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Searching for God's forgiveness? Do you need to be forgiven for something you've done wrong?
By the time you've finished reading this page you will have discovered:
Anybody genuinely hungry for righteousness, who calls out to God for mercy and peace will get His attention. He moves Heaven and Earth to point them to;
The only source of Divine forgiveness.
Nothing moves God more than a sincerely repentant person seeking His forgiveness. Nothing releases God's Power quicker than genuine faith in His Word of promise to show mercy to all who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nothing more amazing than God's grace to forgive.
The Holy Bible is God's Word, and it declares:
Who is a God like you, Who pardons sin, and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, But delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot, And hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Holy Bible, Micah 7:18-19 NIV
God doesn't begrudge forgiveness, He delights in showing mercy.
You've been whipped by sin, it got the better of you. Come to Jesus. You didn't mean to do it, but you did it nonetheless. Come to Jesus. Satan said it wasn't wrong, and a little wouldn't hurt. You've discovered he's a liar. Come to Jesus now.
It's been your downfall from the instant you were conceived. Sin made you rebellious, proud, and unholy. It has led you into misery, sickness, and destruction. Welcome to the human race.
You couldn't match God's standard, so you ignored it, set your own, then failed to attain even that. Is sin in your genes? Worse, it's in your heart, your spirit, the core of your being. You inherited it from your ancestors Adam and Eve.
... sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. Ro. 5:12
God's judgment followed, and brought condemnation to all. That's why the world is in such a mess. That is why you are guilty before God. That's where death came from.
The soul that sins shall die.
The wages of sin is death. Eze. Ch.18, Ro. 6:23.
There's nothing you can do to fix it. Try all the religious stuff; Pray endlessly, count beads, burn candles, pay money, rack-up merit points, spend your life in good works, chant, quote creeds, perform rites and ceremonies. You'll end up in a frustrated heap, like a dog chasing its tail. It's a waste of time and energy, utterly useless to save you from the guilt of sin, and God's wrath.
Why? Because:
All our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Is.64:6
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.Pr. 16:25
Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved. Ac. 4:12
God has already fixed your sin problem.
He came in Christ, lived the perfect sinless life we were supposed to. Then paid the full price to clear everyone's sin debt.
God had said that sinners must die, and;
... without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Heb. 9:22
But ... it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Heb. 10:4
Jesus said; This is my blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Mtt. 26:28
God gave His Only Son to ransom all who trust in Him. The LORD Jesus Christ shed His Blood and laid down His life for you and me.
He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. Heb. 7:27
God came to earth to redeem you, through Christ;
He appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. Heb. 9:26-28
God has opened the prison door. It is up to you to receive Christ and walk free.
Jesus Christ has paid for your complete redemption from sin, guilt, sickness, Satan, and Hell. Now God gives you the choice: Accept Him, or reject Him, as Lord and Saviour.
There's no other way to God. Nobody else can forgive your sins.
Jesus said; I am the way the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. Jn. 14:6
... every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Acts 10:43
There's one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus. I Tim. 2:5
No priest, no pastor, no religious pundit can bring you to God. Nor can Mary, Angels, the Pope, Mohammed, Krishna, Ghandi, or Buddha. You must come through Christ alone. He is all you need.
When people forgive a wrong they accept an apology, (and perhaps reimbursement) from the culprit. They file the matter away in their memory, and treat the person warily in future, withholding favour or intimacy. This is not real forgiveness.
When God forgives, its depth and finality is majestic.
He gave us the New Covenant in the Greek language. The root word for forgiveness is aphiemi which means to send away. The effect of that is:
The one who sinned may recall it, they may hold it against themselves, but once it is forgiven, God won't. And He gives us His Word of Promise:
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot, and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:18-19
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Ps. 103:10-12
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Is. 43:25
For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Heb 8:12, Jer. 31:31-34
God does this for everyone who repents and trusts in Jesus, knowing He bore the penalty that they deserve.
He does it for the little sins, and the big sins. The only condition; Repent and believe that Christ did enough to redeem them.
Once they have done this, the sin is gone, forever, and it never comes back to haunt them, not ever, in this life or the next.
God's forgiveness is eternal.
Do you need it?
