Table of Contents:
“The blessing” or “The forgiveness of sins” (“The office of the keys”)
But what do the Scriptures say?
So how do we receive the forgiveness of our sins?
God invites you to, “Come as you are”
Doubting God’s Promise of 1 John 1:9
Do you feel that you have lost your salvation?
The Forgiveness of Sins
Many grow up going to church, hearing about Jesus dying for their sins and raising from the dead (praise the Lord for those seeds being planted). They go to church every week and have a sincere desire to follow what they have been taught. But that’s exactly it, “they have a sincere desire to follow what they have been taught,” without doing a thorough investigation to see if what they have been, and are being taught is in line with the Scriptures. But these dear souls are not to be blamed.
It is often the case that these same dear souls have been born into, or have grown up, being taught many outward forms, customs, and manmade traditions that God warned us about in His Word. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8) Yet, due to the many false teachers and Satan’s craftiness, without even realizing it, these dear souls in turn come to accept and believe that these manmade traditions are what lead to “true godliness” and salvation in Christ. They become comfortable and content in what they know and how they have been raised and believe this must be what it’s like to be a Christian. When in reality this only leads to an outward form of godliness, false repentance is produced, no true change is made, and no true conversion had. And I can completely understand and relate to these precious souls; for this was exactly the life I lived.
Before moving forward, I do quickly want to make mention that many are serving the Lord in sincerity of heart, as best as they how. They may attend a church that is teaching error, yet they may not even realize it or they may have beliefs of their own that isn’t as the Bible teaches without realizing it. God knows the honesty of their heart, and He knows His children that are in true ignorance (not willful ignorance) of the beliefs and the errors in which they may believe. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” (Acts 17:30)
Just as the Lord does for us all, in His perfect timing, He will give that precious soul opportunities to learn about Jesus in truth, where they have been falsely led, or where they may have misunderstood. It’s a loving test; God knows who are his honest children and they that have a desire to know and obey the Lord, will at every point repent and continue to grow in faith by God’s grace. And when they come to see that their church is teaching error and is in disobedience to God, they in faith will leave. What a loving Creator we have; He meets us where we are at and leads us each step of the way, at every point.
“The blessing” or “The forgiveness of sins” or “The office of the keys”:
By God’s grace, when I started to read the Scriptures for the first time and didn’t go into the Word to “confirm” what I had already been taught, I started to learn that there are many traditions of men that I and others had been taught that didn’t at all match what the Scriptures explained. And one of those false doctrines I want to specifically touch on today is the “office of the keys,” “absolution,” or what is sometimes also known as the “blessing”or “the forgiveness of sins.”
What Catholicism teaches:
Many Catholics are taught that Mary is their intercessor, while at the same time they are taught that they are still praying to Jesus; yet they are also taught they need to go to a priest in order to receive instruction to then receive forgiveness (absolution) of their sins.
For example, “Receiving forgiveness” when they have sinned looks like this: they enter into the confessional booth, they address the priest calling him, “father” and say, “forgive me father for I have sinned.” 😦
And depending on how grievous a sin is that is confessed, they are then given instruction on how many canned prayers like “hail Mary’s” or “our Father’s” (for example) they need to pray in order to receive absolution. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matthew 6:7)
I don’t know if this is the exact process for all Catholic churches, but as a whole they believe in the “office of the keys” wherein they believe that the Catholic church was given authority passed down from Peter, (who they believe was the first Pope) to absolve or forgive the sins of man.
What FALC, other Laestadian Branches/splits and Lutheran denominations teach:
In the FALC (First Apostolic Lutheran Church) and other Laestadian branches/splits, it is taught and believed that a believing member of that church, has the ability to forgive or absolve sins (they also refer to this as the office of the keys).
Meaning that in order to receive forgiveness and salvation, one must hear and believe a specific message from another believing member. Specific to the First Apostolic Lutheran Church (FALC), this specific and special message is referred to as “the blessing” where in one believing member says to another “believe all your sins forgiven in the name and blood of Jesus.”
This false doctrine of absolution or the belief that man has been given the ability to wipe away the sins of another man is taught in other Apostolic Lutheran churches, Laestadian churches, Lutheran churches (they believe the Pastor can forgive the sins of the people), as well along with the Catholic church. The biggest difference being that they (the Catholic church) believe God absolves sins through a priest rather than a believing member of the church.
