Complete is Complete

Complete (def) - to the greatest extent or degree; total.

1 John 1: ⁸ If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. What do you do with your sin? We need to realize first what God does with our sin.  

Psalm 103:⁸ The Lord is compassionate and merciful slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love ⁹ He will not constantly accuse us nor remain angry forever. ¹⁰ He does not punish us for all our sins He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.¹¹ For his unfailing love toward those who fear his is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.¹² He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

God is merciful, and His lovingkindness is everlasting.  God’s love for us is beyond compare, and sending His son to die for our sins is a clear indicator of the relationship He wants with us.  Our response should be to come to Him, acknowledging all He has done to draw us into a close and personal relationship, and honoring that act of love by coming to Him as He allows us to.  Paul wrote this to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 3:12. Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. 

            With our confidence being in the Lord, we can come to God, knowing that He hears our prayers and our requests and trusting His response to those prayers.  The writer of Hebrews further explained what happens when we come to the Lord. Hebrews 4: 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.  If we don’t come to Him, knowing we will receive mercy, then our thoughts might be that we don’t trust God to do what He says.  But he will.  The truth is “we sin,” and if we think we don’t sin, then our self-righteousness is a hindrance to the relationship God has given us to build through Jesus.

We know that the character of God is compassionate and merciful and that He is slow to get angry with unfailing love. His lover NEVER fails.  Our response to the sin we commit is to confess is to God, acknowledging that we do sin and that He has forgiven our sins and has removed them as far as the east is from the west.  He is God, and we are not gods.  God, even knowing our sins, still loves us and showers His mercy and forgiveness in such a way that shows the sin is forgiven and forgotten.  May we do the same as we live in this loving relationship with Him. He is our judge, and His justification for our sin is complete through the blood of Jesus, and we should never doubt His great love and dishonor the sacrifice made to give it to us.

            So here is the result of realizing this great forgiveness from our loving Lord. Ephesians 4: ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.  Since we are forgiven, that forgiveness is made complete by how we forgive others, and that forgiveness has to be just like the forgiveness we get from God.  We are not a sin sheriff going around indicting those sinners because we “are the sinners” and we are forgiven and not judged.  Paul said it would make Him truly happy if we would wholeheartedly agree with each other, and love each other, and be like-minded. Like-minded people don’t judge each other because they are on the same team, and that team is a team of complete forgiveness.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren