The New Life - You're Already Forgiven

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. Romans 5:1-2 (NLT)

I don't know about you, but I came into this Christian life with a bit of a track record.  I burned a few bridges, perhaps "blew up" would be a better description.  I distinctly remember times when I would show up at a club or a party, and "that person" would be there.  How awkward. Sure I'd play it off like it didn't matter, but deep down inside there was that feeling of shame for how I had treated that person.  Funny, it never occurred to me to apologize, or make an attempt to make it right.  Cut and run, that was my motto.  But the problem was, the guilt never really left.  Even though I might not see that person, that guilt tended to hang around, popping up in my memory from time to time, bringing on a new wave of shame and guilt.

If we're not careful, we can fall into the same behavior as Christians.  See, there will be times when we fail to live up to our testimony as Christians.  Times when we make the wrong decision, allow the compromise, do something we know is sin.  Then, right when we should go to God and confess, instead we cut and run.  We avoid God.  Well, we really can't avoid God, but alas we try.  We stop reading His word, we stop praying, we avoid anything that would bring us into contact with our God. Our walk with God becomes ...awkward.

Reality Check:  Romans 5:1-2 tells us that we no longer have to avoid God.  Because of our faith, we've been made "right in God's eyes," and "we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." In other words, the reconciliation has already taken place!  That mean's that when we do fall short, and we come to the Lord and confess it, He's already forgiven us!  I believe that understanding that we're already forgiven should bring a new level of confidence to our relationship with God.

Think about it this way:   Say you get into an "discussion" with your significant other.  You both said things you shouldn't have said.  After the fireworks die down, you know one of you has to initiate an apology, but usually both are hesitant to be the first one to apologize, because the other person might not accept it.  When this happens, we'll usually put out a few "feelers" to see how they other will respond.  Maybe we bring up some non-related topic, just to gauge the mood.  What we're really looking for is the answer to this question:  "Will they be open to reconciliation?"  Once we know the door is open, we're fine to proceed.

Here's the think I want you to know:  When it comes to God, YOU'R ALREADY FORGIVEN!  You don't have to hide in the shadows, or toss out a feeler, you can come before your Heavenly Father with full confidence that your sin has been forgiven, and His desire is to restore fellowship with you.  i john 1:9 promises it:

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. 1 John 1:9

So you never need to wonder if God want's to reconcile, the answer is always YES!  "...Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand..."

Pastor Clay

Peace with God - Romans 5:1-5

“It’s all about Faith”

Peace with God

Romans 5:1-5

(CLICK HERE to listen online)

In 1972 two fishermen were checking their shrimp traps along a river on the South Pacific island of Guam, when they ran across a man they thought to be a local villager.  Unprovoked, the man attacked them, yelling at them in a strange language.  They were able to subdue the man, and they brought him into town, where it was discovered that he was no native villager.  The man’s name was Shōichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant in the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during the Second World War.  When US forces regained control of the island in 1945, Yokoi and nine other soldiers retreated into the jungle to await reinforcements. As the years went by, the reinforcements never came. Seven of the men eventually left, two died in flooding, leaving Yokoi, who remained at his post, believing he was still at war, ready to defend the island the Emperor! He didn’t realize that the war had ended, his country had entered a peace agreement, Japan and the US were now allies! Yokoi didn’t need to hide any longer.

1.         So it is with many people:  Deep down they know they’re not living according to God’s law, deep down they understand that they’re not righteous…

a.    So they feel they have to run from God, they have to hide from God!

b.    Just like Yokoi, they don’t understand that the war is OVER! Peace has been achieved. 

c.    Not by setting off a nuclear bomb, but through the sacrifice of the Son of God.

d.    Through Jesus, God has made peace available to mankind

2.         That's what Paul tells us in Romans chapter 5