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Answer
One of the most effective deceptions Satan uses against Christians is to make us believe that our sins have not truly been forgiven, despite God’s promise in His Word. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior through faith and still feel uncertain about the reality of our forgiveness, that anxiety may originate from a demonic influence. Demons detest when individuals are freed from their control, and they attempt to sow seeds of uncertainty in our minds regarding the genuineness of our salvation. Among Satan’s many strategies, one of his primary tactics is to continually bring up our past wrongdoings. He is known as “the accuser” «And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” », (Revelation 12:10), and he endeavors to use past sins to argue that God could not have truly forgiven or restored us. The devil’s assaults present a significant challenge for us to simply rely on God’s promises and have faith in His love.
To alleviate these fears, let us consider two impactful passages from Scripture. The first is from the book of Psalms: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” «As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us. », (Psalm 103:12). God not only pardons our sins but completely eliminates them from His presence. This is truly profound! Undoubtedly, this eradication of sin is a challenging concept to comprehend, which is why we often struggle to fully grasp it.
Worry and ponder about forgiveness rather than simply accepting it. The solution is to let go of our doubts and feelings of guilt and rely on God’s assurances of forgiveness.
Another relevant passage is 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” What an amazing promise! God purifies His children from their sins. All we need to do is approach Him and confess our sins. We may falter in this world, but in Christ, we can always discover purification.
In Matthew 18:21–22, “Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” Peter likely thought he was being generous in posing the question. Instead of retaliating in kind for a sin, Peter proposed granting the brother some leniency, suggesting forgiving him up to seven times. However, on the eighth occasion, forgiveness and grace would be exhausted. Christ challenged the boundaries of Peter’s proposed economy of grace by stating that forgiveness is limitless for those who genuinely seek it. Such forgiveness is only achievable due to the boundless grace of God manifested in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross. Through Christ’s forgiving authority, we belong to Him, and we can always be cleansed—even after repeated sins—if we humbly seek God’s forgiveness.
Simultaneously, it is important to recognize that a believer will not engage in a pattern of persistent and ongoing sin (1 John 3:8-9). Paul advises, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” «Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? », (2 Corinthians 13:5). As Christians, we may stumble, but we do not lead a lifestyle of continuous, unrepentant sin. All of us have weaknesses and can fall into sin, even if we do not intend to. Even the apostle Paul did what he did not want to do because of the sin at work in his body “For that which I do, I do not approve of; for what I desire, that I do not do; but what I hate, that I do.”, (Romans 7:15). Like Paul, the believer’s response is to detest the sin, repent of it, and seek divine grace to overcome it (Romans 7:24-25). When our faith weakens and, like Peter, we deny our Lord in word or deed, even then there is an opportunity to repent and be forgiven of our sin.
Satan would have us believe that there is no hope, that it is impossible to be forgiven, healed, and restored. He will attempt to make us feel trapped by guilt so that we no longer feel deserving of God’s forgiveness. But since when were we ever deserving of God’s grace? Grace is, by definition, offered to the undeserving. God loved us and chose us to be in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-6), not because of anything we did, but “so that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory” “that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.”, (Ephesians 1:12). There is no place we can go where God’s grace cannot reach, and there is no depth to which we can sink that God is unable to rescue us from. His grace surpasses all our sin. Whether we are just beginning to stray off course or we are already sinking and drowning in our sin, grace can be received.
GraGrace is a gift from God «For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: », (Ephesians 2:8). When we sin, the Spirit will convict us of sin so that a godly sorrow will result (2 Corinthians 7:10-11). He will not condemn our souls as if there is no hope, for there is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus « There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. », (Romans 8:1). The Spirit’s conviction within us is a movement of love and grace. Grace is not an excuse to sin (Romans 6:1-2), and it must not be abused. Sin must be faced honestly; it must be called “sin,” and it cannot be treated as if it were harmless or inoffensive. Unrepentant believers need to be lovingly confronted and guided to freedom, and unbelievers need to be told of their need to repent. Yet let us also emphasize the remedy, for we have been given grace upon grace «And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. », (John 1:16). Grace is how we live, how we are saved, how we are sanctified, and how we will be kept and glorified. Let us receive grace when we sin by repenting and confessing our sin to God. Why live a sinful life when Christ offers to make us whole and right in the eyes of God?