But what do the Scriptures say?
Satan has sadly confused and convinced many precious souls that going to God in prayer isn’t necessary to receive forgiveness of our sins, but rather that they must go to a priest, or another member in their church body to receive pardon, forgiveness for their sins, or even assurance of their sins being forgiven.
When the Bible shows us that if a man thinks they have the power and ability to pardon sin, it is blasphemy in the eyes of God (this is the kind of blasphemy that is forgivable), for it says in Mark 2:7 “Why doth this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?” and in John 10:33 “The Jews answered Him, saying For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself as God.”
Specifically looking to the blessing, or the statement of “believe all of your sins forgiven in the name and blood of Jesus Christ”, though they are absolutely beautiful words, but no matter how beautiful that statement may sound and how true it is that by the blood of Jesus we can have our sins forgiven, man does not have and never will have the power to absolve or forgive sin. Let me explain and bring a little more clarity:
In 1 Timothy 2:5 we see it reads, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” The words that are proclaimed in the blessing are, once again, beautiful words, but the enemy has so slightly taken something that sounds good and has turned it into something deceiving and works-based. If we believe we can only be forgiven through receiving a blessing from another member of that church, our dependence is not on God, but on man. When receiving the forgiveness of our sins, salvation is a free gift from God for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord and repents of their sins. It’s not something that man can give us, nor is there something we can do to cleanse us from our sins. It is only Jesus that can cleanse our sin polluted hearts.
Now, it is important to understand that when we have committed a wrong or sinned against someone (and if we are given the opportunity), we need to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness (this doesn’t mean receive a blessing) to that individual or group in which we have committed a wrong against, for Christ calls us to forgive others as He has so graciously forgiven us. Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22)
But still keep in mind, in sinning against someone, we have first and foremost sinned against God. Though people are certainly affected by our sins, the primary one affected is God Himself. Psalm 51:4 “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” We must not only ask for forgiveness from that person if you are able to, but we must first ask our Father in Heaven (in private or silently) for forgiveness of that sin that we have committed against that friend or group of people.
I personally can attest to going to communion to get my sins forgiven by receiving the blessing, crying for my sins (or because of the things I was struggling or sad about in life), feeling better for a little bit, and then going back to my same old ways, and the same sinful habits. There was never true repentance had, no true change in my life. It was a continual cycle.
NOTE: If what I am about to share below feels a bit overwhelming, and/or if you’re new to Scripture, that’s okay! We were all new to the Scriptures at some point in our lives. 🙂 As you continue to pray in humility before God, asking Him for understanding, and seeking God in His Word with a desire to obey Him, I know understanding will come. 🙂 When I first came to see that the church I was born and raised in wasn’t teaching according to the Bible, I couldn’t have explained the ins and outs of this doctrine or other doctrines, but I knew that God’s Word was true and that specific to the blessing, I knew that nowhere in the Scriptures did God say that man could forgive. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)
If man did have the ability to forgive us of our sins so we could have eternal life, I ask why did Jesus come to this world to die for our sins then?
Let’s take a look at the verses commonly used to support the “blessing” or “the forgiveness of sins”:
1. Matthew 16:13-19 “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? (16) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God. (17) And Jesus answered and said unto Him, blessed are thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (18) And I say also unto thee, That thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (19) And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
When we take Matthew 16:19 in context to the rest of chapter and the earlier verses, we see that after Peter was asked by Jesus, “whom say ye that I am?” And Peter declared who He was, Jesus then declared back to Peter, that he was Peter just as Peter had declared that Jesus was, “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” For then Christ says, “upon this rock (Christ) I will build my church …” for we see that, “rock” here in the Greek is Petra (G4073) which is the same as the “Rock” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:4 “And did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Also notice, that “Peter” in the Greek is Petros (G4074), which means a piece of rock, and (G4073 – Petra or Rock) is a mass of Rock and as we know from above represents Jesus Christ Himself.
So, the “rock” Jesus is speaking about in Matthew 16:19 is in reference to Himself. He is the Rock, while Peter is the pebble or piece of that Rock, and a follower of the Rock; a Christian. Jesus is declaring that He is the One upon whom the church is built, not upon Peter.
