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Thursday, April 13, 2023

I Can’t be Forgiven – Lies of the Enemy #4– Purity 1016


I Can’t be Forgiven – Lies of the Enemy #4– Purity 1016

Purity 1016 04/13/2023 Purity 1016 Podcast

Purity 1016 on YouTube: 



Good morning,

Today’s photo a brick tunnel pathway comes to us from my sister in law, Megan Seguin, who shared this scene on social media yesterday from her road trip family vacation that made a stop at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.  

Well, It’s Thursday and as is my habit, I am sharing today’s photo as a visual encouragement to get on or to stay on the path of Christian discipleship even if the going gets “tight” and you feel that the world is closing in on you. 

When we decide to follow Jesus Christ with the way we lead our lives, their will invariably some push back from the world as lifelong friends, or even family members, may reject your new life of faith and possibly end their relationships with you because of it! Also the spiritual forces of darkness are not happy to lose you to God’s kingdom and usually retaliate with “fiery darts” to  tempt, accuse or condemn you. 

Scripture reveals instances where the enemy influenced people in their through lives and so when we have thoughts that would cause us to go back to the sins we repented of or doubt the sincerity of our faith or our worthiness, we have to realize that those thoughts may not be our own and could be the Lies of the Enemy.   

And so today we continue our examination of some of the common lies the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith or to choose not to follow the Lord with the way we live our lives. 

So today’s big lie is:

Lie # 4: I Can’t Be Forgiven.     

What better way is there to keep Christians from enjoying their lives and being a force for the kingdom of God than to make them doubt that they could ever be forgiven for their sins? 

This Lie, that “I can’t be forgiven for all the things I ‘ve done! (or that REALLY BAD THING I have done!), is in direct opposition to the gospel of Jesus Christ that tells us that Christ died to pay for the penalty of all the sins of the world.

Romans 6:23 (NLT2) tells us
23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christ’s death paid the “wages of sin” for anyone who receives the free gift of God, forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:7 (NLT2) tells us that God
7  … is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

We are forgiven of our sins by grace and through faith in Jesus.

Christ, Himself, spoke of His authority to forgive sins throughout his earthly ministry.  At a dinner party of a Pharisees and\ immoral woman came and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and hair and anointed him with expensive perfume. It was quite a scene and it caused the host to wonder why Jesus would let a sinner do this to Him. After telling a parable about the forgiveness of debts and how we love much when we are forgiven much, Christ declared that the sinful women was forgiven and it wasn’t because of what she did. Jesus said in: 

Luke 7:47-50 (NLT2)
47  “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”
48  Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49  The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
50  And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

She was saved not because of her foot washing ability, she was saved because she put her faith in Jesus! And likewise any of us, who put their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior are forgiven for our sins.  And that is all our sins! Past, present, and future. 

The Apostle John wrote to the early church to encourage us in our attempts to live a holy life and even gave us instructions if we should go astray.  In

1 John 1:9 (NLT2) John tells us that when we sin we only need to confess them to God and repent:
9  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

And if you think this is limited in some way or is inviting into a sin-confess cycle of licentious living, John goes on to say:

1 John 2:1-2 (NLT2)
1  My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.
2  He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

So we are to endeavor to walk away from sinful living and to be assured that Christ’s work not only paid for our sins but the sins of the world.   As

John 3:16-17 (NLT2) tells us
16  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
17  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

So while Christ’s work paid for all the sins of the world, in order to be forgiven and saved from God’s wrath, we have to believe – put our faith in Jesus.  

So to combat today’s lie of the enemy, that “I can’t be forgiven”, we have to put our faith in Jesus, and know and agree with the fact that what the Bible says is true, and thus know and experience the freedom, victory, and new life that we comes from God and knowing that we have been forgiven for everything we have ever done or will do, no matter how big or how many our sins may be. 

So rejoice! You can be forgiven! If you have put your faith in Jesus, You ARE forgiven! 

