Forgiveness is a legal matter.
Many people look at their lives and see comparative good behaviour, nothing deserving punishment, perhaps a little correction here and there, but certainly not eternal death and separation from God. Why would someone who has done their best under the circumstances, deserve punishment ?
If forgiveness is a legal matter then it doesn’t concern me, I haven’t done too bad.
I can understand murderers, rapists, molesters deserving punishment. They have hearts as black as night. They are evil to the core, satan’s offspring wreaking havoc on the earth, consumed with their own twisted pleasures.
The legal system needs to concentrate on them.
James 2:10 says “For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” Wait a minute, that can’t be right… that would make me as guilty as a murderer, as evil as a satanic child molester… that just can’t be right. I’ve never done anything nearly that bad.., never even thought about it… it just can’t be right.
It would mean I am subject to the full force of the legal system.
But we think, “if Christ came to pay the legal punishment due for my sins then the lashings with the whip and the beating with sticks might have covered it… His death wouldn’t have been necessary in my case ???”
However, if He came to pay the legal penalty required to remove my sinful nature, that’s another matter. It is my sinful nature that puts me in the same class as murderers and molesters, because my spirit is either born of God or born of satan. I am either a child of God or a child of the devil, there are no other lines of parentage, no other family tree.
And the only way the blackness, devoid of all goodness, my depraved sinful nature could be dealt with, is that Christ would carry it with Him into death. That is what He did. Gal. 2:20 tells me “I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live but Christ lives in me”.
Once my sinful nature was crucified with Him, then He injected my dead spirit with His divine adrenaline, His very own life – and I was born again of God, an eternal being, perfect, righteous, dare I say as holy as God Himself.
Forgiveness as it relates to my eternal destiny is more than a pardon from my worst days, it is a blood transfusion from the very fountain of life.
Graeme
WOW! How very wonderful to define forgiveness for our sins as a blood transfusion from the very fountain of life! The Blood of the Lamb washes me white as snow! Hallelujah!
Welcome Graeme to CB! Looking forward to reading more of your writing. 🙂
Welcome to Christian Blessings from a fellow Aussie from Queensland – you know, where it is beautiful one day and perfect the next (well, so they say)
You might call yourself “writer by some crazy notion” but I appreciate it and the way you progress through a thought.
Certainly we are a child of the devil (Eph 2:1-3 describes our helplessness as such) and what a CHANGE in our lives when we are “delivered from the powers of darkness and translated into the kingdom of Christ” (Col 1:13) and we are ADOPTED into the family of God (Romans 8:14-16)
>> “dare I say as holy as God Himself?”
Praise God, when we have confessed our sin, God sees us only through the blood of Christ, and if we should mention a sin, He will say “My dear child, you are mistaken. I have NO RECORD of that sin” It might seem almost blasphemous to say it, but when we are forgiven, we can stand before God perfect, but only because of the imputed righteousness of Christ.
I’m looking forward to your next question.
We serve an amazing God!
Thanks for your welcome, it is a great privillage to write about the wonders of such a great salvation.
not sure if you set your blogs to post on CB at midnight Singapore time, but if so what time is that for us – we are both on Aus Eastern Standard Time I think ?
thanks, Graeme
We are both on AEST unless you are on daylight saving (Qld is not).
AEST is 2 hours ahead of Singapore time, so midnight in Singapore would be 2.00am here.
I post whenever I have one ready, not to a set time. Hope that helps.
Angela
thanks
A really great article, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for your encouragement.
Welcome, Graeme! We look forward to your encouragement and influence! “a blood transfusion from the very fountain of Life…” That is truly descriptive of our Lord’s forgiveness. God bless.
Thanks for the welcome, I’m looking forward to the privillage of writing about that which is beyond words.
Graeme,
Welcome to CB! I especially liked your statement…. “I am either a child of God or a child of the devil, there are no other lines of parentage, no other family tree.”. Great Posting!
Hi Rob,
thanks for your welcome, what an honour to be able to write about such a salvation. G
We welcome Graeme (mybroom) as a Contributor to ChristianBlessings today.
He hails from Australia and writes under a unique name.
Graeme, we pray the Lord will guide your thoughts with wisdom and discernment into His matters as you raise questions and answers and share them with us. Enjoy!
Graeme explains
“About 5 years ago the Global Financial Crisis had a major impact on our business. At that time I discovered that my roots in God were too shallow to sustain me through this difficult time. The cliché’s and Christian rhetoric were inadequate for the challenges I was facing so I determined to drill down into the depths of God. I asked God this one question “show me Jesus”, and he has. We come into a place of wonder and exhilaration in the amazing work that Christ accomplished on the cross.
Along the way I have also discovered that much of what I believed was based more on the culture and traditions of Christianity, rather than Christ himself, his death and resurrection. So I began to blog along the lines of renewing the mind, Rom. 12:2. I am asking one question a day aimed at dismantling thinking that is based on the culture, but not necessarily based on the revelation of Christ himself. Paul said “I chose to know nothing among you but Christ and Him crucified”… I think a renewed mind is so stunned by the magnificent of Christ and His work on the cross, that all else pales into insignificance.
We began under the banner ‘Mybroom’ which is My Year Bout Renewing Of Our Minds, in CB to be known as MY 365 QUESTIONS. Feel free to comment, encourage and generally enjoy my blogs (I hope).”
Graeme will be posting one question and answer a day. Feel free to comment in love and if necessary let us agree to disagree as we serve and love our God who has created diversity and unity among us . Let us remember that there are some secret things that belong to the Lord, and “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” I Corinthians 13:12. Thank you, as iron shall sharpen iron the Lord leading us.
ptl2010
thanks Evelyn, my sister in Christ