When we have surrendered our lives and put our full trust in Jesus Christ, we are born again, (John 3:3) and Jesus Christ lives in us. We then become those “small” rocks or pebbles; we become the sons of God along with Peter and all other faithful disciples through the ages till today. John 1:12-13 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” It is the sons of God that God has called to, “…shine as lights in the world;” (Philippians 2:15) and be those obedient vessels that show and display the character of Christ here on earth. That is why we are called Christians.
Jesus is the only firm foundation and if our feet are planted securely on that Rock who is Jesus Christ, and if we keep in mind that He is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14), then nothing can prevail against us. Luke 6:48 “He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock.” (Note: this is still the same rock which in the Greek is Petra, mentioned in the above verses)
Jesus then promised to give Peter, as He has promised to give everyone that repents (turns away) from their sin and put their faith and trust in Him the “keys to the kingdom of heaven” which are the words of Christ! For the Holy Scriptures with the help of the Holy Spirit, guide us and teach the wonderful ways of Jesus Christ and how we can have eternal life through Him.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Psalm 119:103-105 “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (104) Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. (105) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
2. “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:15-18)
In Mathew 18:15-18 (this is often pointed to along with Mathew 16:19 and John 20:23 to confirm the office of the keys and the doctrine of absolution), we see that in verses 15-18 of Mathew 18, Jesus lays out how church discipline should go. When a person is in known sin it is your loving duty to kindly bring it to their attention (1st step). If they agree and repent (turn away from that sin), they have been “loosed” from their sin because they repented. If they ignore you, the next step is to bring another brother or sister along (depending on the appropriateness of the situation) to let them know that more than one person has noticed their sin and that they are concerned for them (2nd step). Still, if they don’t repent, then in obedience to God as He instructs us to do in these verses, are to bring it to the whole church. (3rd & final step). If after they see that their entire church is in agreement that they are in sin they choose not to repent. Then it is obvious that they have decided not to be part of the church family and are deciding to live in known sin willingly. Then and only then are we authorized by God to declare that they are “bound” in the sins they have chosen; not because we have the ability to or not to forgive someone of their sins, but because God has blessed us with His Word (the keys to the kingdom of heaven) to help us understand what sin is (1 John 3:4), they have simply disregarded the loving warnings found in Bible and chosen to stay in their sin. And prayerfully after being kicked out of the church due to their own choice, they will come to find repentance before it’s too late.
So how do we receive the forgiveness of our sins?
Receiving the forgiveness of our sins from God always goes hand-in-hand with genuine confession and repentance of sin. For there is no forgiveness of sins without turning away from that sin. (Now this isn’t to say we shouldn’t come to God until we clean up our life…rather the opposite, we should come to God as we are, in desperate need of Him for we cannot clean up our lives, cleanse ourselves, nor change our hearts without Him doing it for us.)
It is when a precious soul comes to understand their great need of saving, due to the depravity and enormity of their sins. (Are you a good person?) And they come to understand Who they have sinned against; that with true humiliation and brokenness they seek the only One that can truly pardon them, Jesus Christ the Righteous. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” (1 John 2:1) By faith this precious soul will confess their sins before God, believing that Jesus’ blood can indeed cleanse them of their many sins and give them a new heart with new desires. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26) The erring, sinful man can receive Christ’s righteousness imputed to them by faith in Jesus unto obedience! Praise the Lord!
“It is through faith in the blood of Christ that all the sins of the believer are canceled and the righteousness of God is put in their place to the believer’s account. O, what a marvelous transaction! What a manifestation of divine love and grace! Here is a man born in sin. As Paul says, he is “filled with all unrighteousness.” His inheritance of evil is the worst imaginable. His environment is at the lowest depths known to the wicked. In some way the love of God shining from the cross of Calvary reaches that man’s heart. He yields, repents, confesses, and by faith claims Christ as His Saviour. The instant that is done, he is accepted as a child of God. His sins are all forgiven, his guilt is canceled, he is accounted righteous, and stands approved, justified, before the divine law. And this amazing, miraculous change may take place in one short hour. This is righteousness by faith.”
