CE 1 YEAR: 14 God’s Forgiveness

Week 14

God’s Forgiveness

God the Father chose you & will protect you

God the Father did something even before He created the world to guarantee your forgiveness forever: He chose you before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined you to be adopted as His child (Eph 1:4-5). That was a decision God the Father made about you before you were even born. He even made this decision already knowing all of the sins you would commit against Him.

What your Dad decided even before the creation of the world will last forever because God will never lie or change His mind (1 Sam 15:29). When God predestined you to be a part of His family, nothing you or anyone else could ever do could change that. Once you are in the Father’s family you will never be rejected. Jesus said: “a son is part of the family forever” (John 8:35).

Why did your Dad predestine and choose to forgive you and adopt you? Christians have debated the answer to this question. But the Bible answers it clearly. The reason God chose you is because He unconditionally loved you (Eph 1:4; Rom 11:5-6; Deut 7:7-9). It was not because of anything you did (Eph 2:8-9). This is what it means to be saved by God’s grace instead of your works. The ultimate reason you are forgiven is because God chose you, not because you humbled yourself and chose Him.

Your Dad’s unconditional love is difficult to understand or accept because no humans love you like He does. Even the people who love you the most will get angry with you, or may even reject you if you do something really bad. But the Bible says God will never condemn those who belong to Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).

It is because of the unconditional love your Father has for you that He can promise you eternal life that never ceases (John 3:16). Eternal life is eternal and can never stop. Your Dad did not promise a temporary life that can be taken away. If you truly believe in Christ, then from that moment forward and forever you have “eternal life.”

Your Dad is even working now to give you eternal security. Jesus said:

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. (John 10:28-29)

God Himself guarantees to preserve your salvation. He is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you into his glorious presence without a single fault (Jude 1:24). God has promised to make your whole spirit, soul, and body blameless until Jesus returns (1 Thess 5:23-24).

Your Dad’s unconditional love for all of His adopted children ensures you will be protected from ever being destroyed or lost until He brings you to the New Earth to live with Him. The Bible says of God your Father: “He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns” (1 Cor 1:8).

God the Son paid for your all of your sin

If you are a born again Christian, then every one of your sins has been completely and forever forgiven by God. This is the clear teaching of the NT. The Bible says the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7). God sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for all of your sins (1 John 4:10). Your forever forgiveness is perfect and complete because the atoning sacrifice of God’s Son was perfect and complete. There was not a single sin missed by the blood of Christ. The blood of Jesus was precious and powerful enough to pay for and purify you from all sin.

When Christ died on the cross for your sins, all of them were future. Therefore, all of your sins have already been paid for, past, present, and future. God’s forgiveness is complete and forever, and going to Heaven is a guarantee! The Bible says that through Christ’s atoning sacrifice for our sins, He has made us perfect forever in our position with God (Heb 10:14).

God the Spirit changed and indwells you forever

All Christians have been born again and made a new creation by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8; 2 Cor 5:17). This cannot be reversed. Once you are born again you are always born again. Once you are made a new creation, you will always be a new creation. The Bible says we were born again with a seed that cannot die (1 Pet 1:23). You will now always be a person who wants to love Christ and hate sin. Anyone who rejects Christ was never truly born again or made a new creation.

The indwelling of God’s Spirit changes you forever. But He also seals you forever. When you truly believed in Christ you were permanently marked by the Holy Spirit to guarantee your salvation (Eph 1:13-14; 2 Cor 1:21-22). God will not break His promise. You cannot make God leave when He has promised to stay. Humans are not more powerful than God or His promises.

Finally, it is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that proves you have eternal life. God wants you to know right now if you are going to Heaven and have eternal life (1 John 5:13). How can we know that? God’s Spirit has indwelled us as proof that we belong to Him (1 John 4:13). If we know we possess God’s Spirit, we know we have eternal life and will go to Heaven. How do you know the Spirit lives in you? We discussed this in Week 3.

Can you commit the sin that cannot be forgiven?

This concern comes from Christ’s warning: “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:29). What does this mean?

First of all, we must interpret this obscure statement with clear Scripture. No Christian who has been given “eternal life” (John 3:16) can commit the “eternal sin,” either in the past or future. For the Christian, “The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Therefore, no real Christian ever has, or ever will, commit the “eternal sin.”

What then is the sin that cannot be forgiven? It is being exposed to so much clear revelation of who Jesus Christ is, but still saying He is of the Devil. This is the context of the original statement. Jesus cast a demon out of a person and the Pharisees said He did it with the power of Satan! (Mark 3:22). The “eternal sin” reveals a conscience that is hardened beyond repentance. Unbelievers can reach a point of “no return” in which they can never be saved (cf. Rom 1:28; Heb 6:4-6). But no Christian has ever, or will ever commit the “eternal sin.”

Do I need to confess my sins to be forgiven?

Some Christians believe you need to recognize and confess your sins in order to be forgiven for them. This is often based on 1 John 1:9 which says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Does this mean that if you do not confess a sin, it is not forgiven?

First, it is impossible for us to even know all of our sins, let alone confess them. Secondly, any sin that is not forgiven by God will be punished in Hell. Therefore, there is no such thing as a sin that is not forgiven for the Christian, whether it is confessed or not. So we must not interpret 1 John 1:9 to say something that ignores what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.

So what kind of confession was the Apostle John speaking of? In the early Church it was customary for a person to confess their life of sin at the time of their conversion and baptism. This is why the context of 1 John 1:9 is an appeal to unbelievers to get saved and contrasts believers with unbelievers (1 John 1:1-10; Matt 3:6; 1 Tim 6:12).

Confessing and recognizing our sins before God can be a healthy thing for Christians to do. But John did not intend to teach you must always confess your sins for them to be forgiven.

Are you supposed to feel guilty about your sin?

Some Christians believe it somehow honors God to feel guilty about their sin. But again, if God has already completely forgiven you, why would He want you to feel guilty? In fact, your guilt dishonors the great sacrifice Christ made to pay the full penalty for all of your sins. When you sin, God is much more pleased if you thank Him for His forgiveness, rather than being oppressed by the Devil’s guilt.

Recognizing your sin and being sorry for it is a good thing. But there is a difference between the Spirit’s conviction and Satan’s condemnation. Scripture says, “Now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). If that is true, then your Dad does not want you to feel guilty about your sin.

In Hebrews we read: “The blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God” (Heb 9:14). Notice that it is not something you do to make up for your sin so you have a clear conscience. Instead, it is believing that the blood of Christ takes away all of your sin. Faith removes guilt better than works. And it is important to have a clear conscience because guilty people do not serve God very well. They will either not do much for God, or serve Him for the wrong reasons. God does not want His people serving Him out of guilt.

The Bible says we should come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Heb 4:16). When you sin, your Dad wants you to “find grace” at His “throne” instead of feel guilt.

Practical Application: Is there anything you feel guilty about? Take some time to talk to God about this and apply the promises in this chapter. God wants you to feel the peace and joy of His forgiveness.

In your small group meeting this week, share praises and prayer requests and then discuss these questions:

1) What did God the Father do to secure your complete forgiveness?

2) What did God the Son do to secure your complete forgiveness?

3) What did God the Spirit do to secure your complete forgiveness?

4) What does it mean to be given “eternal life”?

5) What does it mean to be born again and made a new creation?

6) What is the “unforgiveable sin”? Why is it impossible for any Christian to have committed it?

7) Do I need to confess sins to be forgiven for them?

8) Does God want me to feel guilty about my sins?

9) What was especially meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?