Our Father God Forgives!
Playing racquetball taught me a lot about God’s forgiveness.
Two or three times each week, we gathered early in the morning to get our exercise. We sweated, yelled, laughed and sometimes made a good shot. I had a lot of fun, made some lifelong friends, and even lost two teeth!
As I was learning to play, I tended to be hard on myself when I made a mistake. At some point, though, I realized that the more I dwelt on the previous point, the worse I would do in the current point.
What I had to learn was that the previous volley was in the past. There was nothing I could do to change it. I could improve with a quick evaluation of what I had done wrong, but there really was no use in getting upset over it.
What I learned in racquetball applies to life. We can’t go back in time and change our behaviors, failures, or even the impact those things had on ourselves and others.
This was an important lesson for me. When I was stuck in habitual sin, I used to beat myself up mentally and emotionally, not realizing I was agreeing with the enemy of my soul, the Accuser & Deceiver (Revelation 12:9-10).
I vowed to do better. I wanted to be obedient to God, but I found myself continuing to do what I did not want to do. This multiplied my negative emotions and made it more difficult to avoid my sin. Eventually, I figured God was disgusted with me. I was.
For years, I continued in this cycle.
But I can’t go back and change the past, whether it was five minutes ago or five years prior. I had to learn to rest in the truth that all judgment for my sin had fallen on Christ.
Condemnation is related to judgment. All judgment for our sin was placed on Jesus when he hung on the cross. There is no more payment needed to atone for our sin before God. However, there is responsibility we can take to restore us to right relationship with God and others. That restoration begins when we place the full weight of our trust on the accomplished work of Jesus Christ.
There are constructive questions to ask ourselves. What can I learn from my sin or failing? Is there anything I can do to avoid making that same error? What is God teaching me? Where am I relying on my strength and wisdom instead of turning to God in the moment?
Just as in racquetball where every point is a new point, in life, every day is a new day.
This is challenging for us because the world teaches us that our value is based on our performance.
Over 500 years before Jesus was born, our loving heavenly Father told us through the prophet Jeremiah that He would make a new covenant that was not based upon our performance. He said it is “not like the covenant that I made… I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people… for they shall all know me… For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:32-34, ESV)
When we have faith in Jesus as our Savior, we are trusting that He has paid our full sin debt. That places us ‘in Christ.’ Our sin is forgiven, and the Father chooses not to hold it against us (He remembers it no more). Thus, our heavenly Father holds no more judgment or condemnation toward us.
The old covenant was based upon the performance of religious rites and sacrifices. But ultimately those sacrifices could never take away sins. Thankfully, we do not live under that old covenant. “God ends the first system of sacrifices so he can set up the new system. And because of this, we are made holy through the sacrifice Christ made in his body once and for all time.” (Hebrews 10:9-11, NCV)
“Does this mean we can go on sinning so grace may increase? Don’t be silly! You died to sin so don’t live in it any longer.” (Romans 6:1-2, DJS paraphrase)
Dear Saints, I encourage you to agree with God that there is no more condemnation left for you. As I found in my own life, this reduces negative emotions and allows you to go to our Father for power and wisdom to walk free every day.
As Paul said, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 ESV)
P.S. Along the way, have fun and make some friends! Yes, you will have failures and sin. You may even lose a couple teeth! But like with racquetball, you can learn and maybe introduce your dentist to Jesus. Trust me, I know.
I renounce the lie that You, Father God, have condemned me, and no longer forgive me.
I choose to believe the truth that You, Father God, have forgiven all my sins and will never use them against me in the future. (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 8:1) – Dr. Neil T. Anderson, The Steps to Freedom in Christ, p. 13