Redemption and Forgiveness
“In whom [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” (Colossians 1:14)
When a person receives Jesus as Saviour, the Lord gives “…redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” That’s ALL sins: past, present, and future! How can that be?
Here’s how. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” We all know we’ve done, said, and thought wrong things. We’ve sinned. Yet the verse also says that because we’ve sinned, we cannot get to heaven on our own. We’re “…short of the glory of God;”
Romans 6:23a also says, “For the wages of sin is death;” Our sin has not just condemned us to death. We can’t get into heaven, as Romans 3:23 says, so our sin has also condemned us to hell: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14)
We can’t undo what we’ve done. God also can’t ignore sin. If He did, He would not be holy. Yet the Bible says God is merciful, “…forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,” (Exodus 34:7) How can God be just and punish sin, yet also be merciful and forgiving? He can be if Someone else takes our punishment for us, Someone willing to do it. That Someone is Jesus Christ.
Jesus was God and man at the same time. He never committed any sin, so the death penalty of sin–” For the wages of sin is death;”–didn’t apply to Him. Yet He allowed Himself to be falsely arrested, tried, convicted and executed by crucifixion. And as He hung on the cross, God the Father put all our sins on His own Son and literally punished Jesus in our place: “…the LORD (God the Father) hath laid on him (God the Son, Jesus) the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
Can you imagine having to write down all your sins? We couldn’t even begin to remember all of them! Yet Jesus died a gruesome, bloody death to pay for every sin we would ever commit. That’s why the Bible says we have “…redemption through his blood,” (boldface added) He was buried and rose again, and He is alive now! Jesus said in Revelation 1:18, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen;” We can’t understand with our finite minds how Jesus could take all our sins, but we can trust the Bible that He did.
Jesus did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He satisfied God’s justice for our sins. When you come to Jesus in repentance to be forgiven for sins and receive Him by faith into your heart and life as your personal Saviour, the Lord gives you “…redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” That means past, present, and even future sins. Isn’t that great!
The Bible also talks about earthly forgiveness for Christians. That’s for another essay. If you want to know more about having God’s eternal forgiveness by receiving Jesus as your Saviour, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links”, then, “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 8/3/2021
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822