We rejoice in hope of the glory of God Romans 5:2
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Forgiveness
We all have done deeds and said words in the past that we regret, and because we humans tend to forgive but not forget, these come back to haunt us, but God’s forgiveness is very different.
The Bible explains that sin is falling short of God’s standards and is just as much failing to do what is right as actually doing what is wrong. God sets the definition of what is right and wrong and in the case of Adam and Eve this was one simple rule, which if disobeyed would result in being condemned to die. We all know what happened and as the saying goes, ‘there are only two certain things in life – death and taxes’!!
Our greatest blessing is that our God is not only a God of justice but also of mercy as the book of Numbers 14:18 tells us:- “The Lord is long-suffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression”, but also, “by no means clears the guilty”.
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SO HOW CAN THESE TWO DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF GOD BE RECONCILED?
THE ANSWER IS IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
In the 4000 or so years before Jesus was born, which is covered by the Old Testament of the Bible, God gave a set of rules to the nation of Israel (the law of Moses) which defined right and wrong and provided a path for the repentant sinner to gain forgiveness. He had to bring a flawless animal to be sacrificed, but before it was killed, he had to lay his hand on its head and so associate himself with it. The animal was then killed and its blood poured out.
In an age when we buy our meat plastic wrapped from the supermarket, we are very sanitised from the reality of animal slaughter but this process was meant to bring out important principles for the offerer to accept, in order to gain God’s forgiveness :-
• Death was God’s righteous punishment for sin.
• There was a cost to the sinner in being reconciled with God.
• The perfection of the sacrifice symbolised the perfection God asked of the offerer but which he had not shown.
• Forgiveness of sin required the shedding of blood, showing that life was forfeit.
• There needed to be a strong connection between the offerer and the sacrificial offering.
The New Testament of the Bible makes it clear that this was a temporary solution, as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews 10:1- 4 says :- “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins”.
What was required was not an unblemished animal with no choice in the matter but a sinless man choosing of his own accord to give himself. This was Jesus. He never did any wrong and always obeyed his Father, even when it led to the agonising death on the cross. As Jesus said himself in Matthew 5:17, “I come not to destroy the law but to fulfil it”.
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THE PRINCIPLES BEHIND FORGIVENESS REMAIN THE SAME
If we wish God to forgive us, we must accept that we fall short of His standards and so deserve to die; but believe that if we follow the path He has laid down by associating ourselves with Christ’s death, He will forgive us.
How do we do this?
The Bible tells us exactly what we must do in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptised”. Read Romans 6, which explains how by being baptised we in symbol die with him, and rise to a new life in Christ, “as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death” (v. 3); “our old man [our former way of life] was crucified with him” (v. 6); “we died with Christ” (v. 8).
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WE SAID AT THE BEGINNING THAT GOD’S FORGIVENESS WAS DIFFERENT.
It is available to all but requires action on our part, if it is to be obtained. It is then so superior to human forgiveness, as expressed by the Psalmist in Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west so far has He removed our transgressions from us”.
Similar words also in Jeremiah 31:34 “I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more”.
No haunting of the past but the bringing of, “the peace of God which passes all understanding”.
Philippians 4:7
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Faith
Scripture is clear—we are saved from sin and death because of our faith, not through any deeds that we do. Eternal life is God’s gift, it cannot be earned.
“By grace [that is, an undeserved gift] are ye saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8);
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28).
What is faith?
Faith is synonymous in Scripture with belief; to have faith is to believe. It is therefore not a mysterious quality which people possess. The faith that saves is, however, not belief in just anything, but in what God has declared in the Scriptures—in particular, what He has said He will do.
Note how faith and belief are synonymous in the following passage: “But without faith it is impossible to please [God]: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
What must we believe?
The things God wants us to believe are what He has revealed in the Bible, summarised as “the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12). God not only purposes to set up His Kingdom on earth, He has made it possible for sinful humans to live for ever in it by the work of Jesus Christ. This is the essence of what we must believe.
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How do we obtain faith?
Faith is not given to us by God, it is our response to God. We cannot, because of our weak natures, perfectly obey God, but we can at least believe what He has revealed to us in His Word.
We cannot believe what we do not know, however; hence “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). It was necessary first for God to give His Word; then we must hearken to it and believe it.
