1072. Now What? When There Is Nothing Left to Forgive

Most church customers who believe in Jesus have been taught they are just sinners (saved by grace) with unclean hearts ... and need to keep seeking a renewed forgiveness from God whenever they fail or fall short. This often becomes a heavily embedded routine that isn't exactly going to strengthen one's true identity as a person who is declared to be righteous and holy, apart from works. It keeps Christians in a state of a sin consciousness—similar to Jewish people under the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant—bringing a continuous reminder of sins day to day and year to year.

The gospel of grace has revealed forgiveness by God has been completed through the blood of Jesus, once for all, and many centuries ago. God remembers sins no more in a new and better covenant. They were taken away! Now we begin to see the inconsistencies of the 'Christian religion' insisting we remind God for personal sins that He said would no longer be remembered.

Christ fulfilled forgiveness forever, having thrown sins as far as the east is from the west. With that in mind, how does one 'kick the habit' of confessing every single wrongful thought or action that they can't possibly keep up with? How does a believer in Christ respond when tempted ... and is it possible to overcome unhelpful habits that are not really a part of who you are in Him? The answer is yes, we are well equipped to receive supernatural assistance.




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1071. Forgiveness From God: Contrasting the Old Covenant to the New

One of the biggest struggles for those who have been chained to various types of legalism is the worry that God hasn't forgiven them. Perhaps such a concern is because of something they did or they may have frequently done. It usually results in people feeling as though they need to repeatedly seek more forgiveness from God, over and over again. This leaves people wondering from day to day if they are truly forgiven.

This has similarities to the Jewish people under the obsolete Old Covenant, before the cross and resurrection. They kept offering one bloody animal sacrifice after the other—which only provided a temporary covering or atonement. If a renewed forgiveness by God is still needed whenever one falls short of perfect performance, how is it any different from what the writer of Hebrews calls a new and better covenant? The good news is ... Jesus offered one sacrifice (as opposed to many sacrifices under the law). That is all that was needed. He took sin away, once for all, and ended the sacrificial system forever—which God never desired in the first place.

In this episode we mentioned that we have talked about 1 John 1:9 several times over the years. Here is one episode on that subject in case anyone wants to go back and listen.

https://www.growingingrace.org/2024/03/952-fleeing-from-falling-into-forlorn.html




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918. The New Covenant - Unchangeable Priesthood (Jesus Is Not the Law)

There seems to be no shortage of contrasts when it comes to comparing the New Covenant to the Old. Sadly, most won't ever hear about it within the walls of their church building, so welcome to our podcast!

Perhaps nobody explains it better than whoever wrote the letter called Hebrews. While they were attempting to bring a revelation of Jesus to their Jewish brothers and sisters of that time, we have so much to gain by latching onto their explanation of what it would mean for all believers in Christ. The Old Covenant contained many offerings which couldn't take away sins, featuring many priests that were weak and sinful—who came and went because of death. It was a covenant deemed to be unprofitable with its many commandments which nobody could do.

Jesus came to fulfill the law within that Old Covenant by offering himself one time (once) for the sins of the world ... to be taken away forever. The Old way of stone tablet commandments given to Israel would be annulled, abolished, cancelled, and made obsolete. It would be completely out of service, null and void, because the new High Priest would be declared ... not by the law, but by the word of the oath (from God). Unlike the priests appointed by law, Jesus would hold his priesthood permanently, forever. Through his blood and the word of the oath, Jesus is now the mediator of a better covenant, it's a more excellent ministry than the Old, established upon better promises.



   
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751. Hebrews 10: God’s Will Was the Sacrifice of Christ

If the Old Covenant sacrifices had been able to bring perfection and deliver people from a sin consciousness, they would have stopped being offered. But bull’s blood couldn’t take away sins and therefore, those sacrifices which were offered according to the law were never really the will of God—He took no pleasure in them.

But Jesus came to do the will of God with a sacrifice that would end all sacrifices and offerings. This resulted in the first covenant being taken away in order to establish the second covenant … which is better and more excellent.



