Read Romans 3:25
When we forgive people that have hurt us we often say something like, ‘Don’t worry about it. She’ll be right.’. All too often our forgiveness is limited and by saying ‘I forgive you’ we mean something like
· I’ll put up with it unless you do it again or,
· I’ll try hard to forget that you hurt me or,
· I’ll forget it this time but if it happens again watch out…
When God says ‘I forgive you’ to us He means it completely. He loves us freely (Hosea 14:1-4) and chooses not to remember how badly we hurt Him. He
Verse 25 explains how that can be possible. God presented Jesus as a sacrifice for us. God sent Jesus into our world to be punished for the ways and the times in which we hurt Him. Jesus was sent as ‘sacrifice of atonement’ which refers to the Old Testament Day of Atonement in which sacrifices were made for the people and the priests. The High Priest, having his sins covered by the sacrifice, could enter the inner Temple and meet with God on behalf of the people. He would not be struck down for his sinfulness and the people would not be struck down because God accepted the animal sacrifices on their behalf. This one man alone could approach God but only with the appropriate sacrifices.
Jesus was sent as the perfect ‘sacrifice of atonement’ so that you and I can approach God. We can approach God not as enemies but as people totally and completely forgiven. We no longer need a priest. We no longer need the blood of goats and bulls. We no longer need to wait for the one day of the year. When God forgives us, we can approach Him and draw near to Him at anytime. Even more so, as Romans 8 will show us, we can approach Him as our heavenly Dad who loves us dearly.
Since God has dealt with our sins at the cross He is just and perfectly in the right. He hasn’t swept our sins under the carpet. He hasn’t played the pretend game and He certainly hasn’t kept a mental list of our sins, ready to blast us if we do it again. Through the cross God is able to forgive us completely and to love us freely.
Even more so, because God knew that Jesus was coming into our world He was able to over look the sins of the people in the times before Christ and He was able to accept the animal sacrifices in the light of Christ’s coming.
Prayer:
Given today’s reading jot down your own prayer points:
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks
Supplication:
¥ Ask the Lord to bless your church’s giving and generosity so that it increases 5, 10 even 100 fold. Pray that this generosity would flow out of love and appreciation for what God has done at the cross.
¥ Pray that more and more people would hear and respond to the gospel through the proclamation of your church. Pray that God would be pleased to use your church (you included) in a powerful way.
A life of worship starts deep inside our heart as we accept and realise that Jesus was the sacrifice of atonement give freely to us by God. He suffered immensely because you are dearly loved. How can we sin and kick God in the face after knowing that depth of love?
1. How important is it for a believer to know the Old Testament?
2. What does it mean in vs 25 when it says, ‘through faith in His blood’?
3. What is the outcome of Jesus’ being offered as a sacrifice of atonement?
Discipleship Moment For Girls
Intro: If someone were your friend just so that they could get something from you (like the yummy lunches you take to school or some of your pocket money) how do you think you would feel?
How do you think God feels when people like Him or love Him just to get something from Him?
Share: is possible, a time when you felt someone was your friend for what they could get out of it.
Read: Mark 12:28-34
What are the two great commandments Jesus tells us about?
What does each one mean?
What does it mean to love God/our neighbour with our head, heart and hands?
Pray: that you will grow in your understating of God’s love towards you and your family.
Intro: You find out that your mate hangs around you only for what he can get out of you - like the great lunches you take to school or some of your pocket money. How do you think you would feel?
How do you think God feels when people like Him or love Him just to get something from Him?
Share: is possible, a time when you felt someone was your friend for what they could get out of it.
Read: Mark 12:28-34
What are the two great commandments Jesus tells us about?
What does each one mean?
What does it mean to love God/our neighbour with our head, heart and hands?
Pray: that you will grow in your understating of God’s love towards you and your family.
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