The most glorious word in the English language - Forgiveness

 

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

In the New Testament Jesus spoke to a man in need with these important and life-changing words, “Your sins are forgiven you” (Luke 5.20) and they brought wonderful comfort to the man who heard them. We also read in the New Testament these words, “And Jesus said unto her, Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7.48). and the woman who heard Jesus speak was greatly blessed.

These are the only two examples in the New Testament of Jesus telling people directly that their sins were forgiven, with one being male and the other female. This simply reminds us that God’s forgiveness is available to anyone whether man or woman, because we are all in the same spiritual condition of having sinned by breaking God’s commandments and therefore needing His forgiveness.

Forgiveness - Is it possible?

Is forgiveness a mountain that is too hight to climb?

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the 

forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

The Bible - Ephesians 1:7

So what's the verdict?

Really there are a number of questions which we need to answer to answer the main question - Forgiveness - is it possible? I'll address them one by one: 

Why do I need to be forgiven?

Are guilty feelings just manufactured by how we are brought up? Are they just a legacy from more religious days? Are these just hang ups that we should be clear of now that we live in a more liberal society? 

These are good questions.  Let me start with what the Lord Jesus said. He believed that we all need forgiveness and that His Father, God, is the person that we need to go to for forgiveness. If you have ever said the Lord's prayer you will know this to be true. 

The Lord's Prayer - Matthew 6:9-13

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

The Lord Jesus added:

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

So the Lord Jesus believed that:

1. we need forgiveness, 
2. it can be obtained by prayer to his Father and,
3. the evidence that we really have it will be seen in whether we are prepared to forgive others!

Who have I wronged when I do wrong? 

The Bible teaches that God is our Creator, our Judge and the setter of the rules.

God summarises and concludes in the letter to the Romans chapter three that 'there is none righteous, no, not one' (v10) and 'there is none that doeth good, no, not one' (v12). You might think that this is very tough but remember the God as Creator and the Almighty is the 'setter of the rules'. God is not saying that no one ever does any good or that no one ever gets anything right but He is saying that we are not characteristically right (we are morally wrong and sinful) and we are not consistently good in what we do.

Could God not just forget sin and ignore it; after all he is a God of love isn't he?

God is a God of love but that is only one aspect of His character. He has other qualities that sit comfortably with the fact that 'God is love".

God is just and fair. In Psalm 97:2 he describes His throne (his seat and style of administration -  'righteousness and justice are the foundation of his (God's) throne'. In Genesis 18:25 we discover that from the earliest civilisations of planet earth God was described as 'the judge of all the earth' and he always does what is right i.e. He is righteous. 

Men in the Bible realised that their sin was essentially against God. It affected and indeed wronged others but it was against God as it broke His Laws. In Psalm 51 King David confessed - 'against thee, thee only, have I sinned'.

God has appointed His Son, The Lord Jesus as the judge in the final court. There will be no appeal procedure in place, John 5:22 and Acts 17:31.  He has not only been appointed to  judge the world one day but presently He is the Saviour of the world (John 4:42).  His offer today is one of forgiveness (Matthew 9:6). This is only possible because he 'died for our sins' in full and final payment to God for all wrong and evil.


In life only the person who has been sinned against is in a position to offer forgiveness. So it is with God. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (Roman 3:23). It is God we have wronged and He chooses to offer forgiveness through His Son, Jesus Christ.

What if I don't have the means to pay; I just can't meet God's demands on my life?

This is where the grace of God comes in. God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, Romans 5:8. God doesn't ask us to pay, he offers forgiveness on the basis that His Son has already paid through the death of the cross. 

Your move!

God calls for a response from you. The words repent, confess, call, trust, believe, come,  and receive Christ all come to mind. You cannot acquire forgiveness on the back of a good or religious life but you can receive it by faith in Jesus Christ. 

I leave you with the words of Acts 13:38,39 - 38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.

How to avoid a guilt trip!

Most of us feel guilty from time to time. We often wish that we could turn the clock back and do things differently!

There are times when it is right to feel guilty. If we have genuinely wronged someone guilt is the God given mechanism that warns us that ‘action needs to be taken’. Sometimes we can rectify the problem and make amends. Other times it is outside of our power to reverse the effect of our actions. It is only right that we should fix the problems that we have caused where possible.

Having said this, many mistakes in life are not really significant in the general scheme of things and will not make a big difference in our lives. Courtesy and true friendship, decency and honesty will however ensure that we behave in ways that are commendable.

