When we realize we are having a personal encounter with our Creator – a loving, pure, and holy God – something deep inside of us instantly recognizes our own unworthiness and human limitation. Like the apostle Peter, at the moment he realized who Jesus really was, we too may say, “Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful person.”
Fortunately, it does not end there. God’s abundant grace and mercy is poured out without limit upon each one of us when we turn to Him in Christ.
The foundation of our eternal salvation rests upon our need for God’s forgiveness. Even the apostle Paul, a pillar of Christian faith and courage, was in desperate need of God’s mercy, as he humbly wrote in a letter to his young assistant, Timothy:
15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 1 Timothy 1:15 (NLT)
It is vital to be aware of and acknowledge our shortcomings, and to confess them honestly before the Lord. The Bible tells us that whoever claims to be without sin is not even being honest with themselves.
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:8-9 (NLT)
God is the only one who can completely forgive and absolve sin. This full atonement was accomplished once and for all through the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, and confirmed by His resurrection from the dead. All of the ritual sacrifices performed according to the law of Moses prior to Jesus coming were actually reliant upon His sacrifice, as the book of Hebrews tells us that the blood of bulls and goats could never truly atone for sin. Since the time of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, recorded in Genesis 22, the Lord has promised that He would provide the true sacrifice worthy enough for the forgiveness and cleansing of the sins of the world.
Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord proclaimed two important principles of forgiveness to the exiles in Babylon, who now found themselves in a strange land because of their own sins and shortcomings, first and foremost their complete rejection of the Lord and stubborn worship of false gods and idols in His place.
The first forgiveness principle given is that, no matter where we find ourselves in life, be it kneeling in a church at the altar of God, shivering outside in the cold after losing everything we have to our addiction, or kneeling to pray on a cot in the darkest cell in the back of a prison after committing a serious crime – no matter what, there is hope. If we will surrender to the Lord, confess our sins, and turn our will and our life over to the care of Jesus, He will forgive us. Ezekiel writes:
21 “But if the wicked person turns from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. 22 All his offenses which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he would turn from his ways and live? Ezekiel 18:21-23 (NASB)
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Each one of us. And He promises to those who turn to Him, “I will remember your sins no more”.
There is a second principle of forgiveness that Ezekiel shares. It is a harder to accept than the first, but it is also the word of God, so we must be aware.
24 “But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and does according to all the abominations that the wicked person does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. Ezekiel 18:24 (NASB)
God does not appreciate it when we decide to stop following Him and turn away to live the rest of our lives pursuing wickedness. Those who do so resume a routine of living only for themselves, often at the expense of others. This is not finishing strong, and it is a dangerous path for us to begin to tread. The parable of the Prodigal Son shows that if we turn back to God, even after this, He will accept us. But the danger is that, over time, if we do not soon repent, we may ultimately lose our desire to ever do so, and fail to turn back to join to Him and His kingdom. This is actually the place where the people of Judah found themselves, so it was actually an act of mercy by God to save them by disrupting their lives and sending them into exile in Babylon.
In his Revelation to the apostle John, Jesus had a sobering message for the once-faithful church at Ephesus:
4 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. Revelation 2:4-5 (NASB)
No matter who we are or where we find ourselves on our faith journey, we are all continually tarnished by sin – our flesh will see to that. When we fail or fall, we need to recognize it, turn to God, and confess it to Him. If we do, He has promised to be faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all of our sin. But there is also a warning – if we decide we no longer need to follow or regard Him and just go on our own way, the lure of sin is a very slippery slope towards disaster. None of us is immune to sin’s temptations and deceptions. We most definitely do not want to let evil once again become our master, as it so desires to do. Much better to live in the light, safe, palm of God, enjoying His creation around us in gratitude, learning new wonders, being filled with His joy, fully cleansed and made ready for heaven by His loving forgiveness. What a wonderful God we serve!
Reflection
Where am I most in danger of straying from God’s path of righteousness?
Lord, I need You today, perhaps more than ever before. Hold me close and do not let me turn away from You and Your love. I confess all of my sins and shortcomings to You, one by one, and seek to turn away from them to abide in the Living Water of Your forgiveness, through Christ Jesus. Guide me each moment by the Holy Spirit, and help me to finish strong for You. Teach me to love and forgive others. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Have a blessed and joyful day in the Lord today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 