"...the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." Isaiah 33:24b
Added within the list of the restoration of Israel, next to the defeat of enemies and return to the land, is the promise of forgiveness, which may seem strange to some, but only because we have a shallow conception of forgiveness; we do not realize that it is the hope of us all. Whether we admit it or not, our souls pine for the forgiveness of Sin, for the reconciliation of our souls back to something that we have lost, something that is vital to our humanity. We do not see forgiveness is such a light. For us, forgiveness means to overlook sin, and on the human level, that is all we can do. However, on God's level, forgiveness can never be mere willful ignorance. God cannot overlook sin and remain holy. Sin must be dealt with, not overlooked. The forgiveness from God does not mean sin has been overlooked, but paid for on the cross, and it no longer applies to us in His eyes.
Forgiveness is not an illusion: we really do stand before God as though we've never sinned. To say that "God does not see us anymore but His Son," though fundamentally true (for we are "hidden in Christ"), is ultimately misleading. It makes it sound as though salvation means to somehow fool God, like it is a grand deception. Christ is not a smokescreen. Being "hidden" in Him does not equal being hidden from God; His "hiding" us means that all that He is, we are, which equals the removal of sin and the coming of God in us. Christ is our righteousness (I Corinthians 1:30), and as God, He is the righteousness of God; our filthy rag righteousness is not hidden, it is replaced entirely by the righteousness of God in Christ. God's forgiveness means that His righteousness is now ours.
Forgiveness is the hope of every nation: that God will not judge us by who we are but by who Christ is. That is the hopes and fears of all the years: God offering us forgiveness in His nail-scarred hand, though we deserved it not.
"Forgive us our trespasses.
Forgive us our debts.
Forgive us all that we are.
Make us All that You Are..."
-Jon Vowell
Added within the list of the restoration of Israel, next to the defeat of enemies and return to the land, is the promise of forgiveness, which may seem strange to some, but only because we have a shallow conception of forgiveness; we do not realize that it is the hope of us all. Whether we admit it or not, our souls pine for the forgiveness of Sin, for the reconciliation of our souls back to something that we have lost, something that is vital to our humanity. We do not see forgiveness is such a light. For us, forgiveness means to overlook sin, and on the human level, that is all we can do. However, on God's level, forgiveness can never be mere willful ignorance. God cannot overlook sin and remain holy. Sin must be dealt with, not overlooked. The forgiveness from God does not mean sin has been overlooked, but paid for on the cross, and it no longer applies to us in His eyes.
Forgiveness is not an illusion: we really do stand before God as though we've never sinned. To say that "God does not see us anymore but His Son," though fundamentally true (for we are "hidden in Christ"), is ultimately misleading. It makes it sound as though salvation means to somehow fool God, like it is a grand deception. Christ is not a smokescreen. Being "hidden" in Him does not equal being hidden from God; His "hiding" us means that all that He is, we are, which equals the removal of sin and the coming of God in us. Christ is our righteousness (I Corinthians 1:30), and as God, He is the righteousness of God; our filthy rag righteousness is not hidden, it is replaced entirely by the righteousness of God in Christ. God's forgiveness means that His righteousness is now ours.
Forgiveness is the hope of every nation: that God will not judge us by who we are but by who Christ is. That is the hopes and fears of all the years: God offering us forgiveness in His nail-scarred hand, though we deserved it not.
"Forgive us our trespasses.
Forgive us our debts.
Forgive us all that we are.
Make us All that You Are..."
-Jon Vowell
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