Forgiveness God's WayChikamu

Day 1: Forgiveness Is a Blessing

Welcome to the Forgiveness God’s Way Plan. I am so glad you’re here. This is your start of the seven-day journey to get a glimpse of the richness of God’s gift of forgiveness to us, our obligation to forgive others, and some things we must do to forgive as defined by God in His Word. The first thing we must know about God’s gift of forgiveness is that it is indeed a blessing.

What is a blessing, and from whom do blessings come? A blessing is a favor, good wishes or approval, benefit, goodness, answer to prayer, or a gift from God. Therefore, the source of blessings is God our Father. What is favor? Favor is unprecedented kindness. It is compassion in which God puts Himself in our place and takes the consequences while shielding us from them. Another word we can include as we discuss blessing is grace. Grace is often referred to as unmerited favor. In fact, the very meaning of grace is favor. Therefore, blessing is the grace or favor of God.

The forgiveness of our sins is a blessing — a gift, a favor — from God our Father. Sin deserves punishment. Sin is transgression of God’s law; it is the defying of God’s authority. But God, in His unmatched love, forgives our transgressions and covers our sins. He does not count our sins against us and cleanses our spirit of deceit. This is real forgiveness. It doesn’t just quiet our conscience. It doesn’t just abate guilt. It cancels the debt we owe the One against whom we transgress.

The forgiveness of your sins makes you a ransomed soul who now can have peace and rejoice in the wonders of the grace of your God. You must know that your sins are forgiven and talk and act like you know this fact. As well, you must know that your sins are no longer exposed; the love of Jesus Christ covers them. Proverbs 16:6 (NIV, emphasis added) tells us, "Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for.” The ultimate cause of the forgiveness and covering of your sins is God's unending, unconditional, relentless love.

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven! According to Charles Spurgeon, this should give you reason for “double joy, bundles of happiness, and mountainous delight.” Psalm 32 shows one way to be blessed — to make full confession and repentance of sin — and Psalm 1 tells the way to be blessed. We must not walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the path of sinners, but we must delight in God’s Word. That is, we must love His Word, love what He tells us to do, and express that love through our actions. In other words, we are blessed if we obey God’s Word.

David, a great man of God, had the opportunity to know this blessedness in his own life. God Himself referred to David as man after His heart, but David had some significant bouts of sin. Prominent among these were David’s time at Ziklag (1 Samuel 27, 29, 30) and David’s sin regarding Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Samuel 11), but David confessed his sins, repented of them, and was forgiven by God. He was blessed. His sins were covered.

You, too, have sinned. In fact, we all have sinned. No one is sinless. But have you confessed? Have you repented? Is your conscience pierced so that you know what it is like to be convicted by your deeds? Do you know the seriousness of sin? Do you know how good it is to be truly forgiven by God? Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. According to Trapp, “Sin is an odious thing, the devil’s drivel or vomit, the corruption of a dead soul, the filthiness of flesh and spirit.” Confess your sins to Him today, repent and turn from them, and enjoy the blessings of the God who loves you more than words can tell.

As we close day 1, take a moment to thank the Lord for His love towards you, a love that is sufficient to forgive you of any sin, any transgression against Him. Take advantage of the opportunity to be cleansed of all filthiness of your flesh and of your spirit. Confess your faults to Him. Know that His grace and mercy are sustaining you from day to day and that His desire is to fellowship with you, but you must first be forgiven of your transgressions. Welcome to the Forgiveness God’s Way Plan. I am so glad you’re here. This is your start of the seven-day journey to get a glimpse of the richness of God’s gift of forgiveness to us, our obligation to forgive others, and some things we must do to forgive as defined by God in His Word. The first thing we must know about God’s gift of forgiveness is that it is indeed a blessing.