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Consider these two seemingly contradictory Biblical positions about sin.: 1) "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He (Yahweh) removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12. "And ye know that He (Jesus) was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin." 1 John 3:5 2) "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear." Isaiah 59:2. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8 There are more Bible verses which support each of the above positions on how Yahweh God views our sins. Which position is correct? Has the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross done away with our sins so that we are now free and forgiven from condemnation? Or do our sins anger our Heavenly Father to the point that He deals with us as to whether or not we follow and obey His will? Do we still receive punishment and chastisement from Yahweh if we sin, or did the shed blood of Christ cover all our sins so that The Almighty doesn't count them against us anymore? This sounds perplexing on the surface, but the Bible explains that it really is not, and that to have peace of mind and heart Yahweh wants all of His children to understand just how He views our sinful mortal state. First, let's obtain a Scriptural definition of exactly what sin is. Sin is not what we may perceive right and wrong to be from our own ethical standards. The Bible in the New Testament book of 1st John clearly tells us what sin is. "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." I John 3:4 It is the duty of the clergy to instruct the people in God's Laws so that the people may know if they have committed a sin. (Mat.5:19; Mal.2:7) The vast majority of the Divine Law for the individual, the family, and the nation is to be found in the Old Testament Scriptures, with a few clarifications and additions to that same Law located in the New Testament writings. If a person has not read and studied the Laws of THE WHOLE BIBLE, he/she can not know if they are sinning, or exactly what it is that God has forgiven them of. (On a sad note, the clergy won't teach God's Laws anymore) Now as touching the subject in question, the whole understanding of how Yahweh God deals with our sins can be summed up in one word --- FORGIVENESS. If we understand how forgiveness is applied to our sins, we will understand whether or not we are still presently punished by God for our "transgressions of the law"(sin) or if we have been totally forgiven our sins since the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The answer is --- BOTH. This has been poorly explained from the denominational messages we have received from churchdom down through the centuries. Since the topic of forgiveness has not been made intelligible for the Christian seeking truth, it has led to much inner frustration in the hearts of those wanting to be closer to The Almighty. But if we simply just stay in the Bible, and refrain from reading ecumenical declarations or theological positional papers, the status of sin and forgiveness becomes quite easy to grasp. What Yahweh Almighty has unequivocally declared in His written Word is that, with respect to our eternal life of the "next age", He has already erased all of our sins from His mind and we, His Adamic family in the Faith, are forgiven and accounted guiltless before Him. (Rom.5:11-18; Ps.103:12) There is nothing we did to earn this complete forgiveness of our sins for eternal life in the next age, as it is Yahweh's gift to us by the atoning sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son on the bloody cross of Calvary.(Rom.6:23) However, in the present time of "this age" we are only forgiven of our sins if 1)we confess them to our Heavenly Father, 2)have faith in the shed blood (Rom.3:25;5:1,2) of Jesus Christ for present forgiveness , 3)AND FORGIVE OTHERS OF THEIR TRESPASSES AGAINST US! By this method we are still accountable for our wrong doings and still pay the price in the "here and now" for any unconfessed sin not repented of in this age. This is only fair and just! Yahweh in His love for us has secured our eternal salvation because He knows we are too weak to do so. On the other hand, He's not about to be mocked in the present age by those who would assume that they can now violate God's laws and use the cross of Jesus as the excuse for not obeying those Laws. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:7 [ Send a $5 CASH ONLY donation for my cassette tape study "Keeping Both Law and Grace" to receive this Bible study explaining that The Law was not done away with by Jesus Christ. If you can't afford a donation let us know and we'll still send it] We know that divine forgiveness must be viewed as it is uniquely applied in different ages according to this statement of Christ in Matthew 12:32, "And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world (Grk. aeon-'age') neither in the world (aeon-'age') to come." [Note: It is The Holy Spirit who convicts a person's heart that man became separated from God because of sin and is in need of Yahweh's salvation (Jn.16:8; Isa.44:3-6); and that there is no God but YHVH able to provide that salvation (Isa.44:6; Isa.43:11). That basic truth transcends the ages for all time and cannot be forgiven if denied.... ever! All believers or future believers come to that conclusion... now, or later. However, where particular various sins (violations of the written law) are concerned, those are already forgiven for the next age as the believer is freely given immortality (I Cor.15:53-57 ); yet our sins must be confessed for this age as we still must contend against the mortal body (Rom.7:14,15; Gal.5:17). This is the divine rule on sin, forgiveness, and accountability.] Let's say that a person who is a convicted robber is led to Christ, repents, and comes into the Faith. His sins, as far as eternal life after resurrection are concerned, have been absolved and forgiven because of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross. But that person will have to presently pay the price for his burglaries under Yahweh's social laws and restore the damage to the injured parties here and now. (Ex.22:1,4:Lev.6:4) Paul says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? yea,God forbid, we establish the law." (Rom.3:31) This means that we do have accountability in the "here and now" for our sins, and that we can not use the cross of Jesus as an excuse to sin with impunity. Our sins in this age must be confessed to Yahweh Almighty or He will not forgive us as concerning the impact those sins have on our lives now. If we each want to escape the punishment of sins we fall into presently, the sins must be confessed to The Almighty. If we have wronged our neighbor in a sin not unto death, but let's say stealing for example, we still have to make right the wrong even though we have confessed to God and received His forgiveness. When God forgives us it doesn't mean we are absolved from compensating whom we have wronged, but it means that if we are really sincere in our sorrow that Yahweh Almighty will help clean that sin lust out of us so we don't repeat our vile actions again. God's cleaning sin out of our life is part of His forgiveness toward us, but our heart must be right toward Him in a contrite confession. