Forgiven is Forgotten

Psalm 103:12 

 "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."

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When we come to God in repentance for salvation, all of our prior sins are forgiven.  He casts them away from us, "As far as the east is from the west. . ." as the Book of Psalms tells us.  We have been redeemed, and Christ's righteousness is imputed to us, when God looks upon us He sees a newborn child.   He sees us covered by Christ's righteousness. Just as any child, we are in need of nurturing and teaching, to grow into strong, healthy and mature adults.  Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," and  furthermore, I John 1:10 says, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."  So the cold hard fact is that everyone sins every day.  This may seem like an untrue statement, but it is certainly true.  We may, by God's grace, overcome huge sins in our lives, but there are many ". . .little foxes that spoil the vines. . ." (Song of Solomon 2:15).   Matthew 12:36 tells us,". . .That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Corinthians 11:31 states,"For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged."How then, can we reconcile our forgiven position, our inherent sin nature, and the weight of being accountable for every word we speak?  These truths are reconciled in the cross.  To acknowledge our own sinfulness, and know that we need God's grace and forgiveness every moment is a very humbling experience.  We must spiritually dwell at the foot of the cross.

Just as we must bathe our bodies to keep them physically clean, we must bathe our spirits in repentance.  Unconfessed sin is sin that we see and understand and will not repent of.  This state blocks the flow of God in our lives.  Forgiveness is key, He forgave us by Christ's blood.  We in turn must forgive others the trespasses that we have incurred from them.  This is not to say that we are validating their behavior toward us, only that we are consciously forgiving as God forgave us.  God understands our hurts and the scars that they have left on our hearts and minds.  He is not going to automatically give up on us because we stumble.  He wants our willingness and desire to please Him out of the love that we have for Him.  We are weak beings that are completely unable to accomplish what He has asked of us on our own.  We must rely on Him continually.  God is not out to get us.  He sent His only Son to die for us so that we may live in and with Him, now and eternally.  Keep your spirit clear in repentance, and remember that in God's eyes, as well as need be in our own, forgiven is forgotten.

Patti