Lesson 9 Forgiveness

From the Message Bible----

“Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free either. Abundantly free! Ephesians 1:7

How many times do we live as if we are totally and abundantly free? I don't know about you or your friends and family but as I have walked through this life, I have found we are a people often burdened by our fears, doubt and unbelief. What of this freedom that is spoken about in Ephesians 1? At this point I would like to digress to spend some time looking at both the Old and the New Covenant. Understanding the covenant blessings in Christ Jesus secured in the New Covenant of Christ's blood is essential to walking and living in the freedom for which Christ died.

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.... For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities (habitual sin) will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:8-12)

We are granted a clean slate at our new birth. Living under a burden of guilt from sin should no longer be our way of life. We cheapen the blood of Christ when we refuse to receive this absolution of our sins. Perhaps you have found this freedom in your walk with Christ. Or perhaps you find yourself , along with most Christians still living in the Old Covenant mindset, doing penance and continually looking for some form of sacrifice for your latest indiscretion. One of our greatest obstacles to living in the freedom of the New Covenant is misunderstanding God's total forgiveness of our sin.

“Now where there is absolute remission (forgiveness and cancellation of the penalty) of these [sins and lawbreaking], there is no longer any offering to be made to atone for sins. “ (Hebrews 10:18)

“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: (return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.”) (Isaiah 44:22)

“I, even, I am He Who blots out and cancels your transgressions, for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)

“Every benefit and blessing we possess in our redemption including complete and total victory over Satan, is based on Jesus and His triumph over Satan at the Cross. We have victory over Satan because of Jesus' shed blood. The oldtimers in Pentecost understood a truth about the blood of Jesus.” (Hagin, The Triumphant Church, p.187) As we close today, let us remember to make much of the blood of Jesus, our purchase price and receive and trust that our sins have been completely blotted out to be remembered no more. I leave you with this verse and a question....

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Dear Son; In whom we have redemption THROUGH HIS BLOOD, even the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13, 14)

In our next lesson we will go beyond Ephesians chapter one to learn more about the Old and New Covenants. This teaching is essential in our understanding of our covenant blessings and our identity in Christ.