Today’s Thought
Having an intimate relationship with God and experiencing breakthroughs are not contingent on my perfect obedience, but on my believing that Jesus alone is my righteousness and justification
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Today’s Prayer
Father, I thank You that the gospel is all about Jesus and what He has done for me. It’s not about me and my obedience or failures, what I do or don’t do. By Your grace I will win the battle for my mind and cast down every wrong belief that keeps me bound in legalism and self-condemnation. Thank You for showing me that You have already forgiven me and that You always see me righteous in Christ. I believe that as I fill my mind with Your love and new covenant truths, I will be radically changed for Your glory. Amen
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But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation
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E
PHESIANS
2:13–14
“In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”
I
SAIAH
54:14
Today’s Scripture
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses
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C
OLOSSIANS
2:13
A
postle Paul’s letters provide a marvelous foundation in understanding the gospel of grace. That’s why, when it comes to reading the Bible, I always encourage new believers to begin with his letters. Many new believers like to start with the book of Revelation or Genesis, but get confused in the process because they lack the proper foundation to rightly divide the old and new covenants.
Have you noticed, for instance, that Paul never once mentioned the unpardonable sin in all his letters to the churches? If Christians could commit the unpardonable sin and lose their salvation, Paul should have mentioned it in every epistle that he wrote. But he didn’t. In fact, what he emphasized was our forgiveness. In today’s Scripture, for example, Paul declares that Jesus, by His death on the cross, has made us “alive together with Him, having forgiven you
all
trespasses.” I have checked the original Greek word for
all
in this verse and guess what? “All” means
all!
1
Jesus, through His own blood, has forgiven you of
all
your sins, so there is
no
sin that is unpardonable! By one perfect sacrifice, He has cleansed you of the sins of your entire life, and you are now sealed with the promise of eternal life! You need to receive this good news that will establish your heart in His grace and give you the confidence that you are indeed irrevocably saved!
Beloved, God does not leave you wondering whether you are saved or not. He tells you outright that you are His and that nothing can ever separate you from His love—not even sin—because His Son’s blood is greater than your sin! Knowing that all your sins are forgiven is crucial for your health, peace of mind, wholeness, and wellness. My struggle and Robin’s struggle with the unpardonable sin are cases in point. The more you believe that all your sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, the more you will become whole—body, soul, and spirit!
And should you ever doubt that God has forgiven you of all, all you have to do is open His Word. Read it and remind yourself how the price for “all trespasses” has been fully paid, the judgment executed, and every bit of condemnation against you already meted out on the body of Christ at the cross. Hallelujah! To establish your heart in the grace of God, meditate on such new covenant truths that exalt Jesus and His finished work. This is how you go from faith to faith and experience breakthrough upon breakthrough in all areas of life.
Today’s Thought
By one perfect sacrifice, Jesus has cleansed and forgiven me of ALL my sins. This is the good news that establishes my heart in His grace and assures me I have eternal life
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Today’s Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for cleansing and forgiving me of every sin at Calvary. I believe what Your Word declares: You have fully paid the price for all my sins, the judgment has been executed, and every bit of condemnation against me has already been meted out on You at the cross. Thank You that nothing can change this fact because Your Word is final. No matter how I feel today, I believe that Your perfect sacrifice has cleared me of all sin. Thank You for setting me free by Your grace to enjoy Your favor, peace, and abundant life. Amen
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“To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.”
D
ANIEL
9:9
…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen
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2 P
ETER
3:18
Today’s Scripture
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
H
EBREWS
8:12
W
hen something goes wrong, is your first thought, “Well, this must be happening to me because of the sins that I have committed”? When you have a flat tire or fall sick, do you wonder, “What sin is God punishing me for now?” If your answer to both questions is “yes,” you are not alone. This kind of thinking is so prevalent in the church because many believers don’t really believe that they are under the new covenant. They believe the opposite of today’s Scripture and think God is not merciful to their mistakes and always mindful of their sins.
The problem with the church today is
wrong believing
. Jesus Himself defined the new covenant for us at the last supper when He said, “…this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).
The main clause of the new covenant is the forgiveness of all your sins because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ
. Your forgiveness does not hinge on how many good deeds you have done, how much money you have given to the church or charities, or what leadership position you hold. No, it all hinges on the shed blood of Jesus.
God put the main clause of the new covenant—Hebrews 8:12—as the last clause to show us that it is this final clause that makes the new covenant work in our lives. If you don’t believe the main and final clause, then you won’t experience the full benefits of the new covenant. You are also negating God’s Word and the finished work of Jesus. The new covenant says that God is merciful to your unrighteousness and has forgotten your sins and lawless deeds. If God says that He has forgotten them, then He has truly forgotten them. God cannot lie!
