Monday, October 14, 2013

FORGIVE US OUR SINS

This is Forgiveness
Time with Jesus - 15 Oct 2013

Hi all,
48 "In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you. Mat 5:48 MSG
Children can be incredibly cruel. Particularly to those who don’t quite conform to their norms. Any child who is slightly different from the others, often becomes the object of their collective criticism. I remember from my school days that anyone who was “fat” was called “fatty” or “tubby”. Those who wore glasses were often called “goggles”. 

One of my school friends was called “blocks” because he appeared to have a square head. Interestingly enough, when we all met in PE for our 50th matric reunion, we found he was still called “blocks”. His name had stuck to the point where he used it himself 50 years later! God has given me a new Name! He calls me His son!
“The Lord has forgiven my sins, past present and future. His blood covers everything. I’m a child of the Living God, so there is no longer any need for me to be concerned with what I do. I am redeemed from the curse of the law so I don’t have to worry about sin in my life. My Heavenly Father will forgive me because He understands how difficult it is for me to live this life with temptation all around. His love is unconditional so I will be forgiven!”

No doubt you have heard or read one or more of these statements dozens of times. Perhaps you have even said them or even used them yourself. Many people make statements like this in order to justify the things they do. They argue that they are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ and that, through His atoning death, resurrection and glorification; they are now justified - seen by God “just as if I’d never sinned”.

The trouble with this is, it is not the whole truth. God’s love is infinite; so is His justice, righteousness, mercy and all His other many attributes. All of them are absolute. There is a sense in which His attributes are His quandary and have thus become ours.
God hates sin. He hates sin with hatred beyond our comprehension. This is not merely an intense dislike. It’s much, much more than that. His hatred of sin is an all-consuming infinite hatred beyond anything we can possibly comprehend. Nothing, absolutely nothing sinful can approach God. It would be utterly annihilated. That is His nature. That’s the way He is. He doesn’t have a hatred of sin, He is hatred of sin; totally, utterly and infinitely.

This is also true of His love. It is infinite and absolute. He does not have love, He is love. In fact everything God is, He is infinitely. He is infinite love, infinite justice, infinite mercy, infinite holiness, infinite knowledge and infinite righteousness. The list of His attributes is beyond comprehension. It’s likely to include qualities we don’t know exist.
People have asked, “How big is infinity?” I confess I don’t know and probably never will. What I do know is that the universe is not infinite. It is contained in God. Only God is infinite. It therefore follows that His attributes are the same “size”. Of course size is meaningless when we speak of God. He has no dimensions. He cannot be measured. He cannot be defined. He has no beginning and no end. He always was, always is and always will be.

When we think of Him we should tremble with fear. He cannot be played with, lied to or shrugged off with disdain. His demands are absolute and complete. He does as He pleases and nothing can gainsay or say, No!” to Him. This is The One who confronts us. He is the One we must satisfy. He is our judge. Nothing escapes His knowledge. Nothing can hide or flee from Him. And there is no one who can overrule His decisions. Can you imagine anyone more awesome than this One? No! He is the Ultimate One. He is God!

Is it possible that such a One could have a problem? No? Not really. Yet God does have a difficulty. One He could solve without further thought. He could snuff out mankind in an instant. That’s probably what I would do in His position. But I’m a mere mortal. He is not. And His predicament was this, “What do I do with the creatures I made who will not love Me? How do I deal with them without annihilating them? How can the demands of My infinite love and mercy be addressed so that there is no “conflict” with My demands for infinite righteousness and justice?” To us, there is no answer.

But this is God we are dealing with. Problems of this magnitude are nothing to Him. He came up with an answer. His answer; the only possible answer was the cross of Jesus Christ. This is where the problem was dealt with. It was a costly answer. His demand for justice was poured out on His one and only Son. Jesus paid the price for our sins. But this does not mean we can now lead a life in sinful disregard for His Holy demands. It means we must lead a holy life fully conscious of even a hint of sin in ourselves. We will never have a license to sin – that would be abhorrent to God - but a longing to live a life pleasing to Him. In this way, justice and mercy meet at the cross in your life and mine.