“By faith he, the sinner, who has so grievously wronged and offended God, can bring to God the merits of Christ, and the Lord places the obedience of His Son to the sinner’s account. Christ’s righteousness is accepted in place of the man’s failure. O! What a wondrous transaction! The greatest ever known to man!
Christ came to this world as our Redeemer. He became our substitute. He took our place in the conflict with Satan and sin. He was tempted in all points as we are, but never sinned. He loved righteousness and hated iniquity. His life of perfect obedience met the highest demands of the law. And O, the wonder and the marvel of it is that God accepts Christ’s righteousness in the place of our failure, our unrighteousness!”
Thank you, Lord!!
When this genuine and humble confession and repentance (turning away from sin) occurs and what Jesus did for them personally on that cross, enters the heart and by faith, they believe that Jesus’ blood can indeed cleanse them and make them whole. It’s then that one’s life is changed. They are born again. Their desires change, their wants change, their perspective changes, they abhor their sins … and they desire to obey the Lord in every area of life. They desire to serve the Lord as He would have them to, not as they believe they should.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Psalms 34:18) & “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalms 51:17)
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:12)
“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19)
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)
“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 1:16-20)
Genuine repentance will naturally produce fruits and works of faith in us, and obedience to God’s commandments, for our old selves and our old ways have been crucified on the cross with Christ, and it’s no longer us who lives, but Christ who lives in us. (Galatians 2:20) Each day after the newly converted soul is blessed with another day of life, as they study His Word, they grow up into the knowledge of Christ, grow in life experiences, and go through more hardships and trials; by God’s grace they will come to learn and realize more areas of our life that need changing, areas of our heart that still need healing, and characteristics that need refining. Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
The fruits of the Spirit and obedience of God’s commandments will always be a result of genuine repentance. Genuine repentance will always result in tangible change, and turning away from that sin/sins. Praise the Lord!
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:” (Hebrews 8:10)
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:3-4)
2 Corinthians 5:7 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:22-26)
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:20-26)
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:16-17)
False Repentance:
Many may feel sorrowful, not because of the sin itself, but rather because of the consequences of that sin. Take the thief that has been stealing money from a local store for years, until one day he or she is caught and is sentenced to prison. More oftentimes than not, that thief will shed tears, not because of his or her sin, but because they have been caught. And this can happen to many professed followers as well. (Prayerfully, they do eventually come to true sorrow for their sin and repentance.)
Side note real quick: Many come to proclaim Jesus as their Lord out of fear of punishment, specifically fear of burning in hell for eternity. For they were taught to believe that God is a God of torment, rather than of love, mercy, and justice; that they either have the choice of heaven or being tormented in painful flames for eternity. 😦 When the Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), not eternal burning in hell. (Hell means grave, pit, etc. in Greek and Hebrew – please click here for more information.) God wants us to choose Him from love and reverent fear. He wants us to choose Him because He first loved us. He wants us to desire heaven because we can’t imagine not getting to spend eternity with Him, rather than having us choose heaven because we fear eternal torment in “hell.”
Take the example of Esau in the Bible, who lamented the results of his decision in selling his birthright rather than lamenting his sin. Though he sought the Lord in tears, the Lord saw his heart. “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” (Hebrews 12:16-17)
Or take Pharaoh during the plagues of judgement upon Egypt. Pharaoh acknowledged his sin, yet time and time again he refused to let the Israelites go and refused to humble himself before God. “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. (17) Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only. And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt… (20) he would not let the children of Israel go.” (Exodus 10:16-17, 20) Here again, we see another example of false repentance. Pharaoh simply wanted to escape further punishment; he didn’t have any desire to turn away from his sin; rather, he wanted to escape the consequences.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (10) I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
True example of Biblical repentance:
Throughout all of the Scriptures, there are also many wonderful examples of true repentance, genuine conversion (Saul to Paul is an amazing example, the thief of the cross for example, or Peter for example), and there are also examples of righteous men and women of God who had come to know the redeeming power of Christ, but backslide and fell into iniquity (known sin). Yet, by faith in God’s promises, they too by God’s grace, got back up. Their soul was restored and made right once again with God. This is another example of genuine repentance. Take Peter, who was a chosen disciple of Jesus who walked literally with Jesus, yet he denied Him, three times..or take David, a righteous man chosen by God, one who put His trust in God and obeyed Him. He too did fall into grievous sin. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then murdered Uriah, her husband. Yet, what do we see happened after David’s sin was revealed to him? What was his response? Did he harden his heart? Or did he seek the Lord with sincerity, and a genuine desire to repent (turn away from) his sins and be forgiven?
