Personal ForgivenessSample

My Sins are Blotted Out

God opened my eyes one day to see how many born-again Christians were living defeated lives because of the consequences of past sins, sins for which they had already been forgiven of. They had repented but continued to live under the effects of their past. Let's take a look at what the Word of God has to say about this.

Now we all have past sins. That's why Jesus shed His blood on the cross. His blood is not just to get into heaven and then leave us defeated while we live out this life. Every Christian should know this scripture:

Psalm 51:1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

What great news that is. When our sins are blotted out, they're totally gone! When something is cleansed, it's gone. I don't think most Christians realize that.

When a person comes to God with a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart over what they've done, David said in Psalm 51:17 that is the sacrifice God is looking for, and He won't turn the person away.

This is a perfect picture of repentance and God's restoration. When we come to God in true repentance, our sins are not just covered by the Blood. This psalm tells us our sins are blotted out.

Years ago, I had a woman call the church and tell me she was ready to divorce her husband. He had just become a Christian, but there was another man she intended to marry after her divorce. Her husband was begging her to give him another chance saying, "We'll have a Christian home now." I asked her, "How do you justify that you're going to leave your husband and marry someone else?" And these were her very words, "After I divorce him, and after I get remarried, then I'm going to repent."

Listen, that's not repentance. We can't manipulate God with our reasoning or our clever plans.

When we come to God in true repentance and brokenhearted over our sins, there needs to be something on the inside of us that's repelled by our sins. When we are sorry and ask forgiveness for our sins, He fine-tunes us to bring us into the image of His Son.

Make this the cry of your heart today:

Lord, today I want to be more like Jesus than I have ever been. My desire is not to sin, but if I do, help me run to You in true repentance. When I ask for forgiveness from the depths of my heart, I know You will forgive me. Thank You!