DIG for Tuesday the 18th of October…..but surely we need to ask for forgiveness…..Ephesians 1 v 7

I have been known to preach about forgiveness once or twice!

My usual point is that we have all already been completely and unconditionally forgiven for all our sins.

I can say this, as this is my understating of Scripture.

We are told we have already been forgiven through the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1 v 7 and Colossians 1 v 14).

We are told Jesus dealt with all sin for all time once and for all at the cross (Hebrews 10 v 12 and 14).

Now, nearly every time I preach this I hear the same comment, and that is, “are you telling me I do not need to ask for forgiveness anymore?”

The answer to this is yes!

You do not need to ask for something you have already received.

Every man has been forgiven for every sin.

I am not saying every man has been saved, but all have been forgiven (and reconciled) thus opening the way for salvation.

So, we do not need to ask God for forgiveness, it is a done deal and something we already have.

We should thank Him and enjoy our forgiveness!

Speak this out today….”Thank you Lord that I have already been forgiven for all my sins through the shed blood of Jesus”.

Ephesians 1 v 7…..In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his glory

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DIG for Wednesday the 30th of March….His work is finished and we have so much through it…..Hebrews 10 v 12

At our bible study the other night someone said that we need to know who we are in Christ; this is such an important truth, and I’ve been pondering it today.

Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ and as a gift of grace through faith….

…..I have been unconditionally and completely forgiven.

…..I have been made righteous.

…..I have been healed.

…..I have been made prosperous.

…..I have been reconciled to God and been redeemed.

…..I am a child of God, having been adopted into His family.

…..I am now living under grace and not law.

…..I have been blessed with all spiritual blessings.

…..and I could go on and on and on.

The same is true for you my friend, if you are a born again believer who has put your trust and faith in Jesus and His finished work.

Who we are in Christ is our real identity, and it is this identity that we should identify with.

Believing these truths will have an impact on our lives.

Believing these truths will see our mind renewed and see positive transformation in our lives.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for all that I am as a gift of grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

Hebrews 10 v 12…..But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God

DIG for Sunday the 14th of February…..even, yes even the forgiveness of sins…..Colossians 1 v 14

The first thing in this long list about Jesus is what He did for us with regards to our sin.

Sin had kept mankind apart from God and Jesus came and dealt with it.

Jesus paid for all sin (1 John 2 v 2) through the shedding of His blood.

With His blood being shed man was redeemed or purchased back (Colossians 1 v 14).

Included in this redemption was the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1 v 14).

I love it that in the King James Version the translators added in the word “even”, as if people would not believe that forgiveness was included in His finished work.

I think that word “even” was a good edition as there are still believers today asking for forgiveness; they have clearly not understood the finished work of the cross and they do not believe they have been forgiven.

At the cross all sin for all men for all time was forgiven; we do not need to ask for forgiveness anymore.

Do you know that lost men do not need to ask for forgiveness; they do need to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour though to benefit from this forgiveness.

We have already been forgiven, and what we should be doing is thanking Him for that forgiveness and living as if we are a forgiven people; living in freedom and rest.

Jesus paid for our forgiveness so we have nothing now to pay.

We have been redeemed through His shed blood and now we owe nothing with regards to our sin.

That’s good news, that’s the Gospel.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that through the shed blood of Jesus I have already been forgiven for all my sin, thank you for your forgiveness”.

Colossians 1 v 14…..In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins

DIG for Friday the 25th of December…..the real reason for Christmas….. Galatians 4 v 4 and 5

Do you know the real reason why Jesus came?

We have been looking at these “Christmas” verses in Galatians and they tell us why Jesus came.

He did not come to deal with our sin; that was one of the things that He had to do in order to fulfil His mission.

He came so that we could be justified by faith, He came for our righteousness, and He came so that we could come into the family of God.

He came to redeem us so that we could be adopted as sons of God (Galatians 4 v 5).

Here is the real “reason for the season”, right in the middle of Galatians.

He came for you and you are the reason for the season.

Yes, He died for your sin in a sense but that was what He had to do to achieve His ultimate mission, in reality He died for your righteousness.

He died, dealt with sin and was raised again so that you could be saved, made righteous, justified by faith and come into the family as an adopted son.

This is the real meaning of Christmas.

Christmas is not about stables, stars and wise men; it is about the King of the Universe coming in human form, born of a virgin and born under the law, so that you could be adopted by God as a son.