But how can God forget my sins?
He can because He is God! If He said it, then He has done it. You know that sin you committed many years ago?
God has forgotten it
. He does not keep an itemized account of all your failures. There is no big projector screen in heaven to show all your sins—from the day you were born to the day you die. All records of your sins have been incinerated by the blood of Jesus when He cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). When God looks at you today, He sees you covered with Jesus’ blood and completely righteous.
Only the devil, you yourself, and the people around you will bring your sins to your remembrance. So when you are weighed down by the mistakes of your past, run to God and lean on His grace! Why? For He will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. This is the main clause of the new covenant of grace! This is His Word!
Today’s Thought
If God declares that He has forgotten my sins, who am I to contradict Him?
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You for the amazing revelation that You have forgotten all of my sins and lawless deeds, and that every record of my sins has been incinerated by the blood of Jesus. Today, I choose to believe that because of Jesus’ finished work at the cross, You see me completely righteous in Him. Help me to always see You as the God of love and compassion that You really are, and to always come boldly to Your throne to receive Your mercy and grace. Amen
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He then goes on to say, And their sins and their lawbreaking I will remember no more
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H
EBREWS
10:17
AMP
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”
I
SAIAH
43:25
Today’s Scripture
…“Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head…Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
L
UKE
7:44, 47
I
n yesterday’s reading, we established that the main and final clause of the new covenant is found in Hebrews 8:12—“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Some people hear me teach this and immediately ask me, “If believers know that all their sins have already been forgiven and forgotten, won’t they go ahead and sin?”
Well, I have yet to encounter anyone who, after knowing the truth of Hebrews 8:12 and the Lord’s grace, says to himself, “Yippee! Now I can go out and sin!” However, I have encountered sincere people who have given up and walked away from God because they didn’t know or believe the truth of Hebrews 8:12. To earn God’s forgiveness, they tried to keep the laws of the old covenant, only to fail consistently and end up feeling like hypocrites. In contrast, those who have received and believed the truth of Hebrews 8:12 and other new covenant truths have had their lives, marriages, and families gloriously transformed by the grace of our Lord Jesus.
I had a couple come up to me once and tell me they would like to be married in our church. They told me that they had in fact been married to each other before and had kids, but that they had been separated for many years. Somehow, separately, they both started attending our church and after listening to the teaching on forgiveness and God’s grace, God began to restore their relationship and they wanted to be remarried. Isn’t that wonderful? How many kids have the privilege of witnessing their parents’ wedding ceremony! That’s the power of the gospel of Christ. It is able to mend broken lives and restore broken relationships!
My friend, knowing you are completely forgiven destroys the power of sin in your life. I know how this revelation has transformed my life just as it did the woman in today’s Scripture. She brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil into the house of Simon, a Pharisee, and anointed Jesus’ feet. And Jesus Himself said to Simon that those who are forgiven much will love Him much. So the more you realize that you have been forgiven much, actually, of
all
your sins, the more you will love the Lord Jesus. Receiving God’s forgiveness does not lead to a life of sin, but a life of loving and glorifying the Lord Jesus. What do you think the woman’s response would have been after she had departed from Jesus? Would she have desired to continue living a life of sin, or would she, knowing that she has been forgiven much by God’s grace, be strengthened to live a life that honored and glorified Jesus?
Come on, folks! All of us, including the author of this book, have been forgiven much. All of us have broken the Ten Commandments many times over. If we have not done so in action, we have done so in our hearts and minds. So when you understand how much you have been forgiven, because that is how much God loves you, you can’t help but love Him much. This is the key to loving the Lord and enjoying your relationship with Him.
Beloved, when you fail, come to Jesus with the boldness and confidence that this woman had. Come and pour out everything that is on your heart to Him. Don’t worry, He won’t dump more guilt and condemnation on you. He will remind you of the cross and say, “Your sins are already forgiven. I have already paid the price for your sins at Calvary. Rest in My forgiveness and love for you.”
Today’s Thought
The more I realize that I have been forgiven much—in fact, of all my sins—the more I will love the Lord Jesus
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Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You that I can come running to You with boldness and confidence knowing that I am completely forgiven. You have destined me to have victory over every sin, addiction, and fear in life through Your wonderful grace. Thank You for showing me how much You love and have forgiven me, and how believing this is the key to having a loving and fruitful relationship with You. Today, I choose to rest in Your forgiveness and love for me. All praise and glory to You! Amen
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