Topic: You Have Been Forgiven [Sunday July 30, 2017]
“But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared.’’ Psalm 130:4 (KJV)
This scriptural text says it is God’s forgiveness that causes us to fear Him. It is not His judgment. This sounds contradictory. I thought that we take people for granted when they easily forgive. It is the man with the cane that is feared and not the one with a heart of love. This situation is true in the natural but when you understand the true love of God, then you will understand the power of the love that keeps you from sin.
In John 8, we are told that a woman caught in adultery received forgiveness and was offered the gift of no condemnation from Jesus. I guarantee you that the woman left feeling relieved and she most likely held the Lord in awe throughout her life. She knew the law against adultery and obviously expected to be stoned to death. I can imagine her with her eyes closed expecting the first stone to land on her head but nothing happened. Rather, what she heard was the voice of the Master asking, ‘’woman where are thine accusers? I am sure that woman had died several times in her head because she expected the stoning and not forgiveness.
The love of God reached out to that woman caught in adultery and she was totally forgiven. She could never understand how she was delivered from sudden and untimely death. That is grace at work. The good news is that Jesus has already paid for all your sins on the cross of Calvary. He paid the supreme sacrifice! The Father poured out all His wrath on His only begotten Son and He has no more wrath to pour on you. When Jesus died, He said ‘IT IS FINISHED’. Which means the devil no longer has power to condemn you. You are free and free indeed. All you need do is to appropriate the love of God and receive the gift of righteousness by faith. You may not feel forgiven, but the truth is that you have been forgiven.
Further Reading: John 8:1-11, Ephesians 1:1-11
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Psalms 51-53; Evening- Romans 2
Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.