And there it is in black and white right in the middle of Galatians, not a passage that we normally see as the Christmas narrative.

I hope you now read this short passage in Galatians in a new light.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the coming of Jesus and thank you that His mission was to put in place my salvation”.

Galatians 4 v 4 and 5…..But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem then that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons

DIG for Saturday the 11th of July…..the hath passage…..Ephesians 1 v 6

A sister in the Lord reminded me the other night about the start of Ephesians, saying it is the “hath passage”.

Hath, old King James for has, is used often at the start of Ephesians, showing us that what Paul is telling us is in the past tense.

We are not waiting for these good things from God, waiting to see if we are good enough through religious performance to be blessed, adopted and accepted.

We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1 v 3).

God has already chosen us, even before time began (Ephesians 1 v 4).

We have been adopted and accepted into the beloved, into His family (Ephesians 1 v 5 and 6).

We have been redeemed and forgiven through the shedding of the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1 v 7).

We are not waiting for God to move, or rather we should not be waiting for God to move.

We do not need to ask for acceptance, for blessings, for forgiveness, as these have already been bestowed upon us.

This passage is very clear in that these good things that many are asking God for were given to us in the past, some when Jesus performed His finished work on the cross and some when we became born again.

But one truth is evident; they have all been given to us already.

Meditate upon the start of Ephesians and see what you already have, and if you are then stop asking God for them.

Accept them and enjoy them!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have already blessed, accepted and adopted me, and thank you that I have already been redeemed and forgiven”.

Ephesians 1 v 6…..To the praise of his glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved

DIG for Wednesday the 17th of June…..our true identity is the most important identity we have…..2 Corinthians 5 v 17

Many of us talk of being sons or fathers, English or Scottish, black or white, man or woman; these are all aspects of our identity.

There is one aspect of our identity that is more important than anything else.

Irrespective of who or what we are, our most important identity is who and what we are in Christ.

In Christ we have been redeemed and justified through His grace (Romans 3 v 24).

In Christ we can live a life without condemnation (Romans 8 v 1).

In Christ we have been sanctified (1 Corinthians 1 v 2).

In Christ we have hope and have been made alive (1 Corinthians 15 v 19 and 22).

In Christ we have been made a new creature, our old sinful nature has died and we have a holy and righteous spirit (2 Corinthians 5 v 17).

In Christ we have been reconciled to God and made righteous (2 Corinthians 5 v 19 and 21).

And I could go on and on and on!

I no longer care that I am a white, Scottish male; I am righteous, redeemed, sanctified, justified, full of hope and alive.

What a marvellous identity that is and it is all available through Christ and His finished work as a gift of grace.

All that is required is faith.

So what is your identity tonight?

Speak this out tonight…..”Thank you for all that I am and all that I have been made as a gift of grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

2 Corinthians 5 v 17…..Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new

DIG for Saturday the 11th of April…. Don’t forget about the verse before and the verse after…..Romans 3 v 23

Reading verses out of context is not a good idea; we can lose the meaning of the passage by not reading the whole thing.

Take Romans 3 v 23 for example.

On its own this is not a very encouraging verse, saying that we have all sinned and come short of the standards expected by God.

Just reading that may make you think that God is upset with you or has not accepted you because of that sin.

This does not sound like good news, yet it becomes great news if we read the verse before and after it!

If we believe and have faith in Jesus then we have been made righteous by God (Romans 3 v 22).

Because of this we have been justified (set free or made righteous) and redeemed (had the ransom paid in full) through faith in the finished work (Romans 3 v 24).

This is the Gospel, the good news, that because of the finished work of Jesus Christ our sin is not an issue for God anymore.

Yes, we have sinned, and yes we will sin, however all sin has been paid for by Jesus (1 John 2 v 2).

All men need faith in Jesus as all men have sinned, that is what Romans 3 v 23 is saying.

But once you accept Jesus sin is not an issue for God.

Yes we once were sinners and caught in the trap of sin, now as a gift of grace through faith we are saints and prisoners of righteousness.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus Christ, and thank you that I am redeemed, justified and made righteous”.

Romans 3 v 24…..For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

DIG for Saturday the 14th of March…..read all the Bible not just wee bits…..Romans 3 v 23

When I opened my Bible this morning I found that I was at Romans 3 and 4.

