October 15, 2021 WHITE AS SNOW
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, Though you sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us from our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
There is no debate-we have all sinned against God; we were in great need of a Savior. Forgiveness of sin is a core message of the gospel and most believers have heard many messages on the topic of forgiveness; yet, it is possible, and even likely that our sins of the past sometimes ‘haunt’ us. Not knowing in the deepest part of our being the forgiveness of God, robs us of the joy of the Lord, and keeps us imprisoned. If we do not know His forgiveness, we live with a subtle sense of shame and guilt. One reason that we may have trouble accepting forgiveness is our pride; it is difficult to admit and to accept the fact that we sinned-plain and simple. The key part of receiving His forgiveness is that of confessing our sins-we must own it; trying to justify our wrongdoings, explain it away, or trying not to think about it, does no good. The only thing that works is to confess our sins to God and turn from it. Hebrews 8:12 is a wonderful and freeing verse: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” We may remember our sins, but God does not! Even though we may have confessed our sin, repented, and turned from our sin, sometimes the memory of that sin will come to mind. Rather than feeling guilt or shame when that happens, use it as a springboard to agree that, yes you did sin, BUT God has forgiven you. We need to know that we have a clean slate before God; our sins were like scarlet, but now they are white as snow; and our sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west. (If you travel north, you will eventually start heading south; but if you travel east, you will never start heading west.) God knew that we needed a Savior; the primary reason Jesus came and died on our behalf was that our sins might be forgiven. Even though Jesus has freed us form the power of sin and we are no longer ‘sinners who continue to sin,’ let us always be thankful for the unconditional forgiveness of God.
Colossians 2:13-14 “And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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