Grace That Forgives

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace..." - Ephesians 1:7

This is usually the side of grace that most Christians think of. It's so commonly understood, that it's often taken for granted...as if grace would cause God to permanently close His eyes to all wrong behavior from everyone.
(This idea is NOT grace, though, and it's not even what the doctrine of forgiveness is about.)

Because it's just assumed that God will always forgive people when they do wrong, we've lost the concept of how serious sin really is. This isn't good - because when you forget how devastating sin is, you'll also forget how awesome it is to be forgiven!

Remember this: Forgiveness is always free to the RECEIVER, but it always costs the GIVER.
Yes, being forgiven is wonderful. Yes, forgiveness is freely offered to every sin you'll ever commit. And yes, forgiveness instantly eradicates all guilt and condemnation.
But don't ever let this truth harden your heart to sin. Don't ever become flippant when you realize you did something wrong.

Whenever someone begins to assume that God is going to automatically forgive them, they become careless in their obedience. When that happens, they begin to close the door on the very mercy that they take for granted! Soon their sins go unforgiven - not because forgiveness isn't offered, but because it's not received.

What's Required From You

Forgiveness is always free to you - don't ever forget that. But don't ever confuse free with automatic. YOU have a part to play in God's forgiveness, and that part is found throughout the Scriptures:

   "...if My people who are called by My name...turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin..." - 1 Chronicles 7:14

   "...that everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin." - Jeremiah 36:3

   "...lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them." - Mark 4:12

   "...to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light...that they may receive forgiveness of sins..." - Acts 26:18

Over and over - you see the same thing: "turn, then be forgiven."

What's required from you....a turn. You must turn from your attraction to sin, and you must turn to the God Who loves you. These verses are clear: without the turning, there is no forgiving. This is what we call "repentance". And God will always forgive sin when it's repented of.

Let me be clear: God's grace forgives REPENTANT sinners. But God is not interested in overlooking the sins of someone who:

(1) Doesn't care that they committed the sin

(2) Intends on committing the sin again

Any sin we've committed can be forgiven - but that forgiveness requires you to turn.

An Ongoing Forgiveness

The first time you're introduced to God's grace, this is the form that it takes. It appears to you as the complete forgiveness of every sin in your past. This is what drew you in at the beginning: You knew you were a sinner, and the only hope you had was for God to forgive you.

When you heard the Gospel of God's mercy and grace, you were hooked! You turned away from the life you had before and turned to God. You prayed, you confessed...and you were forgiven.

But this forgiveness doesn't stop when you were saved! God isn't just interested in forgiven the sins you before you were saved - He wants to keep forgiving you! And this ongoing mercy (the continual forgiveness of sins) is a work of grace!

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy..." - Hebrews 4:16

Notice that mercy is found at the throne of grace. These aren't two unrelated terms; "mercy" and "grace". No, God shows us mercy because of His grace. 

As His people continue to turn from their sins, God continues to forgive them! 1 John 1:7 agrees with this: "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." We have a continuing forgiveness - an ongoing cleansing of our sin.

Forgiveness is a process. We were forgiven of all our previous sins when we were first saved. And now this forgiveness continues to be extended to us in our Christian life. God's grace still covers us, even if we sin after we're saved!

1 John 1:9 is probably the most definitive passage about God's forgiveness. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Here we can clearly see that when a Christian sins, God's grace still offers to forgive them.

What does it take to be forgiven after you're saved? Only the same thing it took the first time: you must turn. This is what John meant by "confess our sins" - it's admitting that you were wrong and that God was right. It's owning up to your failure, and acknowledging that you were clearly at fault.

But that's all it takes! There is no penance, no punishment, and no other conditions required.

Immediately after the confessing comes the forgiving.

Faithful To Forgive

And this is where it's difficult for a lot of Christians. We often get so condemned over our sin, that it still haunts us even after we've confessed it. We feel like our sin should still cost us something.

Surely we don't just get to walk away, right?

Surely we still have to pay for it, don't we?

There's no way sin can just instantly "go away" when we confess it!

But that's exactly what happens!

Read the words of 1 John 1:9 again...see for yourself!

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." You have the confessing...and then you have the forgiving. I dare you to show me more than those two steps in this verse!

We as believer have to walk by faith here. We have to remember what John says about God, "He is faithful to forgive us." You can trust Him to do this - He will forgive you when you confess!

You may not always feel like it, but you'll never leave guilty after you've confessed your sin to your Father. No my friends - every time this happens you will walk away clean and forgiven. 

This is the first side of grace...Praise God for His constant and ongoing forgiveness!