Yes, I had believed for a long time that God was still mindful of my sins.
It is instinctive, almost. Never once did I step back and consider that indeed all sins have passed away, and I have been justified from all things.
It really takes a while for the grace of God to permeate our lives.
We do not get it all at once, for there are great tracts of our old man which seek to remain or resurface in our lives.
"10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
He is not mindful of my sins, even if I am mindful.
It has been a reflex reaction of mine for years.
For the first time last night, I realized that I was not walking uprightly according to the Gospel.
I was still mindful of my sins, in that I believed that everything was put away in Christ through His death, and raised with Him when He rose from the dead.
So much of the pain in my life is attributed to the simple fact -- I did not believe the Gospel.
And sad to say, there are all too many people out there who still do not, especially in churches.
Why do we not believe?
Because we are still holding onto the law, to the Ten Commandments, when that Covenant was never given to us in the first place.
Law is contrary to faith, let us be very clear on that:
"And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." (Galatians 3: 12)
Jesus has freed us from the curse of the law, too:
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." (Galatians 3: 13)
There is the reason, then, why many people do not feel forgiven.
We still think that we owe God something. We don't, because His Son paid it all.
By extension, I admit for my part that feeling bad about what I did, and trying to control my feelings about what I did, has been such a part of my life, that I am not used to not doing it.
For years, because of the AA cult, taking my inventory and looking at my sins were all a part of life.
No, they are not, and they never could be.
Jesus offers us life, and that more abundantly.
Don't stop hearing the grace of God in your life and in your circumstances. Don't stop!
Keep receiving the gifts of righteousness and abundance of grace today! (Romans 5: 17)
Jesus has freed us from the curse of the law, too:
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." (Galatians 3: 13)
There is the reason, then, why many people do not feel forgiven.
We still think that we owe God something. We don't, because His Son paid it all.
By extension, I admit for my part that feeling bad about what I did, and trying to control my feelings about what I did, has been such a part of my life, that I am not used to not doing it.
For years, because of the AA cult, taking my inventory and looking at my sins were all a part of life.
No, they are not, and they never could be.
Jesus offers us life, and that more abundantly.
Don't stop hearing the grace of God in your life and in your circumstances. Don't stop!
Keep receiving the gifts of righteousness and abundance of grace today! (Romans 5: 17)
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