A more worrying aspect of life is that of human beings and their relationship with God. In our current society we are in danger of being unaware that we have disobeyed our Creator (and therefore owner) and that he does not tolerate people who break his law. I was aware from childhood of the fact that God had stated his principles (the 10 commandments in the Bible) and that I was incapable of living up to them. The passage in the Bible that explains God’s standards is Exodus 20. The New Testament passage that states that we are not capable of living up to these standards is Romans 3:23 ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’.

Now, contrary to public opinion God gave his Law to make us feel guilty and not to make us feel good. The Bible says ‘Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God’. The reality is that when you and I hear the Bible preached and become aware that God is holy and has his standards; we then realise that we cannot live up to his standards and get feelings of guilt. I lied, I lusted, I took something that did not belong to me (time, emotions, things etc) and as a result I am guilty and am limited as to what I can do to rectify the situation. My offence is firstly against God (Psalm 51:4) and will also often be against a fellow human being.

So we all need to go on a guilt trip – but not for long. When the awareness of our wrong living is heightened and guilt is triggered we will be forced do something about it. That is God’s plan.

What can we do? Again God in the Bible tells us what there is no point in doing! God says in Romans 3:20 that no action on our part will satisfy him because our problem is one we were born with (Psalm 51:5). The problem is reflected in our actions and behaviours but it is deeper than that. God says rather bluntly in the Old Testament that all the right things we do are like filthy clothes. We can never be good enough for God, ‘There is none righteous, no not one’.

I say again ‘what can we do’? The answer again comes from God. He says ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’. The Lord Jesus says ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. The early Christian preachers preached ‘neither is their salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved’. God’s Son (The Lord Jesus) came to earth, lived and then was put to death on a cross. God was punishing him for sin, sin that he did not commit (for he is God and perfect) but that sin that he was prepared to atone for. He paid the price God demanded to put away sin and to provide forgiveness for us.

Go on a guilt trip? No way - admit your guilt to God and then accept his offer of salvation through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will experience inexplicable joy.

For more information and further explanations of the message of the bible via videos, blogs and podcasts please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

Is it right to go on a guilt trip?

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Most of us feel guilty from time to time. I know that many people are tormented at times with guilt as they wish that they could turn the clock back and change what they did. I am not suggesting that people should always feel guilty for most of us have done things inadvertently and it all went horribly wrong.

 

But there are times when it is right to feel guilty. If we have genuinely wronged someone guilt is the God given mechanism that warns us that ‘action needs to be taken’. Sometimes we can rectify the problem and make amends. Other times it is outside of our power to reverse the effect of our actions. It is only right that we should fix the problems that we have caused where possible.

 

Having said this, many mistakes in life are not really significant in the general scheme of things and will not make a big difference in our lives. Courtesy and true friendship, decency and honesty will however ensure that we behave in ways that are commendable. 

 

A more worrying aspect of life is that of human beings and their relationship with God. In our current society we are in danger of being unaware that we have disobeyed our Creator (and therefore owner) and that he does not tolerate people who break his law. I was aware from childhood of the fact that God had stated his principles (the 10 commandments in the Bible) and that I was incapable of living up to them. The passage in the Bible that explains God’s standards is Exodus 20. The New Testament passage that states that we are not capable of living up to these standards is Romans 3:23 ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’.

 

Now, contrary to public opinion God gave his Law to make us feel guilty and not to make us feel good. The Bible says ‘Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God’. The reality is that when you and I hear the Bible preached and become aware that God is holy and has his standards; we then realise that we cannot live up to his standards and get feelings of guilt. I lied, I lusted, I took something that did not belong to me (time, emotions, things etc) and as a result I am guilty and am limited as to what I can do to rectify the situation. My offence is firstly against God (Psalm 51:4) and will also often be against a fellow human being.

 

So we all need to go on a guilt trip – but not for long. When the awareness of our wrong living is heightened and guilt is triggered we will be forced do something about it. That is God’s plan.

 

What can we do? Again God in the Bible tells us what there is no point in doing! God says in Romans 3:20 that no action on our part will satisfy him because our problem is one we were born with (Psalm 51:5). The problem is reflected in our actions and behaviours but it is deeper than that. God says rather bluntly in the Old Testament that all the right things we do are like filthy clothes. We can never be good enough for God, ‘There is none righteous, no not one’.

 

I say again ‘what can we do’? The answer again comes from God. He says ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’. The Lord Jesus says ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. The early Christian preachers preached ‘neither is their salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved’. God’s Son (The Lord Jesus) came to earth, lived and then was put to death on a cross.  God was punishing him for sin, sin that he did not commit (for he is God and perfect) but that sin that he was prepared to atone for. He paid the price God demanded to put away sin and to provide forgiveness for us.

 

Go on a guilt trip? No way - admit your guilt to God and then accept his offer of salvation through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will experience inexplicable joy

How to escape life’s tangled web?

