Topic: How Much Has God Forgiven You? [Joseph Prince Devotional 23 May 2021]
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How Much Has God Forgiven You?
“Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.…Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
Luke 7:44, 47
The main clause of the new covenant is found in Hebrews 8:12—“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Some people hear me teach this and immediately ask me, “If believers know that all their sins have already been forgiven and forgotten, won’t they go ahead and sin?”
Well, I have yet to encounter anyone who, after knowing the truth of Hebrews 8:12 and the Lord’s grace, says to himself, “Yippee! Now I can go out and sin!” However, I have encountered sincere people who have given up and walked away from God because they didn’t know or believe the truth of Hebrews 8:12.
To earn God’s forgiveness, they tried to keep the laws of the old covenant, only to fail consistently and end up feeling like hypocrites. In contrast, those who have received and believed the truth of Hebrews 8:12 and other new covenant truths have had their lives, marriages, and families gloriously transformed by the grace of our Lord Jesus.
I had a couple come up to me once and tell me they would like to be married in our church. They told me that they had in fact been married to each other before and had kids but that they had been separated for many years.
Somehow, separately, they both started attending our church and after listening to the teaching on forgiveness and God’s grace, God began to restore their relationship and they wanted to be remarried. Isn’t that wonderful? How many kids have the privilege of witnessing their parents’ wedding ceremony!
That’s the power of the gospel of Christ. It is able to mend broken lives and restore broken relationships!
My friend, knowing you are completely forgiven destroys the power of sin in your life. I know how this revelation has transformed my life just as it did the woman in today’s scripture. She brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil into the house of Simon, a Pharisee, and anointed Jesus’ feet.
And Jesus Himself said to Simon that those who are forgiven much will love Him much. So the more you realize that you have been forgiven much, actually, of all your sins, the more you will love the Lord Jesus. Receiving God’s forgiveness does not lead to a life of sin, but a life of loving and glorifying the Lord Jesus.
What do you think the woman’s response would have been after she had departed from Jesus? Would she have desired to continue living a life of sin, or would she, knowing that she has been forgiven much by God’s grace, be strengthened to live a life that honored and glorified Jesus?
Come on, folks! All of us, including myself, have been forgiven much. All of us have broken the Ten Commandments many times over. If we have not done so in action, we have done so in our hearts and minds.
So when you understand how much you have been forgiven, because that is how much God loves you, you can’t help but love Him much. This is the key to loving the Lord and enjoying your relationship with Him.
Beloved, when you fail, come to Jesus with the boldness and confidence that this woman had. Come and pour out everything that is on your heart to Him.
Don’t worry, He won’t dump more guilt and condemnation on you. He will remind you of the cross and say, “Your sins are already forgiven. I have already paid the price for your sins at Calvary. Rest in My forgiveness and love for you.”