“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Hebrews 8:12. (NIV)

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.-1 Corinthians 13:4-5. (NIV)

 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.-Romans 10:9 (CSB) 

“And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” -Matthew 12:31-32 (NIV)

 “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” -Micah 7:18-19 (NIV)

 

Cautionary Tale

I wake in the morning, the sun is shining
I feel pain in my heart, but why?
I hear a voice in my head, it tells me to kneel,
But I know that I can’t so I cry.
I know God won’t accept my prayers
Because my heart is so full of holes.
What can I pray to a righteous God,
Who knows I’ve given away my soul?

My right to pray has come and gone.
I know you think I’m only resisting.
But I can think of no good reason to pray
To a God who’s unable to listen.
Why would He listen? This is my fault.
He isn’t the source of my shame.
I’m determined to tell the unvarnished truth
So, I admit that I am to blame.

There was a time I prayed regularly
And God heard and answered my prayers.
But now because of my enormous sin
He is beyond the point that He cares.
I know you believe He’ll forgive anything
If only I kneel and repent.
But you have no idea of what I’ve done
Or the darkness my sin represents.

I’m grateful for your interest and care.
And I know you’re wholly sincere.
I can see the love shine in your eyes
But please don’t waste any tears.
Some behavior is too extreme to ignore,
Some sins just cannot be forgiven,
Some of us have been condemned to pain
It’s the reason God lets us keep living.

 Of course, I’ll accept your prayers for me.
For, it’s something I know you must do.
I know you’re called to save me
And I know your conviction is true.
But I’m one of those who can’t be saved
If you look closely I think you can tell.
So allow this to be your cautionary tale
That you may never join me in hell.
©Linda Troxell, 01/05/2019

 

Misunderstandings about God

Too many people believe that God only forgives some people, or they believe He forgives only some sins. If I had the power to convince the world of only one thing, it would be that God forgives everyone and everything when we sincerely repent. I think that the confusion comes because the meaning of repent is misunderstood and God’s kind of forgiveness is foreign to us as human beings.

The belief that we can’t be forgiven is usually held by those who also believe that repenting is simply saying “Oh, sorry, my bad.” And that’s the end of it. They think it’s a get out of jail free card, and so, too good to be true. But repenting is much more than that. To repent means to turn away from, but it isn’t simply turning away from your sinful behavior.

There must be heartfelt remorse behind the decision to turn away. We must be sincere in our efforts and we must be committed to permanent change. Repenting isn’t just saying we’re sorry; we must truly be sorry. And we must work to amend our behavior to prove it. Don’t forget God doesn’t have to rely on our words, or even our behavior, for that matter.  For, He knows our heart.

I often hear people who don’t believe they can be forgiven say that they have done too many bad things for God to forgive them one more time. They believe that God keeps a running tally of how many things He has forgiven them. And they think their last sin moved the needle from “a lot” to “too many”.

They don’t understand that implicit in God’s forgiveness is His forgetting; “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”–Hebrews 8:12. God does not keep score. For, God is love and the Bible tell us that love does not keep score. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.-1 Corinthians 14:4-5.

The world is full of misunderstandings about who God is and how He operates. I think that most people, even Christians, misunderstand more about Him than they understand. But if I could clear up some of these misunderstandings I think I would pick two as the most urgent.

First, I would convince people that God loves us no matter what. He literally loves us no matter what happens, no matter what we do, or what we don’t do; He loves us. He loves us whether or not we repent and whether or not we love Him; He loves us no matter what. And second, I would convince them that there is nothing that God will not forgive if we repent and ask for His forgiveness.

Is There or Is There Not an Unforgivable Sin?

Now, I know there is someone reading this who is saying, “But the Bible says there is one unforgivable sin. What about Matthew 12:31-32: ‘And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.’  It sure sounds like that’s a sin God will not forgive.”

That scripture used to be a constant concern of mine as well. I was often preoccupied with wondering if I had spoken against the Holy Spirit, even unintentionally. But when I finally looked into those two verses, I found that they don’t mean what they seem to mean. I think this is a perfect example of why we cannot accurately interpret scripture out of context.

When considering Matthew 12:31-32 we have to pay attention to whom Jesus is speaking and why he says what He does. In this scene, Jesus had just performed a healing miracle. He had just instantly cured a blind and mute man who was demon-possessed. But after witnessing this, the Pharisees preferred to attribute this miracle to the devil rather than to admit that Jesus had just demonstrated divine powers. This, in turn, demonstrated to Jesus just how spiritually bankrupt the Pharisees were.

It was that total spiritual depravity the Pharisees demonstrated again and again that Jesus was calling an unforgivable sin. Time after time they not only refused to believe Jesus’ powers were of a divine nature, they attributed them to evil. They did this, not out of ignorance, but out of a willful rejection of the truth. It was this continued rejection of the truth of Jesus’ divinity that He was calling blasphemy against the Spirit and labeled an unforgivable sin.

I love the way author Rick Cornish determines whether or not we’ve blasphemed The Holy Spirit. He says this:

 “If you’re worried that you may be guilty of the unforgivable sin, you almost certainly are not. Concern about committing it reveals the opposite attitude of what the sin is. Those who might be guilty wouldn’t care because they have no distress or remorse over the possibility.”

Mr. Cornish is speaking to the point that blasphemy of the Spirit is a state of mind and a pattern of behavior that denies the divinity of Jesus and is unconcerned with the will of God. Why would someone like that wonder if they had committed any sin, let alone an unforgivable sin?

