“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
Christians aren’t perfect. Christians are forgiven.
There is a huge difference.
Even after accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, every one of us continues to struggle with sin. In our corporate confession of sins I remind our congregation that we are not merely sinners, but that we are repeat sinners!
The devil will use this to make us feel shame.
The Holy Spirit uses this to make us more like Christ. Of course we are repeat sinners, but God’s grace and forgiveness is greater than our sins. That we struggle with sin is a good thing. That we struggle with sin is a sign that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives. It’s when we stop struggling with the sin in our life that we are in trouble.
The reason why we have total confidence in our salvation is not because of our deeds and misdeeds. The reason why we have total confidence in our salvation is because of all that God has done in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Charles Spurgeon writes, “You stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if he were you.”
Christ bore our sins in his body and paid the debt of sin by dying on the cross and descending into hell on our behalf.
But he rose again! He rose again and because of Christ, we are able to stand before God with confidence that our sins have been forgiven. Because of what God has done in his Son Jesus Christ, when God sees us, he cannot see us apart from seeing us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
That is the reason why repeat sinners are forgiven.
Amen! Amen! Amen! Thank you Jesus!!!
Praxis: Faith in Action 