DR
IP: 71.222.84.138
May 3, 08 - 11:49 AM |
Do We Need God's Forgiveness "on the Installment Plan"? by Deborah Collins
Do We Need God's Forgiveness "on the Installment Plan"?
Evangelical pastors are fond of saying, "How many of your sins were yet future when Jesus died on the cross to pay for them? ALL OF THEM!" But, then, in other sermons, they'll ask, "What should we do when we sin? Go to God and ask for forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ! They then cite 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This verse is for Israel's program, folks! When Israel's program resumes following the rapture of the Body (that's us), God will be looking for Israel to own up to the sins that nation has been guilty of since God gave birth to her in the Red Sea.
Daniel understood the need for Israel to confess her sins when he prayed in Daniel 9. Stephen, too, spoke for Israel when he rattled off God's indictment against them in Acts 7. Israel as a whole, of course, never acknowledged her sins. Instead, Israel's leaders stoned Stephen, committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; and that's when God set Israel aside. Instead of the wrath they deserved, God reached out a hand full of mercy and longsuffering to the whole world through his Son, Jesus Christ, by converting Paul and giving him the gospel of grace.
Paul's inspired writings are exclusively to and about the "Gentile" Body of Christ, while Israel's scriptures have been "placed on a shelf" for a future age. In our scriptures, Paul makes it clear that upon placing faith in Christ, we immediately have forgiveness for ALL sin! "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." (Eph. 1:6-7). You believe; you're supernaturally baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13); and once you're sealed into Christ, you have his righteousness, and need forgiveness as much as he does...which is not at all!
More radical than even that, is the fact that even unbelievers' sins have been taken care of by the cross of Christ! (2 Cor. 5:19). If today a soul is lost, it's not because of sin! It's because that soul has not accepted Jesus Christ as having paid for its sins!
To ask God's forgiveness for sins that he's already forgiven is to display ignorance of what his Son accomplished for us at Calvary. Acknowledging your sins is good, but the proper attitude should be gratitude for the forgiveness you already have in Christ! That attitude of gratitude just naturally leads to us "forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Eph. 4:32).
Let's get off the legalistic treadmill that results when today's pastors fail to rightly divide our grace program from Israel's law program! Forgiveness is our present possession, not something we have to beg God for each time we sin. If forgiveness really did work like an installment plan, could we ever be sure we were really forgiven? Aren't you thankful that it doesn't work like that?
...................
For more of Debbie's posts go to her blog found here.
Source:
|
First post
Prev post
Reply to message
Take Me Home Jesus
bravenet.com