Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to ask you a little question.
Have you ever done something wrong, but you were afraid to tell your dad because if you did, you feared that he would punish you? Maybe you spilled something on one of his favorite jackets as it sat draped over his chair in the dining room. Rather than quickly owning up to what you did, you kept it hidden in your heart and didn’t say anything at all. More than likely, you thought that he would yell at you and maybe even ground you for the weekend. The same type of thing happens in many Earthly courtrooms when people plead innocent, whether they are guilty or not. This is out of a fear of retaliation or punishment. Many times when you admit your transgression, a prosecutor or even a judge will use it against you. This is one reason why so many people are reluctant to admit faults.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
God will ultimately punish sin, but before that great day of His everlasting wrath, He offers us a free gift of His grace. He wants to Grant you a Divine pardon for all of your past sins, but you must confess your faults and come clean. Rather than punishing, He will wipe our slate clean through the waters of baptism. It is a free gift to all those who come boldly to Christ Jesus,… and plead guilty.
Colossians 1 ²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled ²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: ²³ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Sinful works cause you to become an enemy of God in your own mind. It causes you to run away from the light, rather than draw near. In your own heart, you are in a state of war with God. This is because of unconfessed sin. But If there was ever a time to cleanse your conscience, today is the day. If there was ever a time to get something off of your chest, today is the day. Reconciliation with God is available through the free gift of His grace found in His precious Son Jesus Christ. There is no way to obtain eternal life apart from faith in Him.
“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” John 8:24
To those who are baptized into His name, God grants them forgiveness for all of their past sins, washing them away in a flood of divine grace, never to be seen again.
“He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12
To obtain forgiveness requires confession, both to God, and others whom you have wronged.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Matthew 3 ⁵ Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
⁶ And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
Each of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but even while we were yet sinners, God offers us a loving gift of forgiveness. He paid the debt that each of us accrued, so that by His grace we could become new creatures and transform into His obedient children.
Romans 5 ⁶ For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. ⁸ But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. ¹⁰ For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. ¹¹ And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Even while we were yet enemies, God loved us by offering us a free gift of Grace. At judgment Day no one will ever be able to say that God didn’t love them. He reached out to this world and spread his arms wide at the cross to forgive all those who call upon His name. He gives us a new opportunity to turn our lives around, and walk in His light.
Ephesians 2 ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) ⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
God can present us unreproveable in His sight, if we continue in our faith. It’s foolish to get forgiven for the past and then continue to live in sin. We are not supposed to receive God’s grace in vain, but use it as a new chance to become pleasing unto God. This requires walking in the doctrines and the teachings of God’s Holy Word. Obedience to the will of God is the proof of our love towards Him, and the evidence that His grace is effectually working inside of your heart.
“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” 2 Corinthians 6:1
Romans 6 ¹ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ² God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Although this world is a bitter and unmerciful place, God is completely different. The road to our own salvation begins by humbly admitting our faults unto Him. Rather than hiding the truth, the truth must be confessed. Rather than fearing retribution, we must trust in His Mercy, and wash our sins away in Holy Baptism.
Do you want a new life? Do you want your past erased and forgotten by God? If you want forgiveness, one of the first steps you will need to take is….
……Pleading Guilty.
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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