We’re Totally Forgiven

We’re Totally Forgiven
Article (306)
Sunday 01 May, 2005 by Dr. Bill Gillham

I realize that God has no problems, just answers. But since “God is Love,” and He couldn’t stand to have us in His Holy Presence due to our sin, you could say that He had a God-size problem. He loved us, but He couldn’t stand to snuggle us because we stunk up the place!

So, He fixed His problem through Jesus Christ. Look, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). For “His Own sake” as well as for our sakes! Imagine such passionate love and grace! God forgave us and refuses to remember our sins!

Nothing is impossible with God! God solved His problem. Our job is to solve our problem by embracing His method—faith in Messiah Jesus. Christians would quickly agree that the blood of Jesus is God’s method whereby He forgives us, but many apparently don’t realize that they violate what they profess by regularly asking God to forgive them! Since Jesus solved our problem, asking God for forgiveness—post salvation—is offensive-to-God unbelief.

God’s viewpoint is different from ours: The time dimension is not a natural phenomenon. It was one of the “all things” of God’s creation (John 1:3). Whereas we’re time-dimensional critters, God is not limited by time. This diagram illustrates how God’s viewpoint differs radically from ours.

Time began and time will end. While we think in terms of past, present, and future, God does not: “…with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). Time is meaningless to Him. He never has a birthday! He lives forever in both the future and the past.

He gives us glimpses of how differently He views things. For example, “[He] raised us up with [Christ], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). Look at those verb tenses! We’re “in Christ” and Christ is seated at God’s right hand. Where is this setting located? IN HEAVEN! According to God, you’re not en route to heaven, you’ve already arrived! Hey relax, I don’t understand this either; I’m just explaining it to you! God’s view differs from ours. We’re time dimensional; He’s not!

“Oh Bill, you’ve been reading science fiction. God just sees us as if we’re in heaven.” Well, duh! Since God gets to make the rules, where are we? In heaven!

So, unclench your teeth. Get your tongue off the roof of your mouth. Take a deep breath. God solved our forgiveness problem so thoroughly that He moved His earthly home from the “temple made with hands” in Jerusalem to the “temple made without hands” (Mk. 14:58) in your den! He has even bonded with your spirit! “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (I Corinthians 6:17).

Amazing! God is satisfied with the job Jesus accomplished! We are so lily-pure that we can snuggle with Him! He calls us saints (holy ones) 63 times! Throw your arms around His neck and let Him give you a big ol’ squeeze!

Confess your current sins to Him, yes. Agree with Him that you sinned. Get them up on the table as needed. But now that you are one of His, a Believer and follower of Christ, never, never ask Him to forgive you! Simply thank Him that He has forgiven you and bask in His embrace! He suffered and died so you could do this!

“Bill, do you mean we can sin all we want to?” Well, how much do you want to? You don’t want to! God changed your “wanter” at salvation! You now deeply desire to live up to His view of you and allow Christ to live through you, by faith. Dependence upon Him, is your key to victory.

Look back to the diagram. View God as if He were in a helicopter hovering over earth’s time line. The entire time line is present tense from the helicopter! “B” and “D” signify your birth and death. The “s”’s represent all your sins. How many of these did Jesus bear at Calvary? All of them. How many of them had you committed 2,000 years ago when He died? None of them!

How can you be forgiven for something you hadn’t done wrong yet? It’s due to God’s helicopter view! That’s how God solved His problem with you! Some say God can’t forgive future sins. If He can’t, then we’re all as lost as a goose in a blizzard because all of our sins were future when Jesus bore them at Calvary! So shout it from the treetops! Dance in the street! We’re forgiven!1

If you’re puzzled about where 1 John 1:9 fits, it’s written to lost folks. View this related article entitled “1 John 1:9: Bane or Blessing”

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