In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV)

Go back with me to Bible times in Jerusalem. Let’s imagine a fictional story of a seven-year-old boy, Joseph, and his father Micah, whom he calls Abba, a familiar name like Daddy.

Joseph ran into the house, his chores done. “Abba, I separated Curly from the rest of the sheep and I finished brushing him. His wool never looked so nice. Where are we taking him?”

Abba stood and put on his cloak. “I’m taking him to the temple, my son.”

“Why, Abba? Are you going to ask the priest to bless Curly? Maybe then he will grow up and give us lots of good sheep.”

Abba knelt beside Joseph and put his hand on Joseph’s shoulder.

Why were Abba’s eyes sad? Joseph wondered.

“Joseph, I’m taking the lamb to the priest for a sacrifice.”

“No!” Joseph shook his head and pulled away. “Curly didn’t do anything wrong!”

“No, he didn’t. But we have. All of us have sinned. Me, Mama, your brothers and sister, and you. The Law tells us to take a lamb to sacrifice for our sins. The blood is shed to make atonement for us.”

Joseph crossed his arms. “Not Curly! Sacrifice one of the other lambs, Abba. You’ve always said that the one with the crooked leg is not strong. Use that one!”

Abba shook his head. “No, Joseph. We cannot offer a broken or imperfect sacrifice to our God. He is holy and cannot look on sin. He does not excuse it, or ignore it. We must give of our best, the perfect and healthy lamb.” He sighed. “This time we must give Curly.”

“I won’t ever sin again, Abba,” Joseph sobbed. “Please don’t sacrifice Curly.”

Abba pulled Joseph into his arms. “I wish it was that easy, Son. Every year we must sacrifice. We all sin, over and over again.”

***

God’s forgiveness of sinners.

Unfortunately, the blood of sheep and bulls was only a temporary fix to the sin problem. God covered their sins with the blood from the sacrifices of animals, but every year the same story repeated. Sin must be punished, for God is just.

The sacrificial system pointed towards the ultimate sacrifice God would provide through His only Son. It was Christ Jesus who paid the penalty for your sin and mine with His blood. He was without sin, the perfect Lamb. He took our sins upon Himself on the cross to rescue us once and for all. His blood redeems us when we come to Jesus for forgiveness of sin.

God’s forgiveness for our sin is complete. God does not bring up forgiven sin again. It is our enemy, the devil, who is the accuser that brings up our wrongdoings and tells us we cannot be forgiven. We must not listen to the enemy’s lies. Psalm 32 tells us of the blessing of forgiveness.

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Psalm 32:1 – 2 (ESV)

I’m so glad the Lord is forgiving!

* Take time to thank God for the forgiveness given to you through Jesus’ sacrifice. If you do not already have that saving relationship with Jesus, please take the opportunity to confess your sins and ask for His forgiveness.

Scripture tells us that we are to forgive.

When Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray in what is called the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus asked our Heavenly Father to forgive us as we forgive others (Matthew 6:12). He later modeled it by asking His Father to forgive those who crucified Him (Luke 23:34). It wasn’t a suggestion, but a hard command we are to follow. Consider the passage below.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also forgive. And above all these things put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12 – 14 (ESV emphasis mine.)

* Reflect on how forgiveness has impacted your life.

* Do you have someone you need to forgive? Is there someone you need to seek forgiveness from? I do. Let’s take care of that today.

Lord, thank you for Your forgiveness. Help me to forgive as You have forgiven me, and to seek forgiveness where needed. In Jesus’ powerful name. Amen.

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Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION (NKJV): Scripture taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION®. Copyright© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked ESV are taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV): Scriptures taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION ® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.