Forgiven

Notes of meeting on 31 March 2015

Isaiah 53 v 5- 6
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are  healed .
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Forgiven

The nature of God's love for us is seem supremely in the cross.
Because He is both holy and  just, God could not shrug His shoulders at sin and say, 'It doesn't matter'. All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Sin is unholiness; whatever offends the Lord. The Holy One cannot be united with the unholy. It was necessary for God to do something to cleanse us of unholiness do that we might have fellowship with Him. There was only one alternative: we would die eternally and miss His glory.
Because of our sin we deserve eternal separation from God; we deserve hell, not heaven. WE could never earn the right to have fellowship with God. this is a gift of grace - God giving to those who deserve nothing. So He sent His Son into the world, not that men should be condemned, but saved _ from sin and eternal death.
Those who believe in Jesus will not be condemned, but are given the gift of eternal life now. Because He is the Son of God and your Saviour, you need to confess your sins to Him and ask for His forgiveness.
On the cross he offered to the Father His sinless life on your behalf as a sinner; He gave His perfect life for your imperfections, His holy life for your unholiness. God's love is so great for you, He deliberately sent His Son to make such an offering on your behalf: 'For the transgression of my people he was stricken' (Isa. 53 v 8).
Jesus died the death of a criminal because He was experiencing the punishment you deserve, 'the punishment that brought us peace was upon him' (Isa. 53v 5). you do not need to suffer punishment from God for your sins. He will not punish twice for the same offence. if Jesus has borne your punishment, you can be freely forgiven. And when god forgives, He forgets.
Jesus could cry out in triumph on the cross 'It is finished' or 'It is accomplished'. Everything for out forgiveness and salvation was accomplished. Jesus had made the supreme sacrifice of love that we might be set free.
John tells us plainly: 'If we say, 'We have no sin,' we are deceiving ourselves, and truth has no place in us; if we acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and upright, so that he will forgive our sins and will cleanse us from all evil. If we say, 'We have never sinned,' we make him a liar, and his word has no place in us.' (1 John 1 v 8-10).
When God forgives you, He makes you righteous in His sight; you are put right with Him. Rejoice in what Jesus done for you and know that every time you pray, you can pass all the burdens of your sins on to the Lord. He is willing to take them. He wants to forgive you and He died to make this possible.
He wants to see you freed from sin and guilt, rejoicing in His peace. He wants to see you enjoying your relationship with Him as your loving heavenly Father.

(Forgiven taken from  Listen and Live by Colin Urquhart. ISBN 0-340-41779-X)

Hebrews 9 v 24 - 28
²⁴ It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was merely a model of the real one; he entered heaven itself, so that he now appears in the presence of God on our behalf.
²⁵ And he does not have to offer himself again and again, as the high priest goes into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own,
²⁶ or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. As it is, he has made his appearance once and for all, at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself.
²⁷ Since human beings die only once, after which comes judgement,
²⁸ so Christ too, having offered himself only once to bear the sin of many, will manifest himself a second time, sin being no more, to those who are waiting for him, to bring them salvation.