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Dear Reader, Psalms 130:3-4 says,"If
thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But
there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."
Psalm
78:37 says,"...their heart was not right with him, neither were
they stedfast in his covenant. But he, being full of compassion,
forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time
turned his his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he
remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and
cometh not again. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and
grieve him in the desert."
Daniel 9:18 says,"We do not
present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for
thy great mercies."
Psalm 138:8 says,"The Lord will
perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for
ever."John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from
heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the
bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of
the world."
Lam. 3:22,23 says,"It is of the Lord's mercies
that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are
new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
Hebrews 7:25
reminds us,"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them."
Hebrews 10:12 "But this man, after he had
offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of
God;"
Hebrews 10:14 "For by one offering he hath perfected
for ever them that are sanctified."
1 John 2:25 "And this
is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life."
1 John
5:13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name
of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and
that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
Jesus
Christ can never break His promises. Our righteousnesses or works
never enter into an equation about whether we will enter into heaven.
The only requirement for Heaven is the Son. 1 John 5:11-12 "And
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this
life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life." When Christ died on the
cross, ALL of our sins were future sins. Some people worry about the
sins they will commit in the future, and think they will have to
continually confess their sins to get to Heaven. Christ died ONCE for
ALL sin. He looked ahead in time, and saw you and He saw me. (Ps.
90:8) He saw the list of every sin that we would commit, and He
lovingly and resolutely drank that bitter cup and went to the cross.
Knowing full well what we were going to do - He said I'll die for them
so that they could go to Heaven with Me. When we ask Jesus Christ
to forgive us of our sins and to be our Saviour, He declares us
righteous. It is not just as though we have not sinned, it is more! He
declares us as righteous! The righteousness of Jesus is placed into
our account. When those who are saved stand before God, He does not
see someone without a sin penalty to pay, He sees the righteousness of
His Son placed on us! Yes, people sin and fail God - but He never
fails! His promises are eternal. Even David said, "For thy name's
sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." (Psalm
25:11) What gives us the sure assurance that He forgives our sin? His
Word. Psalms 138:2 says, "I will worship toward thy holy temple,
and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou
hast magnified thy word above all thy name." God's Word, promises,
loving kindness, and forgiveness never fail.We take hope. 1 Peter 3:15
says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready
always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you with meekness and fear." As Christians,
EVERYTHING we base our beliefs and doctrine on is in the Bible -
because it is the Word and Promise of God. God forgave the harlot
Rahab, woman at the well, the persecutor Saul - who even consented to
the stoning of Stephen, the Roman jailer, the thief on the cross -
whose crime probably involved murder, and many more... 1 Timothy
1:15 "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am
chief." Romans 7:24 "O wretched man that I am! who shall
deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord." |