This week we took a look at another stepping stone in the process of laying our foundation of faith. We previously covered how our first action of faith is to turn away from any and everything that would drive us in the opposite direction of God. We understood that this action would only be taken if we first accept the conviction that notifies us of our need to change.
This led us toward the next building block within the elementary principles of Christ which is faith towards God. Having faith in God has a wide range of connecting steps that make up the completion of this section within the foundation. The first one that we peered into was forgiveness. When we realize that there are things we need to turn away from, we should also realize that those same things are deserving of some type of consequence. The ultimate consequence is an eternity separated from God.
However, we must develop a faith that God has made a way for those deserved consequences to be overlooked and the punishment made void. We have to come to believe that the death of God’s son plays a vital part in God’s willingness to overlook the debt we owe only if by faith we accept. If we do accept, we must then believe that nothing we’ve ever done will be held against us, nor can it hinder us from living a life that shows our repentance is true.
It is through the act of repenting and by faith receiving the forgiveness of God that we are made free. So by faith, we must really believe that we are no longer bound to follow the influence of sin, the world, or our flesh. If we come to accept that we’ve been forgiven and set free, we must then use that freedom to come under the influence of the One who made it possible. This is how our freedom in Christ presents a new way of living that is completely empowered by the Spirit of God.
When we come to the realization that through life, our thoughts, actions, and pursuits really warrant repercussions and eternal damnation. When we really understand that God sent His son to take those consequences on Himself because of His love for us. When we truly come to a place where we wholeheartedly understand through faith in Christ and what He has done for us that forgiveness has been extended in our direction, we must also understand that the need to be forgiven is a need for every human being on earth.
It is this understanding that not only allows us to know our need for forgiveness but also to become willing to forgive others just the same. If we really understand what we deserve and how God’s forgiveness overlooks that reality. We should be so humbled, always remembering that just the same as we need forgiveness so do others. If we have enough faith to believe God would overturn our sentence and not hold our wrongs against us. We must be willing to do the same to others.
Even more than just being willing to forgive the way we’ve been forgiven. We have been commanded to do so with the knowledge that if we don’t do so to others our own request to be forgiven will be denied. We can’t come to see our own faults and then ask God to please forgive us and give us another chance. Yet when the tables are turned not want to show mercy, but instead hold the wrongs of others over their head. Pride is what obstructs our vision while humility is what makes it clear.
Ultimately, as we begin to put our faith in God we must believe that His desire is to transform and sanctify us in order to take on the character of Christ as children who have been adopted into His family. In order to cooperate with His desire we must first acknowledge that we need to be forgiven for so much more than we’ve been willing to ask. We then have to take on the traits of Christ, humble ourselves, stop justifying our feelings, and forgive others. This means that as we grow and mature in Christ the change in our lives should become obvious to all who know us. This is fruit worthy of repentance.
**Audio for this recap can be listened to here
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4WgWKzOddqTBLa6KOVCzJO
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forgiveness/id1740279389?i=1000660473073
Scriptures for this week
Hebrews 5:12-14
Hebrews 6:1-3
Matthew 3:1-12
John 1:6-13
Ephesians 1:1-14
Luke 24:1-40
Colossians 1:1-13
Luke 23:27-34
Matthew 6:14-15
Colossians 3:12-13
Matthew 18:21-25
Ephesians 4:17-32
John 8:31-36
Hebrews 11:6
