Forgiveness  Notes      9/12/07

The result of Redemption - Forgiveness

The marvelous result of redemption for the believer is complete forgiveness of all sin. Matt. 26:28 – Heb. 9:22- redemption brings forgiveness.

  Greek word - aphiēmi - translated forgiveness means “to send away to never return”. John MacArthur- Through the shedding of His own blood, Jesus Christ actually took the sins of the world upon His own head, as it were, and carried them an infinite distance away from where they could never return. Such is the extent of our forgiveness in Christ.

  The permanence of our salvation can be seen in Col. 2:14. Describe “blotting out”- God canceled it out and wiped it away, like you would erase chalk off a blackboard. In that day, documents were commonly written either on papyrus, a paperlike material made from the bulrush plant, or vellum, which was made from an animal’s hide. The ink they used contained no acid, thus it didn’t soak into the material and could easily be wiped off if the scribe wanted to reuse the material. In a similar way, God has wiped off our certificate of debt, “having nailed it to the cross.” Not a trace of it remains to be held against us.

  This is why it is so tradegic when we are concerned that some of our sins haven’t been forgiven – Psa. 103:12.

  Our forgiveness is according to His grace – Eph. 1:7-8. His grace is far beyond our ability to understand.

Justification – a judical verdict of God on behalf of the sinner. Justification is God’s declaration that all the demands of the law are fulfilled on behalf of the believing sinner through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In justification, God imputes the perfect righteousness of Christ to the believer’s account, then declares the redeemed one fully righteous.

Reconcilliation- The most immediate consequence of our justification is our reconciliation, which brings us peace with God. The Greek legal term translated “reconcile” (katallassō) meant to bring together two disputing parties. In the New Testament it is used to speak of a believer’s reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ.

   Rom. 8:7- the mind of every unsaved person is centered of self and is therefore hostile towards God.

  The importance of reconciliation

    1- It transforms man- 2 Cor. 5:17-

    2- It appeases God’s wrath- 2 Cor. 5:21-

    3- It comes thru Christ – 2 Cor. 5:18-

    4- It is available to all who believer – 2 Cor. 5:19-

    5- It gives us all a ministry- 2 Cor. 5:18-