Do you want it?
The LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. Is 30:18
God has shown how much He wants to forgive you:
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: Whilst we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Ro. 5:8
He was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification. Ro. 4:25
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Pe. 3:9
But God can't forgive me, I've been too wicked!
Yes He can, He bore the punishment due to you:
Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Pe. 3:18
Your sins are stacked up high. You stand condemned. But God promises:
Whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned. Jn. 3:18
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Ro. 10:13
Whoever means you. Everyone means you.
God has forgiven murderers, thieves, rapists, tyrants, serial-killers, and some of the most wicked people in history. He wants to forgive you too.
Do what these verses say, and you will be forgiven.
People confuse salvation with religion, but they are light-years apart, and mutually exclusive.
Religion says, in effect; "Pay, we pray, and you get a few days absolution. But you gotta get back next week for some more, 'cos this stuff wears off." Or, "You must repeat this prayer 20 times, beg, crawl, and punish yourself to earn your forgiveness."
Jesus invites; To him who is thirsty, I will give drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. Rev. 21:6
Let the wicked forsake his way, And the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Is. 55:7
You can't pay for God's mercy, Jesus paid it all. God won't let you buy forgiveness; so don't even try.
For it is by grace you (believers) have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no-one can boast. Eph. 2:8-9
Human nature tries to earn its way back to God. You want to purchase peace: but you can't. You either accept salvation and forgiveness as God's free gift, or you will never know what real peace is.
The peace that inspired John Newton to write the beautiful hymn Amazing Grace.
And remember, forgiveness costs you nothing, But it cost God, His Only Son. And it cost God's Son, His life.
Discover How to Receive Total Forgiveness
Once you've received Christ by faith, and been born of God, you will enjoy the peace beyond understanding that God promises to all who trust in Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)
As you grasp the significance of what God has done for you in Christ, you will never look back to your old life of sin.
Here's a transcript of the greatest Gospel message you'll ever hear.
Dr. T.L. Osborn's 'Peace With God'
Read it, believe it, embrace it, and you'll be revolutionised.
Being born again, becoming God's child, is a wonderful experience, but it's just the start. God's plan was to make you more than His child, He wants to be your Friend too. The Bible calls it fellowship, meaning walking in harmony with God your Father.
He leads you to do what is right, by His Spirit in your heart. (God's children are led by the Holy Spirit. See Romans 8:14) You obey and follow His leading because it's right, and because you love pleasing Him.
Your obedience glorifies Jesus, and blesses you. The bond of fellowship resonates in your heart. You grow in grace, and God's will is done on earth as it is in Heaven. It's what we live for!
When a child of God disobeys God's leading, they experience inner conviction that they have missed it. Our hearts convict us; "You boobed. Back up and get that right." Our fellowship with God is compromised until we do what God tells us to do in this verse;
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn.1:9
Father I'm sorry. I missed it. I'll do it right next time.
Okay child, you're clean, let's go!
Some Christians ignore God's gentle conviction of sin and yet claim to be in fellowship with Him. 1 Jn. 1:6-8 says about these people;
If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
So if we walk in sin there's no use pretending we are without sin, it doesn't fool God. Simply confess it to Him, repent, and He'll purify you from all unrighteousness.
Other people just plain backslide. They get entangled in sin's deceits, and lose that wonderful fellowship with God.
Is that you? Are you born of God, yet covered in sin? Come back to the Fountain. Make no excuses. Ask Him to wash you, and though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. (Is.1:18)
The Fountain that flows from Emmanuel's veins, has lost none of its power to cleanse your guilty stains. You're still His child, still accepted in the beloved, you just need your feet washed. Preachers may scold you, but Jesus won't, He simply says:
Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Mtt. 11:28
Accept another fresh start from Jesus. You'll have learnt a few things from your mistakes. He doesn't condemn you. Get rid of your sin, and His Peace will flood your heart afresh. Then read First John 2:12 and hear God speaking to you:
I write to you dear child, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
Don't waste a second, do it now, then write and Tell Us so we can all rejoice!
People fall into temptation and sin because they lack the power Jesus offers in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
It'll be different now, a delight to read, because your condemnation is gone, and you are in fellowship with God