Let’s see. This is what David wrote in the Psalms after his sin against the Lord regarding Bathsheba and Uriah was revealed to him.
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” (Psalm 51:1-4)
“I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” (Psalm 32:5)
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” (Psalm 51:7-12)
David did indeed genuinely repent of His sins, he experienced true and sincere sorrow for having sinned against God, which led him to genuinely repent and now, praise the Lord, we have the beautiful heart cry of David recorded in the Holy Scriptures to look to and learn from. David showed what true repentance, a true turning away from sin, should look like. “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10)
After he repented and was forgiven, he got back to doing the work the Lord had called him to do; by faith believing that his sins had been washed away by the blood of the Lamb and he also trusted how the Lord was going to deal with him; if the Lord would determine in His will to give him a spiritual “spanking,” which we know the Lord did allow. Not only did David experience immense grief for the choices he made, he also lost his son that was conceived through adultery, his son Absalom rebelled against him, and Shimei, a kinsman of Saul also cursed, accused, and cast stones at David, and David was fully aware that these were punishments God had brought upon him because of his sins. Though David was often grieved as the result of his past choices, we again see the genuine fruits of repentance that that David possessed with how he handled the consequences, and in humility of accepted them. “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
I’m sure we call all relate to David in one way or many ways, whether we have too falling into willful sin, or take the sins we are trying to overcome and we keep falling back into. When we do this, it brings us so much sadness, discouragement, and often frustration, yet God in His mercy and grace gives us accounts like David, and other righteous men and woman of God who went through the same temptations, trials, and struggles that we do every day. And we see they overcame their many besetments and struggles by the blood of the Lamb! “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)
What encouragement we can all take from such stories as David’s and other prophet’s of old, these were men of like passion just as we are, and often fell short, yet they too by the grace of Christ and the blood of the Lamb, overcame! And the Lord used them to His glory mightily. Praise the Lord!! “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37)
God invites you to “Come as you are”:
Come to the Lord with all your sin, brokenness, hopelessness, fearfulness, and loneliness. Whatever state you may be in, the Lord says to “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) He loves and cares for you more than any other human being or creature could ever love or care for you, for He created you! He knitted you together in your mother’s womb. He knows the many struggles you are currently going through and have been through. He knows what it truly is that is burdening you. He knows what is truly keeping you from forsaking your sins, giving Him your everything, surrendering it all to Him, and stepping into obedience. He knows your fear of what others may think and say, especially what other proclaimed Christians will say. He knows your fear of losing friends, family, loved ones, and your fear of being seen as you have oftentimes viewed other obedient Christians that seemed “crazy”, when they gave their life to Jesus and didn’t just call themselves Christians but lived it out in their life and let the Bible lead them, not what others Christians believe. 1 John 2:3-6, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
Take courage, God in compassion and mercy is knocking on the door of your heart, waiting for you to come to Him. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (Revelation 3:20-21) We may have forsaken Him, but He will never forsake you, nor will He ever leave you, if you simple come to Him, obey Him, and depend on Him.
“The days of man were shortened by his own course of sin in transgressing the righteous law of God. The race was finally so greatly depreciated that they appeared inferior, and almost valueless. They were generally incompetent to appreciate the mystery of Calvary, the grand and elevated facts of the atonement and the plan of salvation, because of the indulgence of the carnal mind. Yet, notwithstanding the weakness, and enfeebled mental, moral and physical, powers of the human race, Christ, true to the purpose for which he left Heaven, continues his interest in the feeble, depreciated, degenerate specimens of humanity, and invites them to hide their weakness and great deficiencies in him. If they will come unto him, he will supply all their needs.”
