People don't believe in God's forgiveness. Sure, you know that God is love and God forgives, but somehow the reality falls short before it sets in. Or maybe you just think that you are "too far gone" and God forgives other people, but not you because you're the worst.
One place specifically where I see God's grace and forgiveness being pushed away is regarding sexual immorality. I have met so many people who are struggling with shame and guilt from a past of falling in to the temptation to have sex before marriage. They know it is wrong, they know it is emotionally damaging, but after you fall once, the way has been paved and it is so much easier to fall again. So they get caught up in a cycle of failure and shame and guilt and regret...and even after asking for forgiveness, they still feel the weight of their sins.
Dear friend; You are not alone, and you are not too far gone.
Let me repeat that in case you missed it. You are not alone, and you are not. too. far. gone.
There are so many verses where God pours out his love and forgiveness to the people of the world, including you and me. Let me share a few (Yes, a few.) There are so many more, but these are a few basic ones with my personal commentary in amazement at the grace of Christ -
John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Isaiah 43:25 - I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
Daniel 9:9 - The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.
Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far he has removed our transgressions from us.
Micah 7:18-19 - 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 depth of the sea.
If we confess, he will forgive us and purify us. Blot out our sins. Remember them no more. Push them as far as the east is from the west.Throw them into the deepest part of the ocean. This means they are GONE friends. Your sins are gone, and you are set free from them. I don't know about you, but I think it is pretty cool how far God went to show us that forgiveness can be ours. Memorize these verses. Write them on your mirror. And whenever you are flooded with thoughts of your past and your failures, remember this.
Acts 3:19 - Repent then and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
I love this one. While God will forgive your sins if you simply confess, if we go one step further, turn to God, seek his ways, times of refreshing will come from the Lord. I have seen this verse come true so many times in my life. I stumble, I fall, I sin. I sit in regret and shame for awhile, and then I get back up, confess my sins, say that I am going to try again...and I rest in God's peace. I thank him for his grace, and I push the past a little further into the past.
Matthew 6:14-15 - If you forgive men their sins, God will also forgive you. But if you don't forgive men their sins, God will not forgive you.
If you repent of all unrighteousness, this is included.
Ephesians 1:7 - In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.
Matthew 26:28 - This is the blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
This is why Jesus died. His love for you was so great, and he knew that your flesh is weak. He died to set you free. His blood was shed to rid you of your guilt and shame. Let that sink in.
So here is the thing. Forgiveness will not just come to you for nothing. You can't just say, "Shoot, messed up...God please forgive me..." And two minutes later you go do it again and chalk it up to your weakness. Yes, the flesh is weak, but if you truly repent, fall on your knees and tell God you can't do it on your own, you will be forgiven. And if you truly surrender your life to the changing power of Christ, you will be made new.
If anyone is in Christ he is a new creature, the old has gone, the new has come. (2nd Cor 5:17)
So you can't expect God to forgive you and make you new if you do not repent, if you are harboring sin in your life and trying to justify it, and you can't expect God to forgive you if you do not forgive others. Check out the story in Matthew 18:21- for more on that.
The problem is, even though God forgives us, and maybe every other person involved forgives us...there are still consequences, there are still emotional ties, and there is still you that has to forgive yourself. Unfortunately, this is a fact of life and a consequence to our sin. We can not erase our past, but we can learn from it. So many times people fall once, and say, "It doesn't matter anymore. I messed up, I am too far gone, there is no point in trying." No! Please don't believe the lie.The lies are from Satan, and the only way to combat lies is with truth. Speak truth, speak life. Speak scripture. Pray. (Mt 26:41 - Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.)
Dave Ramsey spoke the truth, "People don't like change. We are defensive of our mess, even if it is not working." That means it is not going to be easy, and it isn't going to be fun, but this is when you make the decision if you're going to change. You know the problem, you know the results of the problem, the question is, are you going to do whatever you can to find the solution? If what you've been doing isn't working, are you going to do whatever you can to find something that does work?
One last thing, I found the following and absolutely love it. It doesn't matter how far you've gone, you can be made new and you can have a Christ-centered, beautiful love story. Don't give up on love, and don't give up on God. Embrace his grace, and accept his forgiveness. You are worth it.
"By the time I caught a vision for the amazing purity and breathtaking beauty that marked a Christ-centered love story, I honestly felt like it was too late for me to ever experience it. Sure, I had technically kept my abstinence commitment, but my purity had been forsaken long ago. I had allowed the treasure of my heart, emotions, and body to be trampled time and time again. I knew I was unworthy of a God-written love story.
But then, in His gentle, tender, patient way, my King began to show me that I could be completely washed clean, restored, and made new. If I was willing to repent and receive His forgiveness, I could be set free from all the baggage of the past, cleansed from all the impurity I had allowed into my life. And I could experience the fullness of a brilliantly pure, God-scripted love story, through the power of His redemption. It seemed almost too good to be true, but it was exactly what He promised.
God-scripted love stories are not just for those who have never compromised. In fact, the very reason that Christ sacrificed everything for us was to offer us the chance to be restored, washed clean, and given hope and a future.
If you feel that you’ve “gone too far" to experience a truly pure and beautiful God-scripted love story, let me assure you that it’s never too late to be restored and made new by His amazing, cleansing blood.
Repentance means turning and walking the other direction. Once you awaken to the fact that you are heading over a cliff, simply stop, turn, ask God’s forgiveness, and then, by His grace, head in the other direction. There is no reason to look back or second-guess your position as His child. You should not expect a second-rate version of romance. Once you have been restored by Him, you are clothed in His righteousness. You are entitled to all the benefits of His amazing Kingdom. Your forgiveness is complete. Your sin is removed as far from you as the east is from the west. It is finished.
We only need to read God’s Word to know for certain that He paid the price for our sin, once and for all. We should never cheapen His amazing sacrifice by wondering whether His work on the cross was truly sufficient. And we should not try to improve ourselves before coming to Him in repentance. We should not focus on our unworthiness – but on His conquering, redeeming, transforming power; His precious blood shed on our behalf.
Once you have been forgiven and set free, you are ready and able to experience His very best for you in the area of romance." (Read more here)
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