If you’ve ever felt guilt and remorse for something you said or did that hurt someone, you’re not alone. We’ve all felt the pain of regret for our mistakes at one time or another, and wondered how to atone for them and move on. Trying to make amends through our own efforts leaves us wondering if we can ever do enough to undo the wrong that we’ve done. We have two ways of dealing with this: we can either continue to beat ourselves up over our sins, or accept the permanent forgiveness Jesus offers us through His finished works.

Jesus loves us so much that He went to the cross on our behalf to wash away every sin we could ever commit. He asked His heavenly Father to forgive His tormenters before He died. When He uttered, “It is finished,” those three words indicated the completion of all that He had come to earth to accomplish for us. Faith in this level of total and complete forgiveness He extends to us enables us to forgive ourselves.

This was a powerful way that God demonstrated His grace toward us. Because of the blood Jesus shed, we no longer have to rely on our own efforts to do what God has already done. This one-time sacrifice obtained eternal redemption for us, and it purges our conscience from dead works of self-effort. Rather than begging God for forgiveness for what we’ve done, we can give Him thanks for already forgiving us. This knowledge lifts our spirits.    

God deals with man through covenants; according to the current covenant we’re under, He will remember our sins and iniquities no more. Accepting Jesus, the way He has accepted us, gives us forgiveness for our sins according to the riches of His grace. We can be thankful for what we’ve received, even when we don’t deserve it.

Prayer:

Lord, Your Son came to give us total forgiveness for all time. Receiving this gift allows us to forgive ourselves for our shortcomings, and therefore to forgive others. We’re grateful for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Luke 23:34

John 19:30

Hebrews 9:12-14

Hebrews 10:17

Hebrews 8:12

Ephesians 1:7

For more on the forgiveness we receive from Jesus Christ, click on the link for the CD, From Condemnation to Grace.