Courtesy of Alexandre Brondino (Unsplash)

Courtesy of Paola Ocaranza (Unsplash)

Courtesy of Flavio Gasperini (Unsplash)

Every year thousands of gray whales make the long journey from the coast of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico to the rich feeding areas in the waters around Alaska. A gray whale was making this migration when it swam into lines that were attached to crab pots and buoys which were both long and strong. The whale tried to escape the lines by rolling in the water, but its rolling only made the tangled mess of lines around its body tighter. 

The tangled lines made it impossible for the whale to find food, because when it tried to swim, it had to drag the buoys and crab pots along with it. The continual dragging of buoys and crab pots sapped the whale’s strength, and the chaffing of the lines cut deep gashes into the whale’s body. Every year some of these wonderful animals get caught in crab lines or fishermen's nets and, sadly, they usually end up dying. Would this whale be one of them?

The whale tried the only thing it knew to free itself - by rolling in the water - but that did not free it; it only made matters worse. Any one of us who tries to free ourselves from our sins are just as unsuccessful. It is impossible for us to cut away those tangles and knots of sin. No amount of obeying laws, good works or self-improvement could ever set us sinners free.  We need the freedom only the LORD JESUS can provide. “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that CHRIST JESUS came into the world to save sinners” By the grace of GOD, the LORD JESUS HIMSELF offers to set us free from our sins—if we are willing.

Back to the story of the whale - a fishing boat's crew were cruising several miles off the southern coast of California when they spotted the distressed whale. As the boat moved closer, the crew could see that the magnificent creature was tangled and trapped in the lines. They felt sorry for it and decided to show kindness to the helpless creature by cutting it free. The crew lashed sharp knives onto strong bamboo poles, which they had onboard. Slowly and carefully they positioned their boat alongside the huge animal. 

The whale stopped its slow swimming and let the boat pull alongside. Even though it was an untamed creature, it seemed to sense the fishermen were trying to help it. Several of the crew leaned over the side of the boat and, very carefully, began cutting away the lines. About an hour later when the last line was cut, the now free gray whale slowly swam in a circle around the boat, as if to say, “Thank you,” before swimming out into the freedom of the ocean.

What a sense of relief this giant, intelligent animal must have felt when it was set free! Have you and I felt the great relief that comes from being set free from our sins by the LORD JESUS? The Bible offers this wonderful relief for any sinner still trapped in their sins when it says, "....if the SON makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” As sinners we need to be set free, because all of us have become entangled in the lines of our sins. There are no exceptions: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 

When we sin, it is as if a rope connected to the weights of guilt and shame gets wrapped around our hearts and acts as a drag on our lives. It blights our joys, wrecks our peace, and wounds us in the depths of our souls. And what cruel wounds those cords cause! Sin is nobody’s friend and causes shame and misery in this life, and eternal sorrow and agony in the life to come.

The LORD JESUS is able to cut away the cords of sin from the human heart, because HE went to the cross and bore the punishment for sin’s awful shame. How wonderful it was that the LORD JESUS, the very CREATOR of the universe, would come and die in the sinner’s place! On the cross, HE finished what was necessary that all who trust in HIM might be forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life. That is why "HE was wounded for our transgressions, HE was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon HIM, and by HIS stripes we are healed."

The fishermen cut the gray whale free from the lines that held it and gave back its freedom of the ocean. We, too, need to be set free from the cords of our sins by the LORD JESUS CHRIST in order to be saved for a future, happy life in heaven. If we will take the LORD JESUS as your very own SAVIOUR  today, we will thank and praise HIM for the rest of our days and we will also have the promise of a home with HIM in heaven!

Written by Messages with Meaning for Your54Today

That Grinding Feeling of Guilt!

Purchased from Graphic Stock 

Most of us feel guilty from time to time. I am sure that people who have lost their children through an abduction are tormented at times with guilt as they wish that they could turn the clock back and that they had not left those lovely children alone for the short time that they did. I am not suggesting that they should feel guilty for most of us have done what they did. We left our children safely at a short distance from us and, thankfully, no harm came to them. As our children grow up we need to extend their freedom and we trust and pray that no harm comes to them or that we have not allowed them too much freedom too soon. If harm comes we blame ourselves and can always see what we should have done ‘in hindsight’.

There are times when it is right to feel guilty. If we have genuinely wronged someone guilt is the God given mechanism that warns us that ‘action needs to be taken’. Sometimes we can rectify the problem and make amends. Other times it is outside of our power to reverse the effect of our actions. It is only right that we should fix the problems that we have caused where possible.

