daily posting however, I will do my best to ensure that you have something to read. :)

 Psalm 41

 How Blessed is he who considers the helpless; The Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble. The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, And he shall be called blessed upon the earth; And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health. As for me, I said, "Oh Lord, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You." My enemies speak evil against me, "When will he die, and his name perish?" And when he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood; His heart gathers wickedness to itself; When he goes outside, he tells it. All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt, saying " A wicked thing is poured out upon him, That when he lies down he will not rise up again." Even my close friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me. But You, O Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, that I may repay them. But this I know that You are pleased with me, Because my enemy does not shout in triumph over me. As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And You set me in Your presence forever. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Isreal, From everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

 Proverbs 3

 My son do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof. For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain is better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast. The Lord by wisdom founded by the earth, by understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up and the skies drip with dew. My son let them not vanish from your sight. Keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck.Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden fear no the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, "Go and come back and tomorrow I will give it," When you have it with you. Do not devise harm against your neighbor, while he lives securely beside you. Do not contend with a man without cause, if he had done you no harm. Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his way. For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; but he is intimate with the upright. The curs of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Though He scoffs at the scoffers, yet He gives grace to the afflicted. The wise will inherit honor, but fools display dishonor.

 2 John 1:7-11

 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the anti-christ. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who give him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

 Take heed my friends, the only sure promise of a fulfilled everlasting life, is that which is in Christ. We are blessed through the study of the Lord's word and we are saved by our faith in the saving grace of Christ's crucifixion. Be ever cautious of the great deceiver. Ask the Lord to be gracious toward you, ask for forgiveness and be willing to forgive. And as David instructed Solomon so to this message is for us, do not let kindness and truth leave us, for in these things we honor the Lord. In the words of Paul in his benediction to believers "grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ."
Amen