Today’s meditation looks at forgiveness. This is one of the most neglected topics in churches today. We see that God will only forgive us as we forgive others. It blows holes in many evangelistic statements. Not that the evangelists are wrong. They just don’t give the whole truth. 
The truth is, God will not forgive you if you don’t forgive others. He uses your measure of forgiveness to measure His forgiveness to you!
Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland



Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give
Time with Jesus – 15 Oct 2013
Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give
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These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes
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INTRODUCTION
DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
FORGIVE US OUR SINS
Perhaps the greatest problem confronting Christians today, is the problem of un-forgiveness. It shouldn’t be like this. Sadly, it’s true. The words spoken by Jesus immediately following His model prayer in Matthew were: 14 "Forgive people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive people their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matt 6:14-15 NIrV These are some of the most terrifying words spoken by the Saviour. They have a huge implication concerning our own salvation. These words tell us, if we don’t forgive others, we won’t be forgiven!
So why don’t we Christians forgive each other? The most likely reason is that there is so little fear of the Lord in most Churches today. Christians prefer to think that they have been given a ticket to heaven, so their behaviour doesn’t really matter. They say “God knows and understands! His love is unconditional! He’ll be tolerant of the things we say and do”. I can’t forgive my granny because of what she did to my hamster. I won’t and I never will. That’s a huge mistake.
That’s not what the Bible teaches. His grace may be free, but it is not cheap. Furthermore, although His love is infinite, it is not unconditional. To say it’s unconditional, implies that all are saved regardless of what they say and do. That’s a terrible lie. He will not overlook sin in the life of a believer, He condemns in the life of an unbeliever. To do so would make Him a respecter of persons. Furthermore, it would mean that sanctification was unnecessary.
It’s been said that today, God’s people want justification (forgiveness of sin) in this life and sanctification (holiness) in heaven. But God wants us to be justified (made right with Him) in this life and sanctification (holiness) in this life too. We may not like this. We may “belly-ache” about it too. But in the final analysis, He makes the rules! His decisions are not subject to the democratic process. He always does as He pleases.
But what’s this got to do with our failure to forgive? Everything. The Lord uses our own standards on us! Our own standard becomes His yardstick for every Christian. He will deal with me using my standards. Likewise He will deal with you according to your standards. Bear in mind the following basic little equation. No forgiveness = no salvation. If God has not forgiven you, you are not saved. Likewise, for you no forgiveness = no salvation. If you do not forgive others, you are not saved. That is the bottom line. No matter how delightfully your pastor or minister may preach. No matter how many times you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, unless you forgive others, you will not be forgiven. No matter how many times you may go to the front by invitation of your pastor. No matter the amount and quantity of your tears, if you do not forgive others, your efforts are worse than useless. Incidentally, the same is true for your pastor, your favourite healing evangelist, and the head of your denomination or anyone else – including me! If they do not forgive others, they are not forgiven. Scripture makes this abundantly clear.
If anyone requires full salvation he/she must give full forgiveness. In fact you set the standard by which He will deal with you. That scares me. It should make us a forgiving people. I know I need it. Several buckets of water the size of the Atlantic ocean would merely dampen the surface. What about you?
Jim & Phyllida
Strickland

12 Forgive us our sins, just as we also have forgiven those who sin against us.
Matthew 6:12 NIrV

Peter asked the Master, “Lord how many times,
Must I forgive my brother for the many crimes,
That he has perpetrated and committed against me?
I think it should be seven times. But Lord, what thinketh Thee?
Anyone who murdered Cain would truly cost him dear.
God would punish seven times. The Word makes it quite clear. (Gen 4:7)
If that is the standard which God said should apply,
Surely that’s the standard for folk like You and I?”
“Seven’s insufficient. See what Lamech said.
Seventy and seven times for striking Lamech dead.          (Gen 4:24)
But by implication, it’s so much more than that.
Peter, stop your counting. You’re speaking through your hat!
You can never calculate how often to forgive.
If you want a number, what number would you give?
For there is a principal that always must apply.
That’s the number God will use when you’re the one He’ll try.
He brings perfect justice. He says that you will set,
The standard of forgiveness which you yourself will get.
If you say that seven times is what he has to pay.
God will use your seven times on you on Judgement Day.
If you’re unforgiving, He’ll be that way with you.
You will find the torturers know what they have to do.
They will carry on until the total price is paid”.                 (Matt 18:34)
This is terrifying and makes me sore afraid!
Do not be vindictive. Be tender-hearted, kind,
Always be forgiving. For then you too will find,
He’ll be tender-hearted and treat you with compassion.
You’re the one directing what the Lord above will fashion.
If you’re harsh and cruel, my brother, hear me well.
You will be consigned into the lowest pit in hell.
Isn’t Father wonderful! He knows what you should get!
What you have dictated, by the standards you have set!
So, if un-forgiveness, is the order of your day,
Better you repent of it and turn to God and pray,
You will be forgiven. Then here’s what you must do.
Go and tell the people, who have sinned and damaged you,
You need their forgiveness for the things which you have done.
Then you’ll be forgiven by Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
Jim Strickland
Written 15th Oct 2012

21 Peter came to Jesus. He asked, "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but 77 times.
Matthew 18:21-22 NIrV


32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?' 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 "That's what My heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart."
Matthew 18:32-35 NLT


32 Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32 NLT


13 You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures. 14 He did this by erasing the charges that were brought against us by the written laws God had established. He took the charges away by nailing them to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14 GW


13 Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Colossians 3:13 NLT