Having said this, many mistakes in life are not really significant in the general scheme of things and will not make a big difference in our lives. Courtesy and true friendship, decency and honesty will however ensure that we behave in ways that are commendable.

A more worrying aspect of life is that of human beings and their relationship with God. In our current society we are in danger of being unaware that we have disobeyed our Creator (and therefore owner) and that he does not tolerate people who break his law. I was aware from childhood of the fact that God had stated his principles, the 10 commandments in the Bible, and that I was incapable of living up to them. The passage in the Bible that explains God’s standards is Exodus 20. The New Testament passage that states that we are not capable of living up to these standards is Romans 3:23 ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’.

Now, contrary to public opinion God gave his Law to make us feel guilty and not to make us feel good. The Bible says ‘Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God’. The reality is that when you and I hear the Bible preached and become aware that God is holy and has his standards; we then realise that we cannot live up to his standards and get feelings of guilt. I lied, I lusted, I took something that did not belong to me (time, emotions, things etc) and as a result I am guilty and am limited as to what I can do to rectify the situation. My offence is firstly against God (Psalm 51:4) and will also often be against a fellow human being.

So we all need to go on a guilt trip – but not for long. When the awareness of our wrong living is heightened and guilt is triggered we will be forced do something about it. That is God’s plan.

What can we do? Again God in the Bible tells us what there is no point in doing! God says in Romans 3:20 that no action on our part will satisfy him because our problem is one we were born with, Psalm 51:5. The problem is reflected in our actions and behaviours but it is deeper than that. God says rather bluntly in the Old Testament that all the right things we do are like filthy clothes. We can never be good enough for God, ‘There is none righteous, no not one’.

I say again ‘what can we do’? The answer again comes from God. He says ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’. The Lord Jesus says ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. The early Christian preachers preached ‘neither is their salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved’. God’s Son (The Lord Jesus) came to earth, lived and then was put to death on a cross.  God was punishing him for sin, sin that he did not commit (for he is God and perfect) but that sin that he was prepared to atone for. He paid the price God demanded to put away sin and to provide forgiveness for us.

Go on a guilt trip? No way - admit your guilt to God and then accept his offer of salvation through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will experience inexplicable joy.

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.

If all else fails read the instructions!

I really don’t know about you, but one of the most maddening things that I find about people is that they don’t listen and don’t follow instructions. We all know that happens so often in everyday life. We know that people are told things and they don’t even listen. It could be to do with our health or our money but we often ignore the advice that we are given. Or sometimes people are given guidelines but they ignore them and just do it their own way.

I am writing to point people to what God says in the Bible. But God wants them to listen and to follow His instructions for life. For instance Jesus said one day, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14.6 – the Bible). If you follow that instruction you will become a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ.

If you come to understand that Jesus is the Son of God you’ll believe what he said. He said I am the way to God, you can’t come to God any other way. Why then do people go to religion? Why do people try all sorts of different things?

Peter (one of the early preachers) he said, “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men where by we must be saved” (Acts 4.12 – the Bible). Peter doesn’t give you a choice or alternatives. He says on the authority of what God has said in the Bible there is no salvation any other way.

We need to be rescued, we need forgiveness, we need to be brought to God and there’s only one route because God decided it and it’s through faith in Jesus Christ.

Would you rest on the work Jesus did when He died on the cross. I wonder if today you would simply hear the voice of God and refuse to harden your heart and do what He says:

·      Turn from your sin

·      Obey the gospel

·      Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

    God says if you follow my instructions you’ll be saved. I trust that God will richly bless you today.

    For more information and further explanations of the message of the bible via videos, blogs and podcasts please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

The Blogger's Daily Diary - Thursday

So it's Thursday. 

How has your day been? Good, bad or nothing much happened. 

I had a good morning and cleared up a lot of Internet and radio work. I love doing this as it gives me the opportunity to share the wonderful news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Today was 'video recording day'. I did a piece on Adam and God. It is part of a series called 'Meet & Greet' where I am talking about different people and their encounters in the Bible. 

I had already recorded one called 'Meet & Greet - The first man to meet God', but this one was entitled 'Meet & Greet - Adam meets God - Troubles' a brewing'. It about the reaction of God to Adam's sin and Adam's reaction when he realises that God is in garden calling out for him. 

You know what it feels like when you have done something wrong! You feel guilty, apprehensive and unsure of quite what the consequences will be. Adam felt like that but he should have known as God had warned him that the day he ate of the forbidden fruit he would die. No surprises; God had spelled it out. Walk my way you live, disobey and it will cause you to face death. 

Things haven't really changed!

The wages of sin is still death but thank God, as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the gift of God is external life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Be warned and be saved - it's the only way.