INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/only-cure-forgiveness/
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Albert Mohler [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/Ligonier/photos/pb.7434613114.-2207520000.1402722043./10152513291228115/?type=3&theater]
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The Only Cure
Is Forgiveness
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Having
looked at humanity’s objective guilt before God as well as the reality of guilt
feelings in some detail, it is now time to discuss the solution. Guilt is real,
guilt feelings are real, and to escape the weight of both of these we need a
real answer. Scripture gives us the answer—real forgiveness.
On
a human level, we see this all the time. People are routinely burdened by guilt
for wrongs they have committed against one another. Parents carry a load of
remorse for the ways in which they have failed in their task. Well into
adulthood, sons and daughters often feel shame for how they acted when they
were teenagers and rebelled against their parents. On their deathbeds, people
often seek reconciliation with friends and family before they pass. All of
these people are seeking one thing—forgiveness from those who have been hurt by
their words and deeds.
True
forgiveness is a powerful thing to observe. It can restore relationships and
reunite families. It can ease sadness in the forgiven and eliminate bitterness
in the one who does the forgiving. Our own experience testifies to this, but
the power of forgiveness is also an important theme in the biblical account.
One needs only to read the story of Joseph (Gen.
37–50) in order to gain a new perspective on what true forgiveness
can achieve.
If
this is true on the human–human level, how much truer is it on the human–divine
level? The guilt we have incurred objectively for breaking God’s law and the
guilt we feel subjectively as a result make up the heaviest burden that will
ever weigh upon us. Knowing that we have offended an infinitely holy Lord is
something none of us can finally suppress. Despite our best efforts to ignore
our sinful condition, in our heart of hearts we always know that we are guilty
of not meeting God’s standard. Until we receive forgiveness from our Creator,
we feel dirty and defiled, and the only solution is the cleansing that is
available through forgiveness.
The
good news of the biblical message is that the Lord is willing and ready to
forgive us when we turn from our sins. At our conversion, we are justified and
forgiven, and the guilt of our sin is no longer placed on our accounts, for it
is imputed to Christ and His righteousness is imputed to us. But after
conversion, when we fall short, forgiveness and cleansing are available again
and again. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive them (1
John 1:8–9).
Coram
Deo
Our sin is worthy of infinite punishment, but the good news of the gospel is that our Lord is infinitely merciful toward His people. He does not hold anything back when He forgives us, but He lavishes His grace upon us when we turn from our wicked ways and rest in Him alone. If you are feeling guilty and dirty this day, know that cleansing and restoration are readily available if you repent and ask God for forgiveness in the name of Christ Jesus.
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