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (I John 1:9,10) Some say that this is speaking of a person first coming into conversion from being an unbeliever, but this stipulation is clearly directed to those already in the body of Christ. Verse 1 states, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" John is speaking to those who are already children of Christ through John's Gospel message, and explains that we are indeed accountable for our sins in the here and now. Additionally, the confession of our sins for God's forgiveness during this age is based on the prerequisite that we are also forgiving others who sin against us. If we do not forgive from our heart, those who have hurt, harmed, and ill treated us ... Yahweh says that neither will He forgive us of our sins, whether confessed or not. It is that simple and there are no exceptions. We must forgive others. This does not mean to become doormats for people to wipe their feet on. You certainly should protect your rights, and learning to say "No" when another attempts to abusively take advantage of your Christian kindness is only common sense and justified. However, what Yahweh beseeches us to do is to forgive, forget, and cast off internal bitterness that will rot a person away from the inside out, and thus destroy the joy of life that Christ wants us to have. Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:14,15, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see Yahweh. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled". Bitterness is caused by not forgiving and the Bible says it grows like a root ... the longer you don't remove it, the more entrenched it burrows and harder it becomes to get rid of . In Matthew chapter six, our Master has this to say in the "Our Father Prayer" about forgiveness: "And (Yahweh) forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Mat.6:12-15) Christ explained this fundamental principle again in the parable of the unmerciful servant. In light of each of our own spiritual dispositions and our growth in Christian maturity, this parable is worth slowly reading and seriously contemplating. (below) "21 Then came Peter to Him, and said, Master, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his master commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Master, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their master all that was done. 32 Then his master, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his master was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." (Mat.18:21-35 "Trespasses" here is the Greek word Paraptoma meaning any manner of offenses or faults, not merely debts)
This parable teaching of Christ stresses the divine concept about forgiveness where our sins and repentance of them come up before Yahweh Almighty. The blood of Christ on the cross for our sins during this age works for our personal forgiveness by our Father, when we confess our sins to The Almighty and forgive our brothers of their sins against us. When we have included these two precepts in our actions, then Our Father will apply the miracle power of the shed blood of Christ to our own personal sins, washing them away from our lives presently. If any one of the three (confession, forgiveness of others, the blood of Christ) is missing from our sincerity ... we are still in our sins now and will receive the divine penalty according to Yahweh's justice. Please note that Yahweh is so insistent about our learning this heart felt understanding that the parable shows us that the man seeking forgiveness was forgiven at first, and then he lost that forgiveness after he would not forgive his servant! This means that Yahweh is emphatically serious about not being mocked concerning sin and forgiveness. We are each in danger of losing any past forgiveness we have received from on high, if we are not diligent to consistently forgive our brothers/sisters of their trespasses against us!Furthermore, the Bible says that this spiritual law applies to "our brothers" and not to Yahweh's enemies. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we instructed to either love God's enemies or forgive God's enemies who are actively and knowingly working to undermine His Kingdom. Christ said to "love your enemies"(Mat.5:44), not God's enemies! Your personal enemies can even be family members who would cheat you, lie about you, and steal from you. If we have developed enmity and bitterness toward our Christian Israel brothers and sisters we must be opened to forgiving. In contrast to this, Yahweh Himself testified that King David was a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22), and David said that he hated Yahweh's enemies "with a perfect hatred". (Psalm 139:21,22) "Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate Yahweh? therefore is wrath upon thee from before Yahweh." (2 Chronicles 19:2). But we are to love the brethren as Christ commands, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another". (John 13:34) This commandment given to us by our beloved King shows forth it's fruit by forgiveness of our brothers and sisters, and being forgiven by them. It is a condition necessary in this age for receiving forgiveness from our Heavenly Father for our sins committed in our weaknesses. The faithful remaining in America would do well to eagerly implement this wonderful Scriptural guidance in which Yahweh desires to bless His children with victory by faith moved with love. Praise Yah!!
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