He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities
.
P
SALM
103:10
If You, L
ORD
, should mark iniquities, O L
ORD
, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared
.
P
SALM
130:3–4
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins
.
C
OLOSSIANS
1:13–14
Today’s Scripture
…
add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins
.
2 P
ETER
1:5–9
H
ave you been told you have to exhibit more Christian character, more self-control, more godliness, and more brotherly kindness? Like a thousand times, perhaps? I certainly was as a young believer. My friend, I totally agree that all these qualities are good and necessary, but the question is, how do we develop them? How should we preachers help believers to exhibit more Christian character? When asked for the solution, most people would say, “Discipline! We need to focus more on the Ten Commandments and develop discipline, and then self-control, godliness, and brotherly kindness will come.” While all that sounds very good (to the flesh), that is
not
what the Word of God says in today’s Scripture. Read it again, focusing especially on the last sentence.
It is clear that if a Christian lacks the qualities mentioned in today’s Scripture, it is not because he lacks discipline, but because he “has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins”—the main clause of the new covenant. He has forgotten that the blood of Jesus has purchased for him the forgiveness of all his sins. Beloved, if you remind yourself daily that you have been cleansed from all your sins, not only will it produce a genuine love for the Lord (as we saw in yesterday’s reading), but you will also exhibit more and more Christ-like qualities. Your heart will overflow with faith, self-control, godliness, perseverance, brotherly kindness, and love.
Let me share with you a wonderful praise report from a precious couple who experienced this very truth in their marriage and family. Andy (the husband) had discovered the gospel of grace through one of my books. Prior to this, he was a believer who loved the Lord, his family, and the church he attended. But Andy always experienced a struggle within himself where he would go through cycles of feeling up and down. His wife, Danielle, who supported him through these cycles, described it this way: “One month he’d be fine. The next two weeks, not so much. Life was like a roller-coaster ride…these ups and downs became so regular that I could almost tell when things were going good and when they were going to swing downward again.” Needless to say, this negatively affected those closest to him—his wife and daughters.
However, as Andy began to learn about God’s grace, he came to see how he could rest in Jesus’ finished work. He explained the changes this brought: “The revelation that I’ve been forgiven through Christ and made righteous in Him made me Son-conscious instead of sin-conscious. Now, when the accuser of the brethren tries to accuse me, the Spirit of truth convicts me of Jesus’ finished work! I still feel down at times of course, but I don’t sink to those depths as before and I’m not down as long as I used to be. I can’t explain it, but I’m so much more joyful now, and I’m just in love with Jesus all over again!”
You might like to hear how Danielle eloquently sums up how the revelation of Jesus’ forgiveness and grace has radically changed her husband:
I saw major changes in him! He’s become much calmer in handling frustrating situations. He showed this peace I’ve never seen him possess—a peace that surpasses all understanding and an unexplainable joy that the world cannot give. We’ve always had a good marriage, but now he treats me with so much more love and care and our marriage is even better! He also treats our girls better, showing much more patience with them. He spends much more time with them now and I can also see him really enjoying the time he spends with them
.
My husband’s life has changed so much! I’m not saying he never gets angry or upset anymore, but his emotions are much more stable. He handles the things that upset him so differently, and we are the happy beneficiaries! I’ve seen firsthand how this has come about simply through his receiving the love of Jesus, not trying to earn it, or feeling like he can lose it. Truly realizing that it’s only because of the finished work of Christ alone that he’s forgiven and righteous in God has made all the difference
.
The secret behind every godly man and woman is
their belief in the truth that they have been forgiven
. Their godliness stems from a revelation of their forgiveness. They are believers who believe and honor God’s Word. When God says that He is merciful and that He has forgiven all their sins, they take Him at His Word. All day long, they are forgiveness-conscious. Even when they say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, or have a wrong thought, they continue to be forgiveness-conscious. They see the blood of Jesus continually washing them. They see God in His mercy and grace. And because of their forgiveness-consciousness, they experience victory over sin.
I encourage you to pray today’s prayer right now and to meditate on the forgiveness and righteousness you have in Christ. This is the key to enjoying your relationship with God and experiencing His love manifesting in and through you! Beloved, the more you are anchored in Jesus’ grace and finished work, the more you will reign in life through Him!
Today’s Thought
When I am forgiveness-conscious, my heart will overflow with self-control, godliness, perseverance, brotherly kindness, and love
.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Father, thank You for showing me the importance of being forgiveness-conscious instead of sin-conscious. Thank You that today, because of Jesus’ blood, I have been forgiven of all my sins—past, present, and future. You are merciful to my unrighteousness and all my sins and lawless deeds You will by no means remember anymore. You see me as completely righteous, not because of what I have done, but because of what Jesus has done. I am greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved by You. Amen
.
“To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”
A
CTS
10:43
“I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.”
J
EREMIAH
33:8
Today’s Scripture
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
.
E
PHESIANS
1:7
W
hen I was a young believer, I was taught that unless I confessed all my sins, I would not be completely forgiven by God. I was even told that if someone dies without having confessed all his sins, he would end up in hell. Well, that teaching put me in severe bondage. I really believed that I had to confess
everything
that I thought I had done wrong, including worries, fears, and doubts, because I knew that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23
KJV
). If you really believe that you need to confess all your sins to be completely forgiven by God, you will be confessing your sins
all the time and everywhere you go!
I tried that and it was impossible! It nearly drove me insane!
But Pastor Prince, are you saying that we don’t have to confess our sins? So what about 1 John 1:9, which states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”?
Listen carefully: Christians have taken this single verse out of context and built a whole doctrine of confession of sins around it when actually, chapter 1 of 1 John was written to address the Gnostics and their heresies that had crept into the church. The Gnostics were unbelievers who maintained that they had no sin (1 John 1:8). So John was saying that if they would confess that they had sin, and hence see their need for the Savior, God would be faithful and just to cleanse them from all unrighteousness. Can you now see how this does not apply to the believer who has already acknowledged that he is a sinner and accepted Jesus? We are not to live from confession to confession, but from faith to faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work.
Also, our loving heavenly Father does not forgive us in installments depending on how diligently we confess our sins. Fellowship with Him is not broken because our forgiveness is not contingent on what we do. It is contingent on the finished work of Jesus. Now, this does not mean that we can’t be honest with God and acknowledge the wrong we have done. It’s a relationship, after all. But we don’t confess our sins
in order
to be forgiven. We confess our sins or speak openly to our gracious Father because
we are already forgiven
. I don’t go before Him begging for forgiveness. No, I talk to Him because I know that
I already have His forgiveness
, as today’s Scripture states. I know that I can come to Him freely—He is my God, my Daddy God. So confession in the new covenant is just being honest about your failures and humanity and having an intimate relationship with God. It is the result of being forgiven and not something you do in order to be forgiven, to maintain your salvation, and be ultimately saved.
If confession of sins is vital for our forgiveness, then the apostle Paul, who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament epistles, has done us a great injustice because he did not mention it even once in any of his letters to the churches. For example, when there were people in the Corinthian church living in sin that everyone in the church knew about, he did not say, “Go and confess your sins.” Instead, he reminded them of their righteousness, saying, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?” (1 Cor. 6:19). In spite of their sins, Paul still considered them temples of the Holy Spirit and he reminded them of this truth.
My friend, this is the assurance that you can have today: the day you acknowledged that you were a sinner and confessed Christ as your Lord and Savior, you “confessed all your sins” once and for all. And God was faithful and just to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. All the unrighteousness of your entire life was cleansed at that point, and through the gift of righteousness in Christ Jesus you were set up to reign in life!
Today’s Thought
The moment I received Christ, all the unrighteousness of my entire life was cleansed at that point!
Today’s Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for the wonderful grace-filled day when You came into my heart and into my life. I believe that when I received You as my Lord and Savior, I “confessed all my sins” once and for all. Thank You for redeeming me with Your precious blood and for cleansing all my unrighteousness through Your perfect and final sacrifice. I believe that all my sins have been imputed to You and all Your righteousness has been imputed to me. I believe that as I keep receiving Your grace and gift of righteousness, You will cause me to triumph over every challenge and bondage in my life. Amen
.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation
.
R
OMANS
10:10
Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered
.
R
OMANS
4:7
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful
.
H
EBREWS
10:23
Today’s Scripture
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin
.
1 J
OHN
1:7
L
et me tell you a story about a little boy who used to play in the woods just a short distance away from the dilapidated hut that he lived in. His parents were too poor to buy him any toys, so he had to make do with whatever he could find. One day, he chanced upon a stone that was unlike any he had ever seen. The polished surface of the stone glistened in his hands and winked at him each time he turned it around in the sunlight. It was his very own treasure and he loved it. The boy did not dare to bring it back to his home as there was nowhere in the hut he could hide it. He decided to dig a deep hole under some bushes and hide his precious possession there.