DRAWING NEAR
March 27
Solving Man's Greatest Problem
"Forgive us our debts" (Matt. 6:12).
Man's greatest problem is sin. It renders him spiritually dead,
alienates him from God and his fellow man, plagues him with guilt and
fear, and can eventually damn him to eternal hell. The only solution
is forgiveness--and the only source of forgiveness is Jesus Christ.
All sin is punishable by death (Rom. 6:23) but Christ bore the sins
of the world, thereby making it possible to be forgiven and have
eternal life through faith in Him (John 3:16). What a glorious
reality!
Scripture speaks of two kinds of forgiveness: judicial and parental.
Judicial forgiveness comes from God the righteous judge, who wiped
your sin off the record and set you free from its punishment and
guilt. At the moment of your salvation He forgave all your sins
--past, present, and future--and pronounced you righteous for all
eternity. That's why nothing can ever separate you from Christ's love
(Rom. 8:38-39).
Parental forgiveness is granted to believers by their loving heavenly
Father as they confess their sin and seek His cleansing. That's the
kind of forgiveness Jesus speaks of in Matthew 6:12.
When a child disobeys his father, the father/child relationship isn't
severed. The child is still a member of the family and there's a
sense in which he is already forgiven because he's under the umbrella
of his father's parental love. But some of the intimacy of their
relationship is lost until the child seeks forgiveness.
That's the idea in Matthew 6:12. The sins you commit as a believer
don't rob you of your salvation, but they do affect your relationship
with God. He still loves you and will always be your Father, but the
intimacy and sweet communion you once knew is jeopardized until you
seek reconciliation by confessing your sins.
As a Christian, you are judicially forgiven and will never come into
condemnation. But never presume on that grace. Make confession part
of your daily prayers so sin will never erode your relationship with
your Heavenly Father.
Suggestions for Prayer:
Thank God for His judicial forgiveness of all your sins. Ask
Him to help you maintain the joy of your relationship with Him
by quickly dealing with any sin that comes up in your life.
For Further Study:
Read Psalm 32:1-7.
How did David feel about forgiveness? What happened to David
before he confessed his sin?
Drawing Near, Copyright c 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:16
16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life.
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able
to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Psalm 32:1-7
32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is
covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the
day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was
turned into the drought of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I
said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," And You forgave
the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time
when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall
not come near him.
7 You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You
shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@gty.org
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
http://www.gty.org/Gospel
http://www.gty.org/
http://www.nwbible.org/
To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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