Guilt ... melt!
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Lk 23:34)
The seven statements Jesus Christ made on the Cross, while He was going through inexplainable suffering on our behalf, have incorporated all the important aspects of the Gospel message. Each saying emphasises any one particular aspect of the Gospel. We will meditate it today and during the next six days.
First of all, the Gospel is the message of God's forgiveness. That's what Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach: "Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations" (Lk 24:47).
God's forgiveness is superlative. He primarily forgives the "sinner," and his "sins" are automatically taken care of. We are not sinnersbecause we sin; we are sinners so we sin! God deals with the root and the cause, not with the effect. Before the younger son completed his sin confession the father forgave him and accepted him! We are totally forgiven and accepted in the Beloved! No Christian is ever called in the Bible a forgiven sinner. God calls us saints. We are not saints because we are saintly; We are saints, so we should walk saintly.
When Christ was hanging on the Cross between two thieves, between Heaven and earth, between God and man, He paid the penalty for "all" our sins — sins of the past, present and future. No more sacrifice. Our sins are so remitted as if they were never committed. Total justification!
If we sin today we have Christ advocating for us before the Father. But we are to walk in the light. That is, we must walk in all openness and transparency before God, acknowledging our sinfulness. The blood of the Lamb of God will "keep cleansing" us. Like a perennial river running over the pebbles we are under the cleansing stream of Immanuel's blood (1 Jn 1:7; 2:1). Our sins of omission are more in number than those of commission. Never a moment can we afford to be outside the Blood!
There are more prisoners outside than inside prisons. Prisoners of guilt! The Gospel rings forgiveness and freedom! All guilt melts away like snow before the Son! Sins confessed are sins forgiven; sins forgiven are sins forgotten — forever!
Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb!
There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean—
Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb!
(Pastor E. A. Hoffman, 1839-1929, the author of more than 2000 Gospel songs)
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