My heart has always broken for those who think that their sins are unforgivable. I've thought, "How can someone think that the all powerful God can not do something such as forgiving sins?" And then someone said, "It's not so much that He can't, it's that He won't."
It's funny how we have the mindset of, "My sin isn't that bad compared to this person", so we can justify and continue to walk in the sin that we know is wrong but when we are given an opportunity to find forgiveness, all of a sudden our sin this the worst thing in the entire world.
I'm trying to think of the concept of God's forgiveness from an outside perspective.
Why wouldn't God forgive my sins?
1) What I have done is so much worse than what others have done.
-Alright, let me start with this: my pastor of 6 years is an ex cocaine addict.
-Jesus hung on the cross betrayed and beaten and told a criminal, who was rightfully on the cross next to Him, that he will enter paradise with Him. Luke 23:40-43 "But the other criminal protested, 'Don't you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn't done anything wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.' And Jesus replied, 'I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.'"
-Jesus forgave a woman caught in adultery. John 8:4-11 "'Teacher,' they said to Jesus, 'This woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?' They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, 'All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!' Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, 'Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of the condemn you?' 'No, Lord,' she said. And Jesus said, 'Neither do I. Go and sin no more.'"
2) The guilt is eating you alive, causing you to think harshly of yourself.
-Guilt (noun) the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime.
There is a difference between feeling guilty and walking in guilt.
Feeling guilty is the Holy Spirit's way of saying, "Hey, this isn't right."
Walking in guilt is walking with the ball and chain that the enemy uses to withhold you from experiencing God's unfathomable love and grace.
Romans 10:9-13 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.' Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"
The Bible does not say, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved... except if you are a drug addict, porn addict, a thief, etc."
3) You feel that you have disappointed Christ.
-Well, yes. So have I. I'm pretty sure I disappoint Him daily because I'm a sinner. I don't have it all together. I'm sure I don't make it a full day without sinning of some kind. Whether it's my road rage gets a little out of hand, or maybe I allow hate in my heart towards someone who has hurt me, or maybe it's a little white lie to my table about how the kitchen is backed up when in reality I forgot to ring in their salad. Whatever it is, I have disappointed God because I have sinned. But that has not stopped me from experiencing His grace and love for me. God's love for you is too immense for His disappointment to waver the grace He wants to give you.
4) If others can't forgive me, why would God?
-Now here is where I would usually pull out John 3:16 but instead I want to share my heart and perspective on this:
I mess up. I sin. I allow my emotions to dictate my decisions. So you may hurt me and my emotions will scream "Do NOT forgive!" I am so imperfect. Others may not forgive you, but I've learned that someone's, or your own, unforgivness is the ball and chain one will carry until they learn to forgive and let go. Our perfect God, who is without any sin, our ultimate judge, has declared and made a way for you to be forgiven, so, yes, He will forgive you.
Here's the deal: God hates sin. God hates what sin does to us and how it hurts and destroys us. God loves us SO much that He doesn't want us to continue to walk in the bondage of sin and what it does to us and that is why He will forgive you.
Now realize that God's grace and forgiveness is not an allowance in which we can spend whenever we please and yes, we will experience consequences, but that's another blog for another day.
My prayer for you, dear reader, is that you no longer walk in shame. My prayer is that your chains are broken free and those lies of God not forgiving you that are being whispered into your ear are finally silenced. My prayer is that you see how immense God's love for you is and that today you begin to walk in grace and forgiveness. No more lies, no more shame, no more justification. I pray that you ask for forgiveness and realize that yes, He will forgive you.
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