“I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39
Believers in Christ are justified, meaning we’re pardoned of our sin. God’s grace, received through faith, does not produce this fruit over time, but right now! Justification is the result of faith, and it is given to a person in the moment when they choose Christ and to follow Him with their heart, soul, strength, and mind.
All those who put their trust in Christ who have died stand before His throne entirely justified. And so will we when we put our trust in Him. The thief on the cross was justified the moment that he put his faith in Jesus. And Paul, after earning many gray hairs through years of constant service, was not any more justified than the thief who had performed no service at all.
We are today accepted by God, today freed from the guilt of sin, today acquitted before the throne of God. There are some grapes which we will not be able to gather until we enter heaven, but God’s acceptance is the ladder which He has lowered down, letting us into the vineyard. We are pardoned! Even now are our sins are remembered no longer. (Hebrews 8:12) Even now we stand in the sight of God accepted, as though we were never guilty: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)
There is not a sin written in the Book of God, even now, against any one of His people. There is no speck, spot, wrinkle, or any such thing on any believer in the sight of the Judge of all the Earth. Let this privilege awaken us to our duty, and every day for as long as we live let us praise, worship, and serve wholeheartedly our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Question: Since when we put our faith (trust) in God He remembers our sin no longer, how should we as believers react when we do sin now?
Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2008
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Do you want to experience God’s love and forgiveness?
Action point: On a piece of paper, ask God to show you all the sins He wants you to confess. As they come to your mind, write them down. When no more sins come to mind, write 1 John 1:9 across them. Then know for sure that ALL your sins are forgiven. If you start feeling guilty about them again, know that it is the Enemy harassing you. God won’t convict you of those sins again.
Then ask Jesus to come into your life and be the director of your life from now on.
“Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.”
If you sin again, confess that sin and claim His forgiveness. You may find the article, “Spiritual Oxygen” helpful.