By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

“[in fact] under the law almost everything is purified by means of blood, and without the shedding of blood there is neither release from sin and its guilt for the remission of the due and merited punishment for sins.” Hebrew 9:22.

1. 1. Forgiveness is offered to everyone through faith in Jesus Christ who died to atone for the sins of the whole world.  1 John 2: 2 “He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” God is no longer counting our sins against us because our sins have been atoned for by the blood of Jesus. 2 Cor 5:19 “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” Therefore, when anyone comes to Christ, they receive forgiveness of their sins Acts 26:18 “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” God’s plan is to make us holy through the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 10: 10 “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
   2. Our message to the world should be that forgiveness is available to all through faith in Jesus Christ. The church should be telling the world that God has reconciled us to Himself by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. So, everyone can come boldly to Jesus and receive forgiveness and cleansing of the blood. Acts 13:38 “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.” Forgiveness is one of the key things Jesus gave us by dying on the cross. Without it, our sin would never have been truly wiped away; we won’t really have been saved and we would have been subject to God’s wrath. We were made holy through the blood which Jesus shed. Because of His blood, there is forgiveness and He has opened a new way through which we come to God and receive life instead of death. Anybody that believes in Jesus and understands forgiveness has not only been healed but can also come boldly before God because your sins are forgiven and you have peace with God. Through Jesus Christ you can come boldly to God, you are no longer condemned or guilty. But rather you are justified by His blood. Romans 5 “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

God laid on Jesus the penalties and consequences of our sins so we do not need to bear them anymore. This means we are no longer guilty before God. Instead, we are now justified by His blood. Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray;We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

In our society today, mercy is considered foolish and people want to take advantage of anyone that shows mercy. Vengeance is considered wisdom and a deterrent for troublemakers. Our society runs on performance and reward, and all these are the wisdom of the world. Also giving things freely is not considered wisdom and people try to take advantage of that. They believe that only fools give away valuables for free. The conventional wisdom is to use what you have to bargain for something to your own advantage. God’s own wisdom is based on love, compassion, mercy, and justice. God is not a man. God gives freely and forgives on His own account at no cost to us and some Christians find this difficult to believe because it is not our way of doing things.

Romans 2:4 “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” God’s love and mercy are what can bring us to true repentance. Zacchaeus is an example of this. Luke 19:7 “And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”

What if I sin? Then do what the Scripture says to do and you will be cleansed of all unrighteousness. Confess your sins, then you will be cleansed of all unrighteousness. Walk in the light not in presumption or in the wisdom of the world that calls for vengeance like the blood of Abel. Keep yourself in the love of God always. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

The blood of Jesus freed us from our sins forever and still pleads for us. Revelation 1: 5 “and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us”

Hebrews 12:24 “You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.” The blood continuously intercedes for us and as a result, there is a steady flow of mercy. If we walk in the light of the Scriptures, we are constantly cleansed by the blood of Jesus.  Jesus our great high priest guarantees us mercy and grace through His blood. Christ ministers before God on our behalf and so we receive grace and mercy from the throne of God.  The mercy and grace we receive are undeserved! We didn’t earn it. It was given to us instead of vengeance and judgement. We can come boldly on the account of Jesus. These are the says of acceptance, hence it is called the Acceptable Years of the Lord.

Luke 4:19 “To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.] [Isa 61:1,2.]”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Ephesians 3:12 “Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.”

The devil still tries to plant guilt and condemnation to weaken our faith and confidence. This way he hinders us from coming to receive our requests and from appropriating our blessings because of our constant feeling of unworthiness. Rev 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night”

We can overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb that washes away our sins and by our testimony. Rev 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

 As we read and meditate, may the Lord give us understanding in these things.

Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor at the Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.