RESTORATION OF GOD'S GLORY (6)
--- Forgiveness for Every Sin
The greatest act of love in all creation was when God sent His Son to die for the sins of the world.
All men have sinned, and the result of sin is destruction at the hands of the devil today and death in the fires of hell eternally.
However, God has a desire for a family of sons and daughters who will worship and serve Him in spirit and in truth, today and in heaven forever.
To do that, God the Father sent His Son Jesus to suffer the penalty of our sins.
Father God put all the sins of the world on His Son and punished Jesus because of our sins.
Jesus suffered the agony of hell on the cross for each of our sins, so that we do not have to suffer eternal separation from God in the fires of hell.
When we believe that Jesus is our Saviour, God can legally forgive all our sins today, because Jesus has paid the penalty of our sins.
God can now legally bless us with the life of God and the riches of heaven today, blessings obtained by the blood of Jesus.
To live under an open heaven continually, we must repent daily---confessing our sins daily to God and doing only what pleases Him.
1. All men have sinned and sin brings death and destruction and diseases, today and forever
ROMANS 3:23; 6:23
3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
All of us have sinned, and sin brings to all men death and destruction and diseases.
We suffer the destruction of the devil today and the eternal fires of hell eternally because of our sins, whether big or small sins.
2. In His love, God gave us His Son, so that we may have forgiveness of sins and the life of God and every blessing from heaven today
JOHN 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not die but have eternal life.
2 PETER 1:9
9 But whoever does not have them is near-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
EPHESIANS 1:3
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
When we believe In Jesus as our Saviour, God forgives us all our past sins.
We receive eternal life---the life of God.
We are given all the riches of heaven through the blood of the New Covenant.
3. On the cross, God placed the sins of the whole world on His Son and punished Him because of our sins
ISAIAH 53:5-6
5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
1 PETER 2:24 ESV
24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.
Your sins and my sins were placed on Jesus by Father God when He hung on the cross.
It was your sins and my sins that nailed Jesus to the cross.
He suffered so that we may have peace with God.
4. On the cross, Jesus suffered the agony of hell, when the Father in heaven abandoned His Son because of our sins
MATTHEW 27:46
46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?").
Spiritual death is eternal separation from the Father and suffering the fires of hell eternally.
On the cross, Jesus suffered the agony of hell, when He was separated from the Father’s presence because of our sins.
5. Jesus was the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the sins of the world because He did not sin on this earth, leaving us an example to follow
1 PETER 2:21-22 ESV
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
1 JOHN 3:9
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life.
His sinless life was acceptable to God as a sacrifice for our sins, and by God's grace, we are accepted because of Christ.
Jesus is our example of living a sinless life as a son of God.
We are commanded to follow in His footsteps.
6. If we wilfully sin and do not repent, we are nailing Jesus again on to the cross, causing grief and shame and disgrace to our God
HEBREWS 6:4, 6
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance.
To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.
EPHESIANS 4:30
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
7. We must therefore repent daily, asking God daily to forgive our sins and to give us grace to follow after Him
MATTHEW 6:10-12
10 Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
I JOHN 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
MATTHEW 4:17
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near."
TITUS 2:11-12
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.
8. Decreeing the Decrees of Heaven
In Jesus' name, I declare and decree that
1. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the whole world, so that all men may receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life---the life of God today. (JOHN 3:16)
2. The blood of Jesus has washed away all my past sins when I believed in Jesus as Saviour, setting me free from the destruction of the devil today, and saving me from the fires of hell eternally.
(ROMANS 3:23; 6:23; 2 PETER 1:9; JOHN 10:10; REV 21:8)
3. On the cross, God the Father placed all the sins and iniquities of the world on His Son Jesus, and punished Him for our sins, so that we can have peace with God. (ISAIAH 53:4-6; 1 PETER 2:24)
4. Jesus suffered the agony of hell---separation from God the Father---when He was punished by the Father for the penalty of my sins.
(MATTHEW 27:46)
5. Jesus is the only sacrifice acceptable to the Father, for there was no sin in His life on earth, and I am commanded to follow in His footsteps.
(1 PETER 2:21-22 ESV; 1 JOHN 3:9)
6. I will not wilfully sin and refuse to repent, thus crucifying the Lord Jesus once again on the cross and bringing grief and shame and disgrace to our God. (HEBREWS 6:4-6)
7. I will therefore live a life of daily repentance, as taught in the Lord’s Prayer.
I will daily ask God to forgive me of all my sins and to give me His grace to do only His will on this earth, as it is in heaven.
(MATTHEW 6:10-12; 1 JOHN 1:9; MATTHEW 4:17; TITUS 2:11-12)
Amen and amen.
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A TESTIMONY
"God gave me a transforming revelation of His great love for me, when I saw Jesus bearing all my sins on the cross and suffering the agony of abandonment by the Father”
BROTHER AAA:
“I was baptised when I was 10 years old, and had received Jesus as my Saviour, believing that he died on the cross for my sins.
When I went to university later, I had a life-transforming revelation of the love of God for me.
“One night, during a Bible Study in the university, we were asked to explain the cry of Jesus on the cross, when He cried, ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
“Different students gave their different understanding of this cry, until one sister said, ‘He suffered the punishment of God for our sins, and the Father abandoned Him on the cross because of our sins.’
I have not heard of this revelation before.
“When I went home that night, God spoke to me and showed me the great love of Jesus for me, that He was punished for my sins on the cross, and was abandoned by the Father because of my sins.
I was overwhelmed by God’s great love for me and wept for many days and nights.
“From then on, I received a calling to share the great love of God for all men---to those who are lost and those who are saved as well.
“It was this transforming revelation that led me to obey the calling of God to be a pastor, to share the greatest news that a man can ever receive on this earth, that God loves all men and has sent His only Son to die for our sins.
“I give all glory to God for His transforming revelation to me.”
Shalom.