Am I Truly Forgiven?
As believers, it is crucial that we spend time in God’s word daily, not just to come to know his word, but to truly believe that what the Lord says is true. He will never break his promises and his ways are higher than ours! If Satan knows the word of God to the point that he is willing to try to use it to tempt Jesus, how much more can we expect him to use God’s word to temp, deceive, and lead us astray? How can we expect to know what is good, true and of God if we aren’t able to identify the counterfeits? Have God’s word written on your heart so that when the enemy comes knocking on your door, you can say, “for it is written!”.
Here is a brief breakdown of what we are going to talk about in this article.
- Why do we struggle at times to truly believe that God has forgiven us?
- What does Satan have to do with this?
- What does the Bible say about combating the enemies lies and deceit?
Why do we struggle at times to truly believe that God has forgiven us?
Have you ever caught yourself viewing God’s forgiveness through an earthly, unbiblical lens? I use the word “caught” intentionally, as I will speak to this later in the article. I feel that if we are all honest with ourselves, the answer to that question will be a resounding yes. How many of you have ever sinned and then immediately ran to the Lord to repent and ask for forgiveness? Hopefully all of us! However, why is it that we sometimes feel that there is a waiting period for God’s forgiveness? Allow me to explain. There have been times in my life where I have sinned and turned to the Lord in repentance; however, after repenting - consciously and/or unconsciously - these intrusive thoughts appeared.
- “I am forgiven, but God is still angry with me”.
- “I am forgiven, but I need to prove I am worthy of it”.
- “I am forgiven, but I don’t feel forgiven/ I will truly feel forgiven in a couple of days when I have gotten back on the right track”.
- “I know I am forgiven, but I don’t believe I am truly forgiven until this feeling of guilt and shame wears off”.
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. So we know that if we confess our sins to the Lord, he makes us a promise that he will be faithful and just to forgive us and we also know that our God never breaks his promises (Heb 6:18). This begs the question: why have we adopted such an unbiblical view of God’s forgiveness?
It is beneficial to know that one of Satan's names is the Father of Lies. Satan loves to take every good thing that comes from the Lord and twist it/ manipulate it in a way that breeds deception, taking our focus off of the Lord. We see this in Genesis 3:1-6:
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Eve does start off by declaring what God had said, but Satan took God's word’s and twisted them, deceiving Eve. Now let's give our eyes to an example of what it looks like to be deceit proof, using God’s word to combat the enemies lies. Of course, who better to look to as a perfect example than Jesus.
Matthew 4:1-11 says, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
What does Satan have to do with this?
As believers, it is urgent that we understand that Satan knows God’s word like the back of his hand. If Satan knows the word of God to the point that he was willing to try to and use it to tempt Jesus, how much more can we expect him to use it to tempt, deceive, and lead us astray? The good news is that we have the same weapon Jesus used in his time in the wilderness: the written word of God. The author of Hebrews tells us this regarding God’s word,
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, emphasis added).
A discerner of the thoughts, the author tells us. I mentioned the intentionality of the word “caught” in the beginning of the article. I felt the prompting to use the word “caught”, as it brings connotations of catching, or identifying something that is not biblical or fruitful through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. This is how we discern biblical truth from the enemy's lies, God’s voice from any other: by knowing his word and believing in it fully. As you meditate on the word of God daily, you are engraving his word on your heart. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit draws from God’s word that has been written on your heart to speak to you and prompt you in different ways. So when the enemies starts knocking on your door trying to deceive you, the Holy Spirit will speak to you and remind you what is true - so you can say - for it is written.
Satan's aim is to shift your eyes off of the power of the cross and onto yourself. He desires to lead you into believing that something must be done in order for you to earn God’s forgiveness, to focus on shame and guilt which come from the enemy, instead of looking at the grace and mercy that come from the cross. Fix your eyes on the Lord and upon his sacrifice.
What does the Bible say about combating the enemies lies and deceit?
Here are some scriptures that exemplify God’s forgiveness, truly. Although I will list the entirety of each scripture, I may only include select verses in the article from each passage to keep things concise. I strongly encourage you to go and read them all fully in your own time with the Lord.
- The Prodigal Son - Luke 15:11-32
- Verse 18: “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee”.
- Verse 20: “ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him”.
- Verse 24: “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry”.
This passage shows us how the father truly sees us when we come back to him in repentance. The passage doesn’t say the Father stood there and waited for his son, nor does it say that the Father told his son “I will forgive you in a few days”. The Father RAN to his son and embraced him, going on to kill their fattest calf (the best calf they had) to celebrate his son returning to him in repentance.
- The Lost Sheep - Luke 15:1-7 (verses 4-7 shown)
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”
There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over 99 righteous people. God searches for you, he runs after you, his love will always pursue you.
- The Lord Chooses To Forget Your Sins
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” - Isaiah 43:25
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” - Hebrews 8:12.
How can an omniscient (all knowing) God forget our sins? The answer is simple: he chooses to forget. God is love (1 Jn 4:8), and love (God) keeps no record of wrongs (1 Cor 13:5).
Summary
As believers, it is crucial that we spend time in God’s word daily, not just to come to know his word, but to truly believe that what the Lord says is true. He will never break his promises and his ways are higher than ours! If Satan knows the word of God to the point that he is willing to try to use it to tempt Jesus, how much more can we expect him to use God’s word to temp, deceive, and lead us astray? How can we expect to know what is good, true and of God if we aren’t able to identify the counterfeits? Have God’s word written on your heart so that when the enemy comes knocking on your door, you can say, “for it is written!”.