His answer reminds me of a similar logic we use to comfort those who ask if they are “losing their minds”; a concept which, while popular in culture, has no real meaning in psychology. The comfort is this: “if you are asking if you have lost your mind you haven’t. Because people who have lost their minds cannot consider that possibility”.

And so it is with Blasphemy of the Spirit. Someone with the belief that Jesus is not divine and who has no regard for God or His will would never wonder if they had blasphemed the Spirit because they don’t believe in the existence of the Spirit.

Intercessory Prayer

Intercessory prayer, something often misunderstood as well, is a gift that we give to others. It is simply prayer on behalf of another. We intercede between the other and God to ask for God’s favor and protection for the other.

Our model for intercessory prayer is Jesus. During His ministry, Jesus spent a great deal of time praying for others. He prayed for His disciples, for the sick, for the lame and those possessed by demons. This then is intercessory prayer. It is simple but it is often misunderstood and therefore, often overrated.

I can pray for you but I can’t repent for you. I can, through intercessory prayer, help bring you to the very edge of repentance, but it is all for naught if you won’t repent and ask for forgiveness. That is, if you will not own up to and repent of your sinful nature then my intercessory prayers will do nothing.

It seems to me, from listening to people talk and from watching television and movies, that it is widely believed that intercessory prayer can save someone and bring them to Christ. Well, although, that’s partially true, I think, it’s been misrepresented.

Through intercessory prayer I can pray for you asking God to show you favor; I can pray for you and ask God to bring people into your life to teach you the gospel; I can pray for you and ask God to bring together all of the necessary circumstances for you to be saved. But no matter how hard I pray I cannot secure your salvation. That is something you must seek and ask for yourself.

Prayer absolutely works for many, many, things, but it doesn’t work in place of someone confessing with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in their heart that God raised Him from the dead. In other words, no one can be saved by prayer alone. Being saved is something each of us must choose for ourselves.  If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.-Romans 10:9 (CSB)

Likewise, I cannot pray you forgiven. Again, I can use intercessory prayer to ask God to be merciful to you, to give you His grace. I can even ask God to forgive you. But in order for you to be forgiven, YOU must actually ask Him to forgive you; YOU must personally tell him you are sorry for your sin (and mean it) and that you promise to change your behavior. Then you must ask that He forgive you.

If you are sincere God will forgive you. And in the future, if you fall short on that promise to change your behavior, as long as you are sincerely trying and seeking His help He will forgive you again. Remember, God knows our hearts. So, He knows when we are really trying; when we are giving it our best and humbly and sincerely asking for His help. When we are, He forgives and He helps.

Coming Full Circle

And so we circle back to the beginning. Too many people believe that God only forgives some people, or they believe He forgives only some sins. I wish I could convince them they are wrong.

The scriptures are full of promises that not only will God forgive us, but He longs to forgive us if only we will come to him and repent and ask for His grace.   “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”- Micah 7:18-19

If you are one of those who believe that God can’t forgive you for your sin, or for your last sin of too many, I hope you are still able to have an open mind. And I hope you will use that open mind to look into your belief with the only reference book that matters, The Holy Bible.

I challenge you to look in the Concordance of your Bible, or any Bible, for the words, forgive; forgave; forgiven; forgives; forgiving; forgiveness; grace; gracious; mercy; merciful; and mercies; and then read the more than 150 verses that speak to God’s forgiveness and our mandate to forgive as well.

After you do, I’m certain you will come away with a very different understanding of forgiveness. I think you will have a new vision of  God’s willingness, indeed, His desire to forgive us all, as well as our sacred obligation to forgive ourselves and others.

 

Let’s Pray:

Lord, it seems that too many of your children believe that they have sinned in a way that you cannot or will not forgive. Or, Lord, they believe that you will forgive only a certain number of sins and they have exceeded the limit. Lord, it hurts me, and so I know it hurts you, to know that your children are wandering in the wilderness without even asking for your grace because they believe you aren’t available to them. God, I ask that you would grant us, the brothers and sisters of your confused children, a way to communicate to them that it is their beliefs and not their sins keeping them apart from you. Lord, help us to convince them of your desire to forgive them. Allow us to convince them that your unconditional, unending love for them is still a reality. Help us to teach your children that you have not forsaken them but they, by believing you will not forgive them, have forsaken you. Help us Lord to bring them the good news that all they have to do is kneel, repent, and ask for your forgiveness and it is theirs. Help, us, in the name of Jesus to bring our lost brothers and sisters home from the wilderness.
Thank you for your faithful love and forgiveness Lord.
I pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen

 

Points for Pondering and Prayer
or
Perhaps for Putting Pen to Paper

• Do you believe that God will forgive only some sins? Were you taught that there are limits to the number of sins God will forgive or a number of times he will forgive a given sin?
• If your answer is yes to either of the above, where did you learn this? Do you remember being told? Or is it just something you have always believed? Can you find Biblical support for the idea? Have you tried?
• Have you heard or were you taught that there are one or more sins that are unforgivable? If yes, what sin or sins were you taught are Unforgivable? Who taught you or told you this? Do you have Biblical support for your belief? Have you looked for support?
• What is your belief or what were you taught about intercessory prayer? Were you taught what it is, how it works, or if it has limits? Who taught you or from whom did you hear about it? Do you have Biblical support for that idea? Have you looked for support?