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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
Many people make the mistake of believing that God forgives "little" sins such as lying, anger, and impure thoughts, but does not forgive "big" sins such as murder and adultery. This is not true. T...
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Singapore Moses
Supporter
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Lk 23:34) The seven statements Jesus Christ made on the Cross, while He was going through inexplainable suffering on our behalf, have incorporated all the important aspects of the Gospel message. Each saying emphasises any one particular aspect of the Gospel. First of all, the Gospel is the message of God's forgiveness. That's what Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach: "Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations" (Lk 24:47). God's forgiveness is superlative. He primarily forgives the "sinner," and his "sins" are automatically taken care of. We are not sinners because we sin; we are sinners so we sin! God deals with the root and the cause, not with the effect. Before the younger son completed his sin confession the father forgave him and accepted him! We are totally forgiven and accepted in the Beloved! No Christian is ever called in the Bible a forgiven sinner. God calls us saints. We are not saints because we are saintly; We are saints, so we should walk saintly. When Christ was hanging on the Cross between two thieves, between Heaven and earth, between God and man, He paid the penalty for "all" our sins — sins of the past, present and future. No more sacrifice. Our sins are so remitted as if they were never committed. Total justification! If we sin today we have Christ advocating for us before the Father. But we are to walk in the light. That is, we must walk in all openness and transparency before God, acknowledging our sinfulness. The blood of the Lamb of God will "keep cleansing" us. Like a perennial river running over the pebbles we are under the cleansing stream of Immanuel's blood (1 Jn 1:7; 2:1). Our sins of omission are more in number than those of commission. Never a moment can we afford to be outside the Blood! There are more prisoners outside than inside prisons. Prisoners of guilt! The Gospel rings forgiveness and freedom! All guilt melts away like snow before the Son! Sins confessed are sins forgiven; sins forgiven are sins forgotten — forever! Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin, And be washed in the blood of the Lamb! There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean— Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb! (Pastor E. A. Hoffman, 1839-1929, the author of more than 2000 Gospel songs)
Teresa Wiltz
Supporter
Matthew 12:31 Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.” In order to be forgiven of sin; we must believe in and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and live by the gift of the Holy Spirit. We cannot reject Christ and expect God to forgive our sins...it would be a direct violation of the true Gospel of the Bible. It is also important to realize that after we have been transformed by the Holy Spirit of Christ; we are to take on the attributes of Him, seeking to live in righteousness by turning away from a life of sinfulness. If we are truly faithful believers who love God, our spirit will aspire to live as Christ lived. 1 John 2:5-6~“But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” Romans 6:23~"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord." Once we become truly committed to Christ, the lustful nature of sin will be much easier to overcome through our conscience and spiritual endeavoring. Peace, joy and love in Jesus Christ...Blessings~
Seth Freeman
Supporter
While sins carry with them different amounts of suffering, they all equally separate us from God. A white lie carries with it the same eternal consequence as murder, though the temporary pain and suffering caused by the two sins may be different. The beauty of Christ is that He died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). His sacrifice was powerful enough to forgive all people of all their sins (John 3:16). But of course, just because Jesus died for the sins of the world does not mean that the whole world is going to heaven (Matthew 7:13-14). However, Salvation comes to us by way of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). This is good news for us. The only unpardonable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is essentially denying Christ. Therefore, any person, no matter how numerous the sins, or how heinous the sins - all people can find forgiveness and grace through Christ Jesus. The idea that a sin, or a number of sins that a person commits could be capable of overpowering the redemptive work of Christ on the cross is to be blunt - absurd. Christ's redemptive work on the cross was sufficient to forgive all people, everywhere, for all their sins.
David Pike
Supporter
I believe all sins can be forgiven by God except blasphemy against God. In my opinion Matthew 12:31 makes this clear. No other son is so great that God will not forgive
Tony Medley
Supporter
Sin - What a small word, but emedded in that small word is every corruption of man brought about by Adam and Eves disobedience to God's commandment. There are no degrees of sin, sin is sin whether it a small white lie or murder, whether to look on a woman or man with lust or to commit the actual act of adultery or fornication. The wages for this corruption called sin is eternal death. Praise God that He provided the eternal Lamb of sacrifice, His own eternally begotten Son Jesus Christ the righteous One. Jesus willing gave Himself as the eternal sacrifice for sin, taking it to hell and rising victorious as the firstborn from the dead. The prophecy of this Saviour of God's chosen people was declared first of all by God Himself to Eve in the Garden of Eden. See Genesis 3:15. This verse has been called the "Moeder Belopte" or mother of promise, or "Prot Evangel" the first declaration of the Gospel or glad tidings. All men are sinners! However if God has given you grace and opened your eyes to the horror of your wretchedness before a Holy God, and you fall on your knees repentant of your sins no matter what they are taking Jesus Christ as your Saviour, He is sufficient to cleanse you from all sin. From this moment on we are fully aware of the sins we commit and if we truly repent of them He is faithful to forgive. The grace of God through Jesus our Lord be with you all. Tony.
Bruce Lyon
Supporter
The answer is a big yes! The blood of the lord Jesus reconciles all mankind unto his God and his Father and ours IF we accept the one whom He has sent. The apostle Paul had believers thrown in prison and some were killed yet He used him in a spectacular way! When the scripture says that if you turn to God and seek His forgiveness your sins will be forgiven, there is no restriction on what sins will be forgiven. All will be forgiven for those who come to God with a humble and contrite heart. Read Psalm 51, to experience such an attitude of mind when David asked God not to take His spirit from him because of what he did to Bathsheba's husband, which was tantamount to murder.... There is no sin that God will not forgive except when one sins against His Holy Spirit!
Dana pappas
Supporter
Yes, God will forgive sins that are known as capitol crimes, like murder, such was the case when God forgave King David. The Bible encourages us to "settle" our differences with one another (Matt, 5:25-26), if this is possible, to be amended and resolved of seeking vengeance unto judgement. Only the Innocent may condemn, Christ was the only one in the crowd, be they accusers or scandal mongers, with authority to cast a stone at the woman brought before him for the act of adultery. Yet he brought to their minds the reality of their own sin, and one by one, after experiencing their personal moment in the Eyes of the Christ, dropped their stones and fled from him. In His case, he would not condemn, rather, Innocence would suffer for the guilty on Calvary. God's wisdom exceeds all things. Blessed be the Lord, he has come to his people and set them free. The only admonition or condition that Christ placed on us to deter us from His Salvation (Heaven Forbid) is our failure to forgive other's their failings or debts, against us (Matt, 6: 14-15). Love one another, forgive and be forgiven.
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
Good question. Does it not state in Gal. 5.21 that murderers will not inherit the Kingdom of God? "Yes, there are big sins and this [murder] is one of them, but God is bigger. Jesus (God the Son) forgave those who were taking his life in Luke 23, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' Our God is a loving and forgiving enough God to forgive this deed that one has committed. "Even back in the Old Testament days, 'Under the monarchy the duty of executing justice on a murderer seems to have been assumed to some extent by the sovereign, who also had power to grant pardon (2 Sam 13:39; 14:7,11).'" --Frank E. Hirsch Today in the USA, the governor of a state and the president can pardon a murderer. The U.S. president can do this if the crime is against the federal government. The Sovereign God of the universe, who instituted the laws of the Old Testament, can and has forgiven murderers. He forgave King David for having snuffed out the life of one of his key men, Uriah. For further study, see the interesting article, "Can a murderer be forgiven by God?" by Gary Hunt.
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