I noticed the one bit of highlighting that was on Romans 3 v 23, and was reminded that this was a verse I highlighted many years ago.

I was in a “different place” in terms of doctrine and theology back then and this highlight is a picture of that different place.

I had been focussing on the negative part of this passage, rather than the positive parts either side of it.

The teaching I was receiving was more about the sinning rather than the righteousness, justification or redemption.

From this I can see that my focus, or what I was mainly meditating upon was wrong.

This passage of Scripture is not about how we are all sinners and have come short of the standard that God has set.

It is all about how through the finished work of Jesus Christ that issue has been sorted!

Through faith in Jesus we have been made as righteous as God (Romans 3 v 22).

Through faith in Jesus we have been justified as a free gift and have been redeemed, or bough back (Romans 3 v 24).

Those are the truths we should be focussing on rather than the sin bit.

If I ever get a new Bible I will be highlighting Romans 3 v 22 and 24 this time!

Focus on and speak out about the goodness of God, as that is what will lead men to repentance (Romans 2 v 4).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that the sin issue has been dealt with and that as a gift of grace through Faith in Jesus I am righteous and justified and have been redeemed”.

Romans 3 v 23…..For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

DIG for Sunday the 7th of December…..the first could not redeem, the second could and did…..Ruth 4 v 6

In Jewish law when a man died his kinsman (or relative) that was closest to him could marry his widow, and purchase his land etc.

Boaz was a kinsman of Ruth’s dead husband but he was not the “first in line”, there was another relative closer who would have had the opportunity first.

Boaz searched this man out and for whatever reason this man could not buy the lands and marry Ruth, so Boaz made his claim after ensuring that the first man was heard and in a sense dealt with.

This is a picture of law and grace, and a picture of Jesus.

The first man could not redeem anything, he simply could not (Ruth 4 v 6); this is a picture of the law.

Boaz could and indeed wanted to fulfill his obligation to Naomi and Ruth, he wanted to see them and their lands redeemed; this is a picture or grace and of Jesus.

I think he wanted to marry Ruth as he had already checked out that there was another kinsman first in line before him and had a strategy and plan in place to “remove” this person from the equation.

Redeemed means to purchase back, and Boaz redeeming Ruth is a picture of Jesus redeeming you and I.

Jesus removed the law by fulfilling it, thus ensuring that we did not have to meet its requirements.

Boaz wanted Ruth, and Jesus wanted you and did everything in His power to redeem you and bring you back into relationship and into His family.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the redemptive power of the finished work of Jesus”.

Ruth 4 v 6…..And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it

DIG for Sunday the 9th of November…..we have been declared innocent…..Titus 3 v 7

In a court of law if a person is declared as innocent after a trial they are allowed to leave and walk out as a free man.

If declared innocent they have nothing to pay and the authorities hold nothing against them.

Never have I seen an innocent man turn round to the judge after being set free and say, “can I remind you about some earlier crimes and other illegal activity I’ve done’.

That would be crazy; yet many of us do a similar thing to God.

Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ we have been justified (Titus 3 v 6 and 7).

This means to be rendered just or innocent and to be set free.

Jesus, through His work and not ours, has redeemed us (or bought us back) from all of our sins (Titus 2 v 14).

He paid the price for all our sin once and for all at the cross (1 John 2 v 2).

As a result of this God has chosen not to remember our sins and iniquities any more (Hebrews 10 v 17) and we live in a state of freedom with regards to eternal consequences for our sin.

So why do many of us turn around to God and try to remind him about our sin, during communion for example?

Why do we keep reminding God about sins so that we can ask for forgiveness?

We do not need to ask God for forgiveness as Jesus has redeemed us from all iniquity, we have been justified and we have already been forgiven.

If we are focusing on our sin and reminding God about them, we are negating the work of Christ; we are saying that Jesus had not done enough to deal with my sin.

Jesus’s work is finished; He said that on the cross and He is now seated at the right hand of the Father.

Sin, and the eternal consequences for sin, has been dealt with and we are now declared as innocent in the eyes of God.

Stop reminding Him about your sin, instead thank Him that you have been redeemed, justified and forgiven.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord tat through the finished work of Jesus, and nothing to do with my own efforts, I have been redeemed, justified and forgiven”.

Titus 3 v 7…..That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life