Often we don’t feel forgiven, because we either dwell on our pasts or never stop living in the past by continuing to live in sin.    

Telling ourselves that we are forgiven, when we are walking in darkness can be cold comfort as the Holy Spirit convicts us that we aren’t supposed to be living that way any longer.   To alleviate the conviction and to experience the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, we have to be “real” with God and ask Him to give us the strength and guidance to repent of our sins and to stop walking in darkness.  

If we “don’t feel” forgiven because we are being condemned by the thoughts of the way we used to live, but have actually not lived that for some time (even one day), we have to realize that those feelings of guilt or condemnation are not from God. Either we are beating ourselves up or the enemy is sending thoughts to condemn and accuse of “not really being a Christian” or not “really being forgiven”. 

If that’s happening we have to realize that there is no condemnation for those in Christ, and we need to choose to believe that God has forgiven us, we are really Christians and reject the lies that the enemy wants us to believe to keep us in chains.  

But we have been set free, and to experience the freedom we already have, we just have to know we are in Christ and live like it.   

So reject that lie – that you can’t be forgiven – and stand in the truth of your new life in Christ

 

For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .

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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Psalm 18:30 (NLT2)
30  God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

Today’s verse reminds us that God’s way is perfect and all His promises are true and that He is a shield of protection to all who put their faith in Him.   

God’s way is Jesus Christ – THE WAY – THE TRUTH - & THE LIFE.  And the promises of  the forgiveness of sins, a new eternal life, salvation, blessings, and protection are all true!   

Because we have the promise of eternal life in God’s kingdom, we have the ultimate protection. Because God’s promises are true we have the ultimate peace. And when we make the decision to put our faith in Jesus (God’s perfect way) and following Him in the way we live our lives, we can continuously discover just how perfect God’s way is!

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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.

Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The Sovereignty of God.”

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own private study and to support his work.  This resource is available on many websites for less than $20.00.

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

By  ARTHUR W. PINK

CONCLUSION continues

 

Once more. What a word was that of the Lord Jesus as He stood before Pilate! Who can depict the scene! There was the Roman official, and there also was the Servant of Jehovah standing before him. Said Pilate, “Whence art Thou?” And we read “Jesus gave him no answer.” Then said Pilate unto Him “Speakest Thou not unto me? Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?” (John 19:10). Ah! that is what Pilate thought. That is what many another has thought. He was merely voicing the common conviction of the human heart, the heart which leaves God out of its reckoning. But hear the Lord Jesus as He corrects Pilate, and at the same time repudiates the proud boasting of men in general: “thou couldest have no power against Me, except it were given thee from above” (John 19:11). How sweeping is this assertion! Man—even though he be a prominent official in the most influential empire of his day—has no power except that which is given him from above, no power, even, to do that which is evil, i.e., carry out his own evil designs unless God empowers him so that His purpose may be forwarded. It was God who gave Pilate the power to sentence to death His well-beloved Son! And how this rebukes the sophistries and reasonings of men who argue that God does nothing more than permit evil! Why, go right back to the very first words spoken by the Lord God to man after the Fall and hear Him saying “I will put ENMITY between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed” (Gen. 3:15)! Bare permission of sin does not cover all the facts which are revealed in Scripture touching this mystery. As Calvin succinctly remarked “But what reason shall we assign for His permitting it but because it is His will?

At the close of chapter eleven we promised to give attention to one or two other Difficulties which were not examined at that time. To them we now turn. If God has not only predetermined the salvation of His own but has also foreordained the good works which they are to walk in (Eph. 2:10), then what incentive remains for us to strive after practical godliness? If God has fixed the number of those who are to be saved, and the others are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, then what encouragement have we to preach the Gospel to the lost? Let us take up these questions in the order of mention.[1]

---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------

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My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  her Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)

“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship



[1] Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1949), 244–245.

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