– A Concerned Christian
Doubting God’s Promise of 1 John 1:9
One of the ways in which Satan often tempts God’s children to doubt His mercy and forgiveness, is when after one has confessed their sins (before God), repented (turned away from that sin), and asked the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness, Satan says “you weren’t forgiven for that terrible sin you committed”, or “your sin was too grievous to be forgiven”, or a multitude of other lies, which in turn, often causes the child of God to doubt God’s promise of 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. They then continue wallowing in their past mistakes when the Lord has already forgiven them and forgotten about that sin. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12)
I have myself done this many times … and it has only resulted in more misery, anxiety, and depression. The worst part of dwelling in past mistakes is that we also reject the peace Jesus wants to give us. John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” It is when we fall into such patterns, that we are only heeding to the temptations of Satan. But praise be to our loving Father, even when we fall and fall again, He is so merciful and gracious to pick us back up and teach us how we can do better next time. “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” (Proverbs 24:16)
The Lord will often chastise us after we have committed a known sin as we read earlier, and with thanks may we receive that spanking. Yet, through this loving correction (Hebrews 12:3-11) we can still have full assurance that our sins have indeed been forgiven on account that we have, with genuine sorrow, confessed and repented of that sin or sins. (Definition of sin – 1 John 3:4 — Exodus 20:3-17; 1 John 5:17) We can have that full assurance because of verses like 1 John 1:9. Thank you Jesus!
By the grace of God, may we all have the faith that accepts and believes the promises of God whole-heartedly and have such an attitude that says: “If God said it, then that settles it” regardless of what our heart (or mind) may tell us. “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” (1 John 3:20-21)
Do you feel that you have lost your salvation?
“There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ, and who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To such I would say, Do not draw back in despair. We shall often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our short-comings and mistakes; but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome by the enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God. No; Christ is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Said the beloved John, “These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”And do not forget the words of Christ, “The Father himself loveth you.” He desires to restore you to himself, to see his own purity and holiness reflected in you. And if you will but yield yourself to him, he that hath begun a good work in you will carry it forward to the day of Jesus Christ. Pray more fervently; believe more fully. As we come to distrust our own power, let us trust the power of our Redeemer, and we shall praise him who is the health of our countenance.
The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to his perfect nature. This is evidence that Satan’s delusions have lost their power; that the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God is arousing you. No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in the heart that does not realize its own sinfulness. The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ will admire his divine character; but if we do not see our own moral deformity, it is unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view of the beauty and excellence of Christ.
The less we see to esteem in ourselves, the more we shall see to esteem in the infinite purity and loveliness of our Saviour. A view of our sinfulness drives us to him who can pardon; and when the soul, realizing its helplessness reaches out after Christ, he will reveal himself in power. The more our sense of need drives us to him and to the word of God, the more exalted views we shall have of his character, and the more fully we shall reflect his image.”
– A Concerned Christian
To conclude:
We have all sinned, we have all messed up time and time again. Yet, if you are reading this today, God is and has been merciful to you, for you not only have the ability to read but you also still have breath in your lungs and a beating heart. He has given you another day to be alive and another opportunity to humble yourselves before Him and cling to His outstretched, nail-pierced hands of mercy and love. “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands…” (Isaiah 49:16)
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:8-10)
No matter how far off the path you have fallen or repeated the cycle of asking the Lord for forgiveness, only to fall again into that same sin, there is abundant forgiveness, longsuffering, and grace in Jesus Christ. He knows all that you have been through and have suffered through, better than you most likely realize. He is waiting for you to come to Him. He wants to know you and sup with you. He wants you to overcome. Wrestle with God in prayer, fast and pray, plead at the feet of Jesus, and by faith believe that He will help you to overcome. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
Take courage; Jesus more than any other human can relate to your current sufferings. For He suffered through the very same afflictions and temptations that we go through on a day-to-day basis when He walked among us. What a loving Saviour! What a personal Saviour we have! He can relate to our struggles and sufferings better than anyone else ever could. Hebrews 4:15-16 “For we have not an high priest (Jesus) which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
By faith cling to Jesus. Cling to His many precious promises found within His Word. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)
Keep seeking Him every day! “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29) Even if He doesn’t feel near, even if it doesn’t feel like He is answering your prayers, even if you don’t feel you are growing in faith or growing in trust … by faith continue pushing forward, continue to pray, read, and study your Bible, continue to plead before the throne for continued light and understanding of His will and strength to obey in all things.
May the Lord, Jesus Christ bless you abundantly!
Healing Grace of God 
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