Developing faith
Faith does not come in an instant, however; it develops. We can think of three stages in developing faith:
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The wonder and variety of ​the natural world should leave us to believe in the existence of a supreme Being who created it.
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Fulfilled prophecy should convince us that the Bible is uniquely the Word of this supreme Being so that we read it and believe it.
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If we continue to read the Scriptures, we will recognise more and more their internal harmony and consistency, and the influence they have on us, and so grow in our faith. Also, our awareness of the hand of God at work in our lives and in the world will grow, and with this too our faith will grow.
Faith and works
Though we are saved by faith, not by works, true faith does not exist apart from works: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). This means no more than that if we really believe something to be true then we act on it.
Abraham believed that God had the power to bring the dead to life, so he was prepared to sacrifice Isaac when God asked him to; Rahab believed that God was with Israel, and was prepared to help the Israelite spies (James. 2:21-26). Hebrews 11 is full of examples of people whose faith caused them to act; read this chapter carefully and note such words as ‘offered’, ‘prepared’, ‘went’, ‘blessed’, and so on.
We cannot say we have faith yet take no action. Declaring our belief in Christ is insufficient; association with him in baptism is required. Declaring our belief in God’s Kingdom is insufficient; we must try to live as would-be citizens of it now.
Abraham and faith
Abraham is presented in Scripture as the great example of faith. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness”, was declared of Abraham when he believed God’s promises, and is quoted of him three times in the New Testament (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James. 2:23).
The life of Abraham shows that he constantly believed God’s promises, and based his life on them: leaving his home to go to Canaan in the belief that he would inherit it for ever; believing that God would give him and Sarah a son, even when it was humanly impossible; even being prepared to sacrifice that son at God’s command.
The life of Abraham also illustrates the development of faith. When God counted Abraham as righteous because of his faith he was about eighty (cf. Genesis 16:16). James says that when Abraham was prepared to offer up Isaac he was showing that his faith was perfect (mature, or complete), and Genesis 15:6 was fulfilled (James 2:22,23). By this time he was well over 100. His faith had developed to maturity over the years.
Justification by faith
Justification means ‘counting as righteous’. God says that, though we are sinners, He will count us as being righteous if we truly have faith, just as he counted Abraham as righteous through his faith (Romans 4:3-5). Note the constant recurrence of ‘count’, ‘reckon’ and ‘impute’ in Romans 4—all the same Greek word.
Trust and faithfulness
Though faith Biblically is synonymous with belief, ‘belief’ in normal English usage is perhaps too weak a term to convey fully the Biblical idea of faith. Perhaps we might like to think of faith as believing what God has said and trusting in Him to carry it out; or as not only initially believing in what God has said, but remaining basically faithful to that belief all our lives, in the face of difficulties, and despite times of doubt and sinfulness. Such ideas give a deeper meaning to this vital concept of faith.
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Redemption
'In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood' (Ephesians 1:7)
The following words: redemption, redeem and redeemed are mentioned in total 129 times in the Bible so it's as well to understand them.
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If a slave was working for a master, and someone took pity on him, that person could buy the slave's freedom. Suddenly the slave was made free. He had been redeemed!
So, we talk of our redemption from the penalty of sin. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".(A) We, as ordinary people, sin. We all give in to temptation at some time or other, and therefore we sin. Sin, says God, brings death. Ezekiel 18:4 says quite bluntly, "The soul who sins shall die".
Therefore, we all deserve death, but the Lord Jesus Christ has given us the opportunity to be forgiven. (B)
He "bought" our freedom (C) - but it cost him his life, so those who believe and have been baptised (D) can truly say that they have been redeemed.
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This same word redemption can also apply to goods, and it is still used in this sense today when something precious has been deposited in a pawnbroker's shop. When our circumstances have improved, we can return to the shop, pay back the borrowed money with interest, and redeem our goods.
The Apostle Peter uses this illustration when he says, "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."(E)
What a wonderful thought this is!
Jesus has paid for our redemption through his death, and because of his sinless life,(F) rose from the dead to eternal life!(G)
References: (A) Romans 6:23; (B) Ephesians 1:7; (C) 2 Corinthians 5:21; (D)1 Peter 3:21 (E) 1 Peter 1:18 & 19; (F) 1 Peter 2:22; (G) 1 John 5:11
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