Is there a past sin in your life that haunts you?
Something you hope no one will ever find out about; something you regret deeply. Sometimes you wonder if God could really forgive you for that sin. Or you feel that you need to punish yourself or serve Him even harder to insure that you’re forgiven. You may even be wondering if perhaps you have disqualified yourself from being used by God because of your past sins.
One area where Satan loves to drag down a believer is in the area of forgiveness. Satan does not want you to be free from the weight of your sins – he wants you to struggle with them, feel guilty, focus on them, and become depressed. He wants you to believe the lie that God could never use you in light of that past sin(s) – or that God could not possibly forgive THAT sin. Don’t believe those lies!
When I take a new believer or someone I’m discipling through assurance of forgiveness, I address six questions about forgiveness of sin.
- What exactly is sin?
- How do I know my sins are forgiven?
- Why do I still sin?
- What should I do when I sin?
- So, if I’m forgiven, then why not sin as much as I want to?
- Why do I still feel guilty even after I confess?
On my Discipleship page, you can also download a five-lesson Bible study on forgiveness to take someone through and to go through yourself.
Psalm 103:12 reminds us:
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” God says in Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
Those words are music to my ears – because I’m a sinner, and I have past sins in my life that I want to forget about, but I can’t. I am so thankful that God has wiped out my sins. When He looks at me through the blood of Christ, He doesn’t see my ugly sin; He sees me as white as snow.
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of forgiveness.
