Forgiven

One of the first things we are taught when we accept Jesus into our lives as our Lord and Saviour is how we have been forgiven of all our sins. How Jesus took all of our sins upon himself at the cross. He that was of no sin, took on the sin of the world and paid the price to remove our sin nature and paid for our freedom through his death and resurrection. He is the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 2:2)

Perhaps there are those of you who can accept this into your heart straight away and have no struggle with believing this truth. For me, I understood this as head knowledge and I did believe it was truth. Accepting it into my heart so it became the position from which I lived my life and it naturally flowed through me was another thing entirely.

Also, this forgiveness thing is good and works and we believe it – until we mess up again. What happens then? Do we fall into a shame pattern? Do we tell ourselves we should have known better, question what are people going to think of me now or that I can’t be a good representative of Jesus etc. Yes we may well have messed up, but falling into this trap where we berate ourselves for our mistakes does nobody any good. Jesus paid the price for all our sin, past, present and future. Our forgiveness is freely given and we need to receive it. We do need to be conscious of our mistakes and take them to Jesus, ask for forgiveness and then establish new behaviour patterns to keep ourselves from making the same mistakes again. Forgiveness is not something that should be used so that we can continue doing what we know is wrong because we think we can just apologise to God, be forgiven and continue in the same patterns we were in before. Forgiveness is a gift to us that we can receive knowing that the one who gives it will also be our strength in guiding us and supporting us to do an 180 degree turn and walk in the opposite direction of the sin that would otherwise entangle us in the devils snare.

In Hebrews 10:17 God says that he will never again remember our sins and lawless deeds and in Psalms 103:12 that he has removed those sins as far as east is from west. How beautiful is this promise. We are forgiven, we receive that forgiveness and fully repent and God wipes the slate clean as though we had never even committed sin in the first place. Not only that he removes them as far away from us as they could possibly get. They will never get back to us. East can never catch up to West and vice versa, they are polar opposites. Like two ends of a magnet that repels – they can never touch each other, they are opposites. That’s how far our sin has been removed from us.

God also promises in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. When you become conscious that you are in sin or you have made a mistake that you know goes against what God would want for your life, how do you feel in that moment? The Holy Spirit does not condemn, he convicts! The Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin, so that you will repent, receive forgiveness and remove the enemies hold on you. So if you are feeling condemnation over the mistakes you have made know that is the voice of the enemy and does not come from God. Be thankful that you are convicted of your sin, for this is confirmation that you belong to Jesus and are God’s child. God wants you to walk in your forgiveness free from the snare sin brings into your life. He is convicting you of your wrongs because he loves you so much and wants the best for you. He wants you to be free to walk in the purpose and calling he has given you. He is demonstrating his love for you when he convicts you of your sin and calls you into repentance.

Forgiving Others

Once we have accepted how forgiven we are in our hearts and are able to move and walk in daily life understanding this, receiving this fully and repenting where we need to, we come to the task of forgiving others in our lives. Again some people may be able to do this freely and easily, others may have difficulty depending upon the actions of the person they are being asked to forgive. What we need to understand is that forgiving someone else does not release them from being accountable for what they did. It releases you from the weight of carrying that hurt around with you, causing bitterness in your heart that could take root and cause you damage, spiritually and physically. When we forgive others they no longer hold any power over us. They are no longer part of our thought life. We can release them, bless them and go on to live our lives. Forgiveness does not mean you have to allow them access back into your life again.

Forgiveness = Freedom.

In my own life there are many people I have had to walk through forgiveness for and I’m sure I need that same forgiveness too. I find it easier to forgive those who communicate well, we still have a mutual respect for each other, are able to disagree and work through misunderstandings and reach a form of resolution, even where that means we no longer keep in touch. Where it becomes difficult for me is where the other person is emotionally immature, refuses to accept any kind of accountability for the hurt they have caused. In some cases these people also refuse to explain to me what I have done to cause them hurt which only leaves confusion. In these situations I have to forgive without being able to reach a resolution, which I admit is something I really struggle with. I have to let people go without any understanding of what I did to cause hurt, therefore having no ability to even try and change my behaviours. And in one case I accepted accountability for things that I know where not on me but I did it anyway. I prayed and sought the Holy Spirit with every relationship and I pray was obedient to what I was being shown. Some days memories will occur and I will find myself having to offer out forgiveness again. I still pray for the people I am no longer in contact with whom I have had to walk through some deep forgiveness for. I know that God will be for them everything they need. If you have had to remove yourself from a relationship that was not healthy for you, this does not mean that you do not love that person or that you wish them anything but blessings. It just means that for right now you need to protect your own heart from someone else for whatever reason. Forgiving them releases you from the burden of walking around hurt and allowing bitterness to take root.

Forgiving Ourselves

The last person we need to forgive and this can sometimes be the hardest one is ourselves. If the God who created us has forgiven us then why are we still intent on carrying around unforgiveness for ourselves. Why are we still playing over in our minds the mistakes that we made. The enemy will throw a thought into your mind and then leave you to go down the rabbit warren for yourself causing all kinds of distress. This is just one reason for why it is so important to renew our minds daily to the Word of God. When those thoughts arise we need to recognise they are not our thoughts and cast them out before they take root. Repeat to yourself that you are forgiven. Especially if this is something you know you have been to God with and you have repented. If you feel it is Holy Spirit convicting you, then walk through that forgiveness between yourself and God. But do not feel condemned by the mistakes you have made in the past or the ones you have made now. Take it to God, repent, receive forgiveness and walk in your true identity in Jesus Christ.

You are forgiven, you are free, but it is up to you to do the work, believe it in your heart and walk it out. Receive God’s forgiveness, forgive others and forgive yourself.