   
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750. Hebrews 9: Your Sins Are Not Covered by the Blood of Jesus

The blood used during the Old Covenant ceremonies brought an atonement or covering which resulted in a temporary forgiveness under the law. You could walk into the church of St. Moses regularly and walk out covered in bull blood every single time and still not be free from the bondage of sin. It would always need to be repeated after the next sin occurred.

Jesus offered His own blood and went before the true and greater tabernacle of God on our behalf. It was a sacrifice that would need to be performed just once. Why? Because His perfect offering didn’t just cover our sins but it took them away forever, never to become an obstacle between us and God ever again.



   
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749. Hebrews 9: The New Covenant Began With Christ’s Death

It’s easy to get confused about the Bible, the teachings of Jesus, and the New Covenant … if you are under the false assumption that the New Testament began with the birth of Jesus. The writer of Hebrews carefully explains to the new believers in his Jewish audience that before the Old Covenant would end and the New could begin, there had to be the death of the one who made the covenant.

The New Covenant couldn’t go into effect while the testator still lived. And like the first covenant, it would need to be established with blood. But this time, the blood being shed by the High Priest would do something very different that had never occurred before the cross during the Old Covenant era.



   
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747. Hebrews 8: One Bible - Two Different Covenants (Not to Be Mixed)

People often think of the Bible as one book, defined as God’s Word — and that all of it is meant to be applied to our lives. But the writer of Hebrews makes it very clear the first covenant contained within much of what is called The Old Testament, is very different than the new and better covenant established by Jesus Christ. These covenants are unalike and are not meant to be blended together.

If the first one that came through Moses had been faultless, there would have been no need to seek a second one which would be “more excellent.” This new way would take sin away, to be remembered no more by God. He would write new laws upon our hearts — not the old law or former commandments which only caused sin to increase. This New Covenant isn’t a revised version of the Old, but it replaced what Jesus brought to an end. The old way has become obsolete because it wasn’t based upon grace through faith.



   
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705. Born Identity: God’s Forgiveness Is Not Repeated

If we needed to continue seeking more forgiveness from God for every time we fell short, then the second covenant established by Jesus was a failed experiment. Repeated forgiveness is what the Jews pursued under the first covenant (before the cross).

If more forgiveness needs to be dispersed by God, then Jesus would need to keep offering Himself again and again. We have a better proclamation inside of a new and better covenant. Sins weren’t just covered; they were taken away.



   
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704. Born Identity: Forgiven Through One Offering

Still seeking more forgiveness from God? You could probably use some good news. God’s complete forgiveness for sin occurred once for all.

When sin has been removed and taken away to be remembered no more, the forgiveness offerings are no longer needed. We no longer seek what we already possess.



   
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675. The Lamb of God Who Takes Away the Sins of the World

Continuing on our journey on the subject of forgiveness of sins from God, some questions we discuss this week… when does forgiveness occur? Is it something God extends to each individual on a one by one basis, or is it a gift that has been offered and made available to everyone in the world? We know Jesus was identified as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. As it relates to the finished work of Christ and the power of His blood that was shed once for all, were sins taken away at that time over 2,000 years ago? Or is a new act of forgiveness from God still required? In other words, is it possible God has closed the book on forgiveness after the cross of Christ, and all that is left now is for people to receive it by believing the work of Christ was and is sufficient? If sin is no longer an issue of separation between God and people, is unbelief the only thing that will keep people from experiencing the life of God through salvation and righteousness? These are some of the questions we are asking in our discussion as we consider the magnitude of the cross.



   

674. Forgiveness Complete, Offerings Stopped

Good news: The blood of Jesus Christ did not cover your sins (don’t panic). Why is this good news? Because something better happened. Instead of covering them, His blood took them completely away. They were removed once and for all by one sacrifice. Contrast this with the many sacrifices of the blood of animals with ceremonies offered under the first covenant. Those sacrifices were offered daily and provided an atonement (covering), but they could never take sins away. Forgiveness was temporary for the Jewish people under the Law. In the kingdom where we grace radicals abide, we talk much about forgiveness of sins that have occurred whether they be past, present or future. As we challenge our traditional mindsets on this subject, the question we begin to ask is… when did this occur and is it synonymous with salvation